September 27, 2021 - What gets your attention?

“What gets our attention gets our affection.” Matt Brooks, LifePoint Church 

That phrase was shared yesterday during a sermon, and I immediately thought of how it relates to basketball… (I know that is strange but after close to 20 years of doing these weekly devotions, my mind seems to always go to athletic analogies…) It was a reminder that we can see someone’s motivation based upon where their attention is directed.

I actually had many stories from the past pop to mind, too many to actually share… but I will give a good example of the thoughts that were triggered… I thought of guys that I played ball with in the past, that obviously were more attentive to their individual success and stat lines than the team’s success; and the team’s success was only a way to bolster their individual reputations. These were guys that were truly ok with the team losing as long as they looked good. These were guys that rushed to the scorebook following games to confirm that their stats matched what they were keeping up with in their heads. (It is not surprising if a guy that is not a big scorer is aware that he only scored one or two buckets in a game, but a bit unsettling when a volume scorer has kept up with making 10 or 15 shots…)

These were guys that forgot “there is no ‘I’ in team”… and love the joke but ‘there is an ‘I’ in “win”!

Don’t get me wrong, we need high-volume scorers… we need individuals to do their jobs (what they are good at)… so the “I” doing his job does matter… BUT the motivation is the issue…

Romans 12 tells us to play our individual role on the team… it begins a long section of Romans that tells how to do that. Verses 3-8 remind us that we each have unique abilities and positions on the team. Then verse 9 begins with: “Let love be without hypocrisy...”

I talked to my dear friend Grant Hawley, who is my go-to guy for handling the original languages of Scripture, and he explained that the phrase is really just 2 words in the Greek… something along the lines of Love Genuinely or Authentically… he went on to say that it is called a Pendant Nominative in the Greek language and serves as somewhat of a heading to the section to follow… which happens to go all of the way into chapter 15 telling us how to be genuine in our love… how we can be motivate by a team-first mentality instead of a me-first mentality. (What do I bring to the team… not what does the team bring to me.)

Obviously, my goal here is not just centered on sports teams… but on the church! And by that I do not mean just the Sunday morning gathering, but the life-team you belong to… what are you bringing to the team? How are you playing your position? Do you focus on loving others, or is there a hypocritical/selfish motivation to what you do?

Let’s focus on the team!!!

September 20, 2021 - Own Your Space (Part 2)

I was reminded yesterday of many years ago when I was sitting in on an open gym run for some high school players (and probably wrote about it in these weekly postings)… my good friend and GREAT coach (Coach Mike Gurley) was overseeing the scrimmage and showed me why he has been so successful over the years. During the scrimmage, he was not teaching plays or running drills, he was simply encouraging and clearly communicating… 

By “clearly communicating” I am not referring to the x’s and o’s of where guys should be cutting or setting a pick or making a pass… those things would come later when he was actually conducting practices… but he was clearly defining players’ roles and making sure they knew he was on their side!

The particular play that popped into my mind was of a young man that was very gifted with speed and power; he had blown by his defender and hit a lay-up, to which Coach G exclaimed his pleasure and his “vision” for this young man. He (the coach) loudly shared his approval of the shot, and then reminded the player that he was to only shoot shots like that because he wasn’t good shooting from outside. That sounds harsh but it was the truth of how the young man would best benefit the team. (And following the reminder of the player’s role, Coach yelled, “You know I love ya!”

The reality is that great teams are made up of players that understand and execute their roles. Defining roles motivates players to “own their roles” and take more responsibility… and in the event they don’t like their roles, to have a clear picture of that they need to do to change that; and a clear picture of how the team is to work together. Clarity breeds unity!

Romans 12:6a says this, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…” I love a line from how Eugene Peterson worded it in The Message: “let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”

My pastor said it this way yesterday when teaching from Romans 12: “Find your lane” He went on to then encourage us to get moving in those “lanes.”

Each of us should be diligent to know our gifting(s) and how we are designed to benefit the team! In my time of coaching, I often talked about not just taking up space but “owning your space” (both offensively and defensively.) [I wrote about this concept a couple years ago: I often tell players to “own their space.” I explain that the game is about “owning real estate”; beating the opponent to the spot he wants when playing “D”… or getting to the spot you want when on offense. June 2019]

So, this week’s bottom line is a reminder to OWN YOUR SPACE!

September 13, 2021 - Are You Willing To Lose Your Cookies

Over my years of coaching, I loved having those players that were “game changers”… difference-makers… players that would infuse energy when needed… players that always brought maximum effort and intensity. These were not always the most athletic or the most skilled… but were probably leading the team in deflections and diving on the floor to recover loose balls. These were truly the players where the team was the priority. (I’m picturing many, many years ago when John Sperling would run out the end doors of the Faith Heritage Christian School gym to puke, and then right back onto the floor to finish his conditioning sprints… sacrificing personal comfort for the good of the team!) 

In our ministry I often use the phrase “go MAD” to encourage “players” to Make A Difference… when challenging youth I often remind them to be “thermostats” instead of “thermometers”… bottom line is that we are to not be sitting idly by…

A very common passage I share from has a command to “consider one another” (fix our eyes upon one another… the team) "in order to [paroxusmos]” (Greek word - which is translated in various ways in different translations; some of these are: stir up, stimulate, motivate, spur, provoke…) “love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24)

We are charged to be very intentional in serving the team… are you willing to “run out the end doors of the gym and lose your cookies” for the sake of the good of the team? Our church experience is not intended to be just about what the church can do for us… but more about what we can do for the church!

September 6, 2021 - In The Race For Lost Souls

As I sent some time today preparing for a devotion I get to share tomorrow at an FCA meeting… I was reminded of a very basic truth that needs to challenge us… I’ll get to that shortly… 

I love that I get to utilize the sports platform to proclaim God’s truth! Tomorrow it is an FCA meeting… in a few weeks I get to share on Sports Missions at the Free Grace Alliance International Conference… I weekly train some young men in hoops, while mixing in devotions… I get to share these weekly devotions from a sports platform… etc. I also love the Scriptures have so many athletic references!

As I started my notes for tomorrow, I found myself in a familiar passage, 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul talks of “winning” people to the Lord… in fact he shares that his entire approach to life is that he might “by all means save some… all for the sake of the Gospel.” (vss. 22-23)

I plan tomorrow morning to use this passage as the backdrop of my testimony as to why and how we can use sports “for the Gospel’s sake...” Yet, then in my studies, while reading a verse that I have taught many-many times, is an incredible challenge!

Before I share this challenge, let me ask you… has there been a time where you accepted Christ as your Substitute… where you put your trust (faith) in His finished work on your behalf? Christ’s death and resurrection not only paid the price for your sin, but also gave you eternal life… this life began when you believed in Him… and it granted you a place in God’s family… on His team… in His race! (See Ephesians 2:19)

And in 1 Corinthians 9:24 Paul asks a very simple question: “Do you not know that those in a race all run…” He then goes on to challenge us on the fact that we should be committed to win… But win what? 

In this passage, Paul has already expressed clearly the goal… the mission… win people! Live for the Gospel’s sake!

If you are a believer and reading this, YOU ARE IN THE RACE FOR LOST SOULS… how are you running? Is the Gospel a priority in your life? Note: I didn’t ask if you are thankful for the Gospel… I asked if it is a priority… where you are actively trying to win people?