March 30, 2020 - A View From The Bench

What is the job of the players that are on the bench? The typical response/thought is “nothing.” In other words, on the bench = simply rest. As a coach, I can tell you that when I looked down the bench and saw players doing “nothing”, those players were not getting off the bench! I almost wrote that they weren’t getting in the game, but this week’s line of thought is that they should be “in the game” even when on the bench!

There are many things a player on the bench can and should be doing… one is studying to see how the game is flowing and how he can impact it when on the floor… another is encouraging teammates that are on the floor… and, yes, resting for when it is time to be on the floor. Bottom line is that I looked for players that were “into the game” to put “in the game”!

Many of you may feel right now that you are in a prison of sorts; the current health quarantine we are under has brought life to a screeching halt for many, and to an accelerated urgency for others that have “essential” jobs.

One of my favorite things to teach on is the attitude the Apostle Paul displayed when in prison. He spent the time praying for his “teammates” and writing them letters (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) to encourage and challenge them. He also utilized the time to reach those around him in the prison. To him prison was simply another opportunity to make a difference… so he found ways to do so.

We spend so much time concentrating on the prison (being on the bench) that we miss opportunities to be a team player. One interesting thing I noticed with Paul is that he not only didn’t just focusing on getting out of prison (and into the game) but he even stayed there at one point when his chains were broken! Check out Acts 16:25-34 for an amazing account of how to handle being in prison (or on the bench…)

1.       They prayed and sang - so others could hear of their hope

2.       They stayed put even when the chains were broken – showing that circumstances did not dictate their ministry but cultivated it

3.       They shared the hope of grace – found in believing on the Lord Jesus Christ…

What can you be engaged in ministry today?

How can you encourage others today?

How can you share hope (evangelize) today?

Philippians 1:3-4 (Paul writing and praying from prison [quarantine]) I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always making request for you with all joy…

March 23, 2019 - Take Advantage of Time-Outs

Well here I sit in our “sequestered” spot in Alabama… trying to figure out maneuvering in this crazy time. We (Lisa, the girls, and I) were on our THEREFORE Tour and had a lot of changes on our schedule. So as I sat down to write this week’s devotion I went a bit into coach-mode in that this quarantine time is much like a time-out or half-time in a game… a time when the action has stopped and we are left with an opportunity to evaluate our game plan, prepare strategies, etc.

Obviously, this time has church/ministry leaders determining how to effectively minister… leaders of businesses figuring out how to navigate through everything… schools figuring out education over the internet… families figuring out how to spend their time… etc.

 (And by the way, although the following Scriptures were written to church leaders, every believer can benefit from this, as we all have a circle of influence…)

2 Timothy 2:14-17a       Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer…

Imagine with me a team that got in the huddle, or at half-time and spent all their time listening to people in the stands… or even taking advice from the other team… instead of paying attention to the coach… (which many are doing on the internet.)

Fortunately, the internet allows us to still reach out to folks… and even to minister; yet, the internet is also a place full of profane and idle babblings. Be careful where you are spending your time-outs… who you are listening to.

Read the Word! Go to places on the internet with solid teaching… many of your churches are sharing online… go to places like CambronInstitute.com or BoldGrace.org or MakeItClear.org are great places to find articles… podcasts… etc. (You may even find something worth reading in the archives of CoachBurden.com)

Remember that the Scriptures tell us to be diligent…

March 16, 2020 - Calm and Control

When doing basketball clinics or conducting practices, one of the drills I love to use I call “Faceoff.” It is designed to teach players to make passes under pressure… highlighting the “hotspots” on the opponent that make it easier to get a pass past…

To demonstrate the drill, I will get on my knees and have someone try to keep me from making a pass; and in 20+ years of using the drill, have only had a player get a hand on a pass a few times. The object is simply to stay calm, realizing that possession of the ball equals control; I then show how to use the scalp, ears, and ankles as the spots to make a successful pass.

This mentality of control and stability would be of great benefits when facing strong pressing teams that tried to disrupt calm and control. My mind immediately thinks of the Arkansas Razorbacks back in the day… and their famed “40 Minutes of Hell” defense…

Sometimes life feels like that “40 Minutes”! It can be incredibly stressful, and we are left with choices of calm/control or panic/chaos… Obviously I am writing this week in the midst of mass chaos in our world. The Corona virus has gripped our nation/world and panic/chaos seems to be setting in.

