May 31, 2021 - Are you a sought-after teammate?

Last week we talked about the idea of working hard for the good of the team… in fact we ended with the following admonition: Make the team you play for better!

(And I remind you that we emphasized that “work” is not to gain salvation… is not just [not sinning]… but is found in serving others!)

Years ago, I wrote about the importance of character… I shared the way Tony Dungy would classify some of those that they evaluated as “DNDC” (Do Not Draft because of Character.) Simply put, they were looking for more than just physical talent… they were looking to build the team!

Without totally re-teaching the past devos, I want to simply ask, what kind of player are you… are you one that I striving to make the team better? And maybe more revealing are others wanting you around?

I found the following quote I read this week very telling… Trevor Lawrence (rookie quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars) was discussing Tim Tebow’s attempt to make the team as a tight end. Trevor had the following to say about Tim, “He’s just a guy that you want to be around. Character is awesome… No one is going to work harder than him. Those are the kind of guys you want in your locker room and you want to be around every day…”

High character and high work ethic!

I immediately thought of Acts 11:25-26 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Paul. And when he and found him, he brought him to Antioch.

Barnabas knew that Paul was the kind of guy he wanted on the team! And I find it interesting that in Acts 15 they had an argument over John Mark being part of the team… because in Acts 13 John Mark had deserted the team… meaning Paul questioned John Mark’s character and work ethic.

Are you a sought-after teammate?

May 24, 2021 - Make The Team You Play For Better!

For the past few years, I have not spent time pacing up and down the sidelines during games but instead have concentrated on our Total Player Academy outreach (camps/clinics, individual training, etc.) I am working with individuals that are trying to get better… to get to the next level. Maybe it is more playing time… or a starting role… or quite possibly dreams of a starring role that drives the players. So, my job is to help players reach their goals… and sometimes to redefine their goals. The Total Player Academy starts from the premise that who we are spiritually is the foundation of being a great player… on and off the court! 

This could lend itself to many of our weekly devotional “game plans”, but I am going to attempt to condense it 2 basic principles for this week…

When it comes to getting better there is no substitute for HARD WORK. I talk to athletes about the need to “invest”… to put the work into their “banks” so it is there at to “withdraw” at game time. But I also talk about something that I think is even more important… what MOTIVATES the athlete to get better? How will the individual respond when climbing the mountain gets difficult, or maybe even when there is a change in the path?

I loved a way I saw these principles shared in a recent article I was reading… I think it was a story on ESPN.com; it was about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts. I have loved watching Jalen’s career… a starring role at Alabama and then relegated to the bench behind a new hotshot QB… then transferring to Oklahoma and starring there… only to move on to the NFL and be relegated back to the bench… then back into a starting position for a few games… and through it all with critics stating he is simply not good enough. And now many project him to be the starter this season, but with many questions. I copied and pasted a quote in the article where Jalen states the following:

“…I know… all those different values and principles that we’re trying to instill here in Philly, no one is above that and everybody has to go to work. So for me, I know rent is due every day. It’s always been that way for me… and when that rent is due, I don’t plan on missing no payments.”

I think it is interesting that Jalen uses the word “rent.” He has an understanding that the goals of the team are dependent upon individual investment; he wants to be his best for the good of the team!

Let me shift gears to the spiritual principles I think we find here…

HARD WORK: we are called to “work” in Scripture… in fact there are references to athletes training, farmers tilling, soldiers enduring hardship, etc. (See 2 Timothy 2:3-6) We are told that we are “created for good works.” (See Ephesians 2:10) [Remember we don’t work for salvation, Ephesians 2:8-9, but because of salvation]

Sometimes I think that believers mistake smart living as good works… good works is not (not sinning)… good works is found in serving God by serving others!

MOTIVATION: If we are motivated just by what we can get out of our training, then eventually we are satisfied or discouraged… but if our motivation is found in honoring/serving God (doing all we do, word or deed, as unto Him… Colossians 3:17, 23) then it will be exhibited in being the best we can be for good of the team! (Remember Jesus said we serve Him by serving others… Matthew 25:40.)

I loved a passage that our pastor shared yesterday… when Joseph was facing his brothers, (who had wronged him and were terrified that their brother, who is now powerful and in a starring role) would get even with them, he made the following statement:

Genesis 50:19-20 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…”

It is easy to kind of tail off in one’s thinking there and think Joseph is teaching about his personal gain… that God made things good for him as an “individual player”… and it is easy to forget that he had 13 years of setbacks. Yet, if we go a bit further in the passage we see that the good that MOTIVATED Joseph was not his personal gain, but the good of the team…

20b “but God meant it for good… to save many people.”

Being one’s best for God demands a team-first attitude… being willing to sacrifice oneself to HARD WORK and even trials and tribulations for the good of others.

Make the team you play for better!

May 17, 2021 - Confidence Leads To Being Calm and Ready

When teaching/coaching basketball, one of the key areas is ballhandling. It is vitally important to teach a player the value of each possession… that the ball is “gold.” Therefore, when I am teaching ballhandling, I not only do the traditional drills, but I also put players in adverse positions/situations to be more realistic to the game… the ball does not always bounce straight! I have them 

Basically, I want players with the great ballhandling skills… I love to see the ability to go between the legs and behind the back… the do great “Maravich Dribble” crossovers… etc. BUT I also am adamant about not over-dribbling… being under control… calm… knowing the ability is there when needed!

