January 25, 2021 - "Find Somebody!"

“Man up!”

“Match up!”

“Find somebody!”

“Pick up somebody!”

If you have ever played basketball, these are common phrases telling players to “D up!”… get into a strong man-to-man defense… get up into the opposing player’s numbers. It is either preceded by a coach assigning a player to guard… or the players being very intentional, resulting in responses like, “I’ve got [insert the number of a jersey of the player being targeted.]” (You typically don’t hear these words being shouted when going into a zone defense… because even a match-up zone is based upon who happens to come into a particular area...)

The extreme opposite of an intense man-to-man defense is often called a “church league zone”… a defense demanding much less commitment… a defense where basically the offensive player is only really “confronted” if it doesn’t require a lot of intensity from the defensive player… (Side note: this is not the way zone defenses should be played!)

Last week the emphasis was on making sure we are allowing for real discipleship… that we should be focusing on application… the idea of apprenticeship, where I pointed out the relationship of Barnabas and Paul. (Acts 9:27 records that Barnabas “took him and brought him to the apostles…”) I highlighted the word “brought” which has the idea of leading, guiding, directing… it is a training term.

This week I want to highlight the word “took” that is found there… this word/concept should be at the heart of what we do in ministering to others. The word for took carries the idea of taking hold of… seizing… overtaking… etc. It screams of intentionality… as though Barnabas was yelling “I’ve got Paul!” and getting up in Paul’s numbers…

My fear in ministry is that with our emphasis on programs… that the modern church is designed to just pick up those that happen to come into our zone, missing the opportunities of really engaging in people’s lives. Ministry/Discipleship is meant to be very intentional!

Whether it be ministering to a neighbor or engaging in a discipleship relationship, it is time we:

“Man up!”

“Match up!”

“Find somebody!”

“Pick up somebody!”

“I’ve got (…)” Fill in the blank of who you are going to cover!

January 18, 2021 - Are we gonna scrimmage today, Coach?

“Are we gonna scrimmage today, Coach?”

“Can we scrimmage, Coach?”

Man did I get tired of hearing those questions… early each year I would have to lay down the law that I didn’t want to be asked that as I walked into the gym… I knew that I had a plan to teach things our teams needed (most of the time designed to the minute)… there were basic skills and concepts that needed to be honed, before we engaged in the competition. BUT there was definitely a need to scrimmage also… Let me explain:

My coaching template was to follow the Abraham Lincoln Rule… He was quoted as stating, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” In other words, he knew that effective chopping required a honed blade… Therefore, in practices we would devote a lot of time to repetitive “sharpening” of our skills and concepts. But I also am aware that a scrimmage is a great place to give confidence in those skills/concepts and for the coaches to evaluate who is most able to utilize them…

It is interesting if you look at the word scrimmage… it does have a definition of engaging in a simulated game; BUT its first definition is a confused struggle or fight. Often, I have witnessed scrimmages that did not appear to be honed skills and concepts, but instead a confused struggle…

In our church world I see a lot of emphasis in our “practices” (small groups, life groups, Sunday school classes, etc.) on teaching/honing our concepts but not a lot of repetition of skills… and definitely not a lot of “scrimmaging.” You may be wondering what in the world I am talking about here…

Much of what we tend to call discipleship is simply sitting in group settings being told what to believe… and then we are “thrown into the game” without the benefit of a “scrimmage” that would help clear up confusion.

No great theological devotion this week… but just a couple practical practice pointers…

In the education, training, counseling world it is common practice to role play… that is simply a “controlled scrimmage.” When I was still teaching Bible in a school setting, I would have days that were called “life labs”; I would give the students real life scenarios I had encountered (with the names changed to protect the innocent) and have the students determine how they would respond… the students seemed to LOVE actually applying things I was teaching…

Another slant on discipleship is our push to do more of an apprenticeship approach… it is time consuming, BUT I believe the best process since it is what Jesus did. He didn’t set up a once-a-week study with His disciples, He said “go with Me… watch what I do… and when I am gone do what I did!”

Bottom line is that although I hate the questions about scrimmages, I must ask, “Are we gonna scrimmage today?”

A great example is that of Barnabas and Paul… after Paul’s conversion the disciples were quite leery of him, but the Scripture records that Barnabas “took him and brought him to the apostles…” (Acts 9:27) The Greek word for “brought” has the idea of Barnabas leading, guiding, and directing Paul. In chapter 11 we again see Barnabas taking the initiative to (lead, guide, and direct) Paul… and to spend a year to work alongside Paul in the church in Antioch. This is where believers were accused of being like Christ when called “Christians.” (vs 25-26)

I am going way longer than I planned, but we need to get a practical practice plan in our approach to discipleship!

