March 25, 2019 - Great Teams and Great Players

The past couple of weeks I have addressed what a “great player” looks like and encouraged us to find what were good at and be good at it… this has come during a time where I have been sharing our ministry’s story and defining what we do… I have described our ministry as a “great ministry” or “great team”… which sounds a bit braggadocious but bear with me… I believe it is a description that should be true of every ministry and every minister.


We are “great” in that we follow what Scripture says to be great…


The Great Commission: every “player” has been given a job to do… been commissioned… is on a mission… to teach the Word (Matthew 28:18-20) and to share the Gospel (Mark 16:15.) As a coach I have said it over and over… know your role and do your job! Well the Great Commission is your role if you are a believer… you are a missionary (commissioned)… you have to answer the question if you are any good at it.


The Great Commandment: the Scriptures are very clear that we are to love God and love others… I have shared recently that Jesus defines greatness as servanthood… being compassionate. Jesus says if we love Him we will obey His commandments (John 14:15) and if we serve Him it will be done through serving others (Matthew 25:40.) Paul states that if we avoid this Great Command to love, we are simply making noise when trying to fulfill our mission. (See 1 Corinthians 13)


The Great Game Plan: being on mission starts with “home games.” Acts 1:8 gives us the plan to begin in our “Jerusalem”, where we live… Missions is not something reserved for the 1 or 2 weeks you go somewhere during the year… it is a daily, starts-at-home lifestyle. And then we move on to our “Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”/ ”away games.”


Are you a “Great Missionary”? Following those three things is the blueprint… “Great Teams” are made up of “Great Players” doing their job the right way!

March 18, 2019 - The Importance of Talented Players

Last week I shared that I believe Christ’s definition of being a great “player” is one that lives a life of servanthood… of compassion. Seems to me like any time Christ talks about greatness… on how we impress God… it centers on showing God’s love and compassion to others… in how good we are to others (not in how good we are.)


Yet we also see a lot in Scripture about being gifted (equipped to be really good)… and these gifts come from God. I do believe it is important to pursue excellence in the areas we are gifted and talented…

1.       Gifts are of huge importance in helping us get in places to show compassion…. Proverbs 18:16 says, “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” In other words when you are good at something, people will take notice.

2.       Gifts are for the purpose of making the team better… Ephesians 4:16 states, “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” The team needs you to play do your part!

3.       Gifts are from the Lord… Ephesians 4:7, “But to each one of us grace (favour) was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” We can’t brag about our gifts… because they were gifts… The Message states it this way: But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift

My encouragement this week is:

Find what you are good at and be good at it!!!

Work hard and if you are gifted in that area, people will take notice… but remember that when that gift/talent gets you in the door, it is so you can make the team stronger and serve others!!!


John Wooden reminded us of these truths:


“Talent is God-given… Be humble!

Fame is man-given… Be grateful!

Conceit is self-given… Be careful!”

March 11, 2019 - Simply Not A Good Player!

I often write about the idea of being “good players” or what “good players” look like… or what a “Total Player” looks like…


I have shared it in the past, but it bears repeating… when we discuss good players, we discuss what they do right… not what they don’t do wrong… for instance we talk about scoring, rebounding, assists, and maybe even defensive prowess. But other than maybe when discussing an assist-to-turnover ratio, we rarely discuss what a player does wrong when talking about good players… In other words, we don’t brag about our favorite players by saying something like, “He is great! He doesn’t travel, double-dribble, or foul a lot…” Those things may be true, but not what we take note of…


When Jesus was talking with some folks in Luke 10, He was confronted and asked who our “neighbor” is when the Great Commandment says to “love your neighbor as yourself”? He was being asked this by a very religious man that would have looked like a really good church guy… not doing a lot of stuff wrong.


I bring this up, because somewhere along the line we began bragging on Christians based upon what they avoid… “He’s a good boy… he doesn’t drink, cuss, smoke, or chew… or go with girls who do!” I’m not trying to make light of these things… “he” is a smart boy to not do such things; but it doesn’t make him a “good player.”


The guy confronting Jesus felt good about his “righteous” lifestyle and his adherence to the command to “love his neighbor.” Yet, the culture allowed for the “neighbor” to mean just those that were like him… of the same breeding… of the same mindset… cut from the same cloth. And Jesus proceeded to give a whole different picture of what a “good player” looks like.


Jesus described a neighbor as someone that would not only help someone in need but would also go the extra mile sacrificing for that one’s needs… regardless of who the one in need is. In fact, Jesus went as far as making the “good player” in His story someone that was typically considered an enemy of the Jewish people… despised by them.


I just preached on this passage last night and find myself wanting to go into great detail at what an incredible parable this is that Jesus shared; but the bottom line is this: If you claim to be a “good player” on Team Jesus, it is measured not just by what you don’t do… but by how compassionate you are to others.


And in all honesty, this is easy to teach/preach, but is hard, time-consuming, uncomfortable, and at times frustrating to live out. BUT Jesus said that we should be compassionate to those in need. If our lives are not characterized by serving others, we are not “good players.”


Luke 10:36 So which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? (Jesus’ question following His parable)


10:37a And he (the guy questioning Jesus) said, He who showed mercy on him.”


10:37b The Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”


Be compassionate my friends!

March 4, 2019 - "The Flu Game"

It has gone down in the annals of NBA Finals history as “The Flu Game”… if you are a Michael Jordan fan you will remember it well. During the 1997 Finals, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were facing the Utah Jazz with the series tied at 2 games apiece; and when game 5 rolled around, MJ was hit with serious flu-like symptoms or food poisoning… Needless to say he was struggling… tired… dehydrated… etc. BUT, this was the NBA Finals; the game had significance!


MJ struggled at times but ended up scoring 38 points to lead his team to victory. He had overcome… persevered… in spite of how he felt!


The reason I thought back to this game is because of something my youngest daughter, Faith, said to me. Faith struggles with OCD and anxieties… out of the blue she can get depressed or anxious… yet, she has one of the most incredible hearts for the Lord and for people that I have ever seen. (I’m not gossiping about Faith, she openly shares her struggles in hopes to help others.) During one her “battles” she stated that she feels like a hypocrite or a fake at times when she is serving, knowing what is going on in her mind below the surface… BUT, she still goes on… she still “plays the game.”


I used that phrase about the game intentionally; Faith was feeling like things were a fake, or in other words a game… In Michael Jordan’s case, we were talking about a game… but one that is “life” to him; in Faith’s situation we are talking about it feeling like a game, but her carrying through because it is LIFE to her!


I tried to encourage her by pointing out that victory is not measured by lack of obstacles/struggles, but by persevering in spite of obstacles/struggles. The reality is that every time we step on the court of service, we are dealing with our own issues… as Pastor Matt Brooks has stated many times, “We/re all jacked-up in some way!”


The Apostle Paul had his share of issues to face… I often refer to his letter to the Philippians where, from a prison cell, he wrote about his joy in remembering them… focused on others instead of his real issues. But another passage came to mind also… 

1 Corinthians 12:

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


I love the way Pastor Peterson put it in The Message:

7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

I read one particular line of this to Faith while prepping for this devo… and she LOVED IT! She said she is going to frame the quote… “Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he did in fact was push me to my knees.”


Let us know if you have struggles we can pray for… but in the midst “Play/Serve humbly my friends!”