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!