January 11, 2021 - Names On Jerseys

I’ve mentioned a few times lately about the years we have spent with these devotions... last week began out 20 year of sharing via this platform... and in March we will, Lord willing, hit the 1000th consecutive week. 

I bring it up again to not only celebrate, but also due to recognizing how often I return to some key foundational truths... 

We will always exalt Christ as the Substitute who played a perfect game in our place... died on a cross on our place... and rose again for our victory... The Ultimate Hangtime! We exalt Him because He is worthy!!!

And I will always charge us, as a coach, to “Do Worthy Work!” Not to gain something, but put our incredible gratitude for His gift of salvation and His worthiness of our honor!!!

“You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4:11‬ 

“as you know how we exhorted,..., and charged every one of you,..., that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭2:11-12‬

Remember that we get on “the Team” based upon what He has done for us! But then, as part of the team, we should play our part... 

I have often highlighted the idea of “walking worthy”... that everything we do (our conduct... our actions... etc) should bring honor... 

But this week I want to highlight something I saw when doing a word study on the word “calls”... the Greek word Kaleo.

In the original language it has layers of meaning... beginning with us being “invited” into this life of honoring Him... YET I think my favorite layer of this word is that one is called “to bear a name”...

Picture it this way:

We get into heaven because we receive Jesus’ righteousness... because He played, died, and rose for us; as if His name is on the back of our jerseys identifying us...

Yet it is also His name on the front of the jersey... because it is Him we play for!

Bring honor to Him with your life!!!

January 4, 2021 - The Guy Is Still A "Cupcake"!

Happy New Year Team… I had the privilege of sharing yesterday at Beach House Church in Daytona Beach Shores, FL; and I think I’ve been able to share there at least (3) 1^st-Sundays-of-the-year. I really believe that New Year’s is a perfect set-up for old coaches to share… 

The month of January is believed to be named after the god Janus… this is the two-headed statue or picture one sees that represents looking back and looking forward… From a New Year’s perspective, it allows for evaluation and for resolution; very similar to the purpose of why a coach goes through game film with a team… to evaluate and resolve/plan to improve. (This is something I have admitted many times that I hated as a player… it was much easier to just forget a bad game, or assume I was good in the game… much harder to face where I fell short… PRIDE IS THE ENEMY OF IMPROVEMENT!)

Romans 12:2 tells us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind…” And therein lies the battle, it is not easy, or quick, changing one’s mind. That takes meditation on, hiding in the heart, studying, etc. (see Psalm 119… see 2 Timothy 2:15… etc.)

Yet, along with this Scriptural admonition for the mind to change, there are also challenges to change how one EATSs… you know the old phrase, “You are what you EAT!”

I have often quoted Bobby Knight who said, “everyone has the will to win, but few have the will to prepare to win.” And he was right, we mean well but change can be hard… it takes time!

There are many variables that are fairly easy to control in our resolutions…

Another old adage in basketball is that the legs are the first thing to go when a player is tired… this is not true, the mind is the first thing to go… when fatigue sets in, it begins by players getting stupid. Therefore, part of successfully carrying out a game plan (resolutions) is found in smart living beforehand…

As I was planning for this devo, the thing that popped in my mind was times as a player, or coach, when we had away games that required a stay at a hotel… inevitably some on the team would decide that being at a hotel meant the night should be spent laughing, playing games (or pranks), or whatever… everything but sleeping right… and the consequences would be dumb play the next day.

I thought of the guy that starts working out at the gym but maintains his cupcake diet… or the guy that gives up his cupcakes but fail to go the gym… the result is the same, the guy is still a “cupcake”!

Anyway, for sake of time, let me get to the New Year’s / New Game challenge: “It is hard to change how one thinks, but not hard to change how one EATs!”

·         Environment: it is easy to make choices on environment… some need the hardcore gym to be encouraged to workout… others need Planet Fitness and their “lunk alarm” to feel more at ease… but bottom line is to put ourselves in places for success.

·         Attractions/Attention: it is easy to change what you are watching/listening to… “junk food” is not just physical stuff but also mental junk! The old adage “GIGO” is a computer phrase that states if you put in Garbage In… you get Garbage Out!

·         Training (for transformation): it takes time to see gains… to transform the mind. We must commit to a steady diet of the Word of God!

Hebrews 12:1: “…let us lay aside every weight (“junk food”) and the sin (‘wrong technique”) that so easily ensnares us….”

This week I encourage you to prioritize how you EAT!