The negative of having great skills is the natural desire to show them off. I can remember many times as a coach, where a player on the opposing team was demonstrating his impressive ballhandling ability, and I would yell to my player that was guarding him, “Let him dance!”

The opposing player did have high ability but not high basketball IQ. The player failed to understand that the purpose of skills is to help one get to the goal… and that use of those skills when not needed is wasted movement and risky… (since a higher degree of difficulty creates a higher percentage of mistakes.)

Obviously, I am not teaching basketball in this blog… BUT the reality is that our human pride drives us in every area of life to want to “show off” a bit with our mental “skills.” And in our “goal” in Christianity to share the Gospel with others, we at times spend too much time sharing our wealth of knowledge while the world is just sitting back letting us “dance.” Our knowledge/words should be used to create openings to the “goal!” This leads to confidence and living under control… being calm and ready!

The Proverbs have some cool stuff to say about this… in chapter 17:

27 He who restrains his words has knowledge (wisdom), And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. 28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. (NASB)

Here’s how Eugene Peterson put it in The Message:

27 The one who knows much says little; an understanding person remains calm.

May 10, 2021 - Sending Players Into The Game

Being a coach/leader/parent requires extra responsibility… not only are there personal duties that need to be performed, but also personnel duties that need to be directed/overseen…

Psychology tells us that only around 10% of people are going to (see the need and fill the need) without being told to do so… and then around 10% of people simply are going to do nothing… which leaves 80% of the population somewhere on the scale of how much prodding/encouragement is needed to get the job done. And then there is the 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle) that states that 80% of your productivity (work) is going to come from 20% of your source (volunteers)… and many believe that should actually be more like 90/10.

In a recent meeting I was in, we were discussing getting people involved. I took a coach’s approach in stating that we needed to be very intentional in calling players off the bench and sending them into the game to fill a position. Yet another person in the meeting stated he thought we should just let folks know there are openings/needs and not “push” them.

I fully understand the heart behind that sentiment but see a couple issues…

First, what we know to be true about humanity is that some are ready to “check into the game” and others are reluctant to. Maybe they are just not feeling needed or valued… or maybe scared and don’t trust their abilities… Many NEED to not only be given direction but also an encouraging-(I believe in you)-nudge…

Second, even if that would work in raising up volunteers, it still doesn’t give clear direction. Can you imagine if I just gave a general call to my bench and said, “whoever wants to go in, check in, and play where you want…”? I’d have little guys taking the place of big guys… guys that can’t shoot filling roles of a shooter… I think you get my point.

There is a reason we have leaders… they should go first in the work (be on the horse in front) and also have to give direction / a game plan!

The book of Nehemiah shares a story of great teamwork, where each person and tribe played their roles. Look at the words in these couple of verses (13-14) in Nehemiah chapter 4 concerning Nehemiah’s role:

“Therefore, I POSITIONED men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I SET the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I LOOKED, and AROSE and SAID to the people…”

POSITIONED & SET: A leader places or appoints folks in their place of service and with their best squad…

LOOKED: A leader is aware and creates vision…

AROSE: A leader doesn’t stay on a chair… takes the place of decision making…

SAID: A leader gives clear direction and encouragement…

I know from experience, a player loves for the coach to call his number and give him a task… Leaders, start being intentional in getting folks “in the game.” You can’t be a good leader without giving direction…

May 3, 2021 - Get Off Your Butt!

Today I was talking to a young man I am training in basketball… one of the things I have my students do is to fill out a profile with perceived strengths and weaknesses… and also goals. It gives me a chance to not only devise a plan, but also to challenge trainees using their own words. 

This particular young man has basketball goals of more playing time; and as I pried a bit about his work habits on the court this past week, he admitted to more time on a basketball video game than on the actual court. I went as far as having him guesstimate the time he had spent practicing or playing basketball and punched it into my calculator to give him the percentage of time he had “invested” in his goals… let’s just say he looked a bit uncomfortable as he was faced with reality.

One of my Coach Burden Maxims is as follows: I can accept someone being better than me. But I can’t accept someone working harder than me! -OR- me not being better than I was yesterday!

The key to reaching goals is growth!

On those player profiles I ask not just about athletics but also about social… school… family… etc. Like with the sport, I ask for strengths, weaknesses and goals… And I didn’t stop at asking about court time with the young man, but also time in the Word this week, as he had stated a desire/goal to grow deeper in the Scriptures. I was thankful for his honesty, but again had to point out the shortcomings of his “investment.”

Bottom line is that most believers do not place an emphasis on growing stronger daily. Spiritually speaking, (which I am convinced ultimately affects every other area of your life), are you better today than you were yesterday?

The writer of Hebrews was willing to get up in our business like a stern coach… Chapter 5 says ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Did you see the word “unskilled”? Too many believers aren’t putting in the work to be “skilled” in the Word… Verse 14 tells us what we need to do to be skilled… check out the terms the NASB version of the Playbook uses: ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.

“Because of practice”… are “trained”…

Are you, am I, better today that we were yesterday? If not let’s get off our butts and get to work!