So not jumping behind my internet “pulpit” here… just coming along beside as a coach to remind you of one of my coaching philosophies: Fundamentals are the anchor that will hold in the storm!

I thought about listing some “hotspots” for us but settled on just the most basic reminder possible in times like this: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.    Selah

(Psalm 46:1-3)

I love how Eugene Peterson starts this passage in The Message: God is a safe place to hide…

Remember team, God is on your side!!!

March 9, 2020 - I Want Our Team To Be Great!

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… Matthew 28:19

When you see a “therefore” find out what it is there for… Jesus has just reminded us that He has “all authority in heaven and on earth”; He then gives us this game plan (mission.)

Side note: Mark records the first step in the plan… to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

I know I often talk about this game plan, and we all know it… last week I even reminded us that it is wasteful that there are some around us that don’t know about God (See 1 Corinthians 15:34.)

I am sitting in a hotel room in Denver (while on our THEREFORE Tour) and spending time at a retreat designed to mobilize Gospel advancement. One of the speakers shared a story about discipleship, which I will wind things up with in just a moment…

First, let me make some basic observations… just about all churches have some program or plan they label as discipleship… it usually involves organized classes/meetings that are designed to teach doctrine, etc. PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM ALL FOR THIS; BUT IT IS NOT ALL THAT IS NEEDED!

In basketball I always had scheduled times to train my teams; these are called practices… Obviously, practices are needed to develop players in skills and understanding of our plays, etc. And faithfulness to practices is what makes players competent, good players. BUT if you talk to any trainer they will tell you that to be great players and true difference-makers, one must devote more time than just scheduled practices to his game. Greatness is a result of an investment of time…

I often share that true discipleship was modeled by Jesus Himself… basically He said, “Go with me, watch what I do, and then you do it.” Jesus was fully invested in us, to the point of the cross; and He demonstrated that building our team, discipling, requires investment.

Now to the story that was shared… the speaker shared that his pastor crunched some numbers and determined that for us to get the amount of impactful investment time that Jesus had with the apostles (in 3 years) by using our typical church models, it would take at least 30 years… not sure we are invested enough…

Questions our speaker posed: Is there someone invested in you? Are you invested in others?

I want our team to be great!

March 2, 2020 - Useless vs Useful

As I was preparing to share this weekend on The THEREFORE Tour, I was studying in the passage that I have used the last few weeks in these devotions and came across another word/concept that peaked my interest… in 1 Corinthians 15:34 we see the reason we need to choose not only good teammates, but active teammates…

In the past I have given examples of players that maybe were solid with the basketball… in that they didn’t have a lot of turnovers… didn’t make a lot of mistakes. But, that in and of itself, doesn’t tell if they are good teammates to have.

It just makes sense that a point guard will typically have more turnovers than other players; why? Because they have the ball more often… are required to make things happen. One of my quotes I often fall back on: The doer makes mistakes! John Wooden

Our view of “good Christians” typically goes back to what they “don’t do”… they don’t drink, cuss, smoke, etc. Yet my belief as a Christian coach is to encourage active Christianity… doers!

Although my temptation here is to go into a long lesson on this, I am going to honor the plan to try to make these “short time-outs”…

Two weeks ago, I shared from 15:33 that the “bad or evil company” being talked about there is actually referring to folks that are lethargic, just living for self.

Verse 34 explains it further:

Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

Paul here admonishes activity in believers… be doers! Last night I talked with a pastor friend that shared about when he was trying to encourage his congregation to share the Gospel with their neighbors. He told of a phone call he received where the person didn’t know if here neighbor knew about Jesus; when the pastor asked if he had shared it, she said, “no, would you come talk to them?” Another pastor I spoke with recently talked of his congregation not actively sharing (or even inviting to church.) An elder I spoke with invited me to do an evangelism seminar at his church, stating that they know the truth of the Gospel and talk about / teach it regularly, but don’t share it… do you see a pattern here? A pattern of lethargy…

We love to teach/preach/hear reminders that the world needs Jesus, yet the verse says the fact that they don’t is “to yOUR shame.”

The word translated “shame” in Greek is “entrope”; we get the idea of “entropy” from that word. Entropy is when energy goes to a state of uselessness… We have a lot of energy on our team that has gone from an organized functioning unit to spread out lethargy. The church knows that truth but far to often is doing nothing with it.

Again, I could spend a long time teaching on this idea, but the bottom line is that we have personal and corporate responsibility to sharing the Gospel… and when we don’t it says we are “useless players” and that is a “shame”!