August 28, 2023 - WE ARE NOT ON GOD'S TEAM TO BE BENCHWARMERS!

As I write this week, I must confess I am a bit overwhelmed as I prep for a HUGE trip… It is not uncommon for me to get a bit amped up when our trips approach as I simply am trying to make sure everything is lined up… that I am fully prepared. (In spite of the realization that being prepared is often a illusion… thus our number one rule of missions: Be dogmatically committed to flexibility!)+-

But the bottom line is that I’m getting off the bench and in the game!

I think I have shared this story in the past, but I remember many years ago when I was coaching a 5^th/6^th grade girls team so I could spend more time around my daughter… during the first game of the year I turned to a young lady to put her in the game and her eyes immediately welled up with tears… she was nervous and felt unsure of the preparation we had put in. Shortly after that, a friend of hers who was also a first year player, looked at her and stated, “I’ll go in if you will go in.” The young lady went in and ended up loving basketball and playing all the way through her high school career! I wasn’t angry as a coach at the initial refusal as I understood I was dealing with a 5^th grader that simply needed to gain confidence. (In fact, one of the reasons I was putting her in the game was to instill some confidence.)

That is a positive story of “refusing the coach’s direction”; on a negative side, in the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Chicago Bulls’ Scottie Pippen was given direction from Coach Jackson in the final seconds of a playoff game against the New York Knicks. Scottie did not like the role he was given in the play, (probably because he wasn’t called on to be the hero), and he refused to take the floor. The player that was designed to take the winning shot did so successfully and in the immediate aftermath, it didn’t appear that Pippen’s refusal hurt the team… BUT IT DID!

Stories are even shared of a player crying afterwards in his frustration. The Bulls offense was designed in a way to be reliant upon all the parts, so when any part was missing the results were negative to the team. Jackson was interviewed about the incident after the game and he stated, “Everything we stood for had gone. In one moment, everything had changed.”

Christianity is a team-sport! God has designed for us to work together as one… as a body… as a team.

So what role is God calling you to play? Are you lacking confidence, thus staying on the bench?… Are you unhappy with that role and ignoring it? I will tell you this, if the Coach (God) is calling you to do it, then He knows you have something the team needs or there is something you need in your growth as a “player.

How has God gifted you? He intends for you to be in the game, not on the bench! Is He calling you to be the one taking a shot? Is he calling you to set up someone to take a shot? (Much of a team offense is dependent upon players willing to set up the score! In ministry this can be done by those willing to do the behind the scenes things… or maybe those willing to schedule the opportunities… or maybe when God calls folks to financially support a work…)

WE ARE NOT ON GOD’S TEAM TO BE BENCH WARMERS!

As each one of you has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10)

August 21, 2023 - BE INTENTIONAL BY BEING ATTENTIONAL!

A topic I have written about in the past is “Game Management” or “Clock Management” --- or event to the point of “Down Management” --- with the idea of playing to win each down. By that I was simply teaching that each snap of the ball matters… one can’t focus on the play before or the play after… the job has to be done in the now…

I though about this over the past week as I have had the opportunity to pour into some young men… to encourage them about the choices they make in life. The reality is that most of us waste a lot of time… more importantly, we waste a lot of opportunities!

Just like in a game, I want to learn to be more intentional by being more attentional (yes, that is a word, I looked it up.) There needs to be an attention to details to make the right “plays.”

Ephesians 5:16 states that the wise man will be “redeeming the time…” (Intentional) This comes what verse 15 commands… to “walk circumspectly.” (Attentional)

The other thing that prompted me to this point is the reminders of life’s fleeting status… it truly flies by and we need to take advantage of what opportunities we have. One of those reminders came from my dear friend Freddie Coile, who is battling brain cancer, yet is still not only preaching and doing his podcast but also still actively sharing the Gospel! And in his last podcast I sensed even a sweeter spirit about wanting to take advantage of time! (You should check out Focus on the Bible… Instagram = focus_pod)

The other was a sweet poem I read this morning… written by another dear friend that has been in a cancer battle… (that c-word tends to make us think about time!) Her name is Chela, and her testimony and smile throughout this battle is only understandable through the hope found in Jesus… the confidence found in God’s grace… the urgency found in “redeeming the time”…

The Thing About Life (Chela Armstrong)

A moment, an hour, a day, a year.

The clock strikes crescendo within my ear.

I’ve traveled, I’ve attained, I’ve accomplished success.

Yet the question remains, is it all meaningless?

Have you anything to show of the time that was spent?

The days, they would blend as they came and they went.

Regrets, are they heavy? Is there something undone?

What’s the purpose of life under the sun?

The thing I find curious; we live without thought.

Innumerable pleasures! What else have I sought?

Am i walking with Jesus? Am I holding His hand?

Do I give up the intimacy for other demands.

“There’s always tomorrow” but is that really true?

What is there to offer when I finally see you?

Will I cast any crowns as I worship your name?

Or will smoke fill your nostrils as I stand there ashamed?

Help me learn from the waste. Redeem what was lost.

I want to lean in, no matter the cost!

I press towards my goal of that heavenly prize.

I know it is worth it to look into your eyes

To hear your kind voice as all else is destroyed.

Well done, my daughter, now enter my joy!

BE INTENTIONAL BY BEING ATTENTIONAL!

August 14, 2023 - Coach's Favorite (Teacher's Pet)

Have you ever come across a situation where the coach had “favorites”… Or maybe it was a teacher that had “pets”… maybe a parent that had a favorite kid…?

That tends to be used in a negative way, and at times can be (if the favoritism is based upon nepotism or cronyism) but that is usually not the case. Bottom line is that favorites, most-often are in that position because of how they have conducted themselves. Things like work ethic, punctuality, attitude can all lead to a favorite-status…

My favorite players to coach were not always the most talented on the team, but I will say that often the most talented got that way by work ethic, attitude, etc.  Therefore, it may be that the star of the team is the favorite of the coach…

Proverbs 14:35 The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him who causes shame.

The idea of a “wise servant” is one that is prudent, circumspect, and even the idea of one that causes to prosper… BUT the alternative is the one that “causes shame.”

Be the “player” that the Coach can depend on to make right choices and make a difference for the team!

I label teaching I do from the letter to the Colossians as “Coaching from Colossians.” The letter deals so heavily with having the right mindset… and in chapter 1 Paul writes this:

¹⁰…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…

I hope and pray you desire to be a Coach’s Favorite…

August 7, 2023 - The Coach Has Called You Into The Game

Years ago, I was coaching a young girls’ basketball team (5^th/6^th grade) and had a few girls that had never played before. I remember in the first game I coached them as I turned to one of the girls and asked if she was ready to go in… tears welled up in her eyes and she couldn’t get out any words… I’m sure there was some embarrassment, a lot of fear (of going in and of answering no to me), etc. I immediately let her know that it was ok, and we would send her in when she was willing.

The reality is that the young lady was equipped to go in the game… I wasn’t asking more of her than she had been prepared for in our practices… and during the practices she absolutely felt that she was willing to go in the game when called upon… but when it came time, she initially chose the bench over getting in the game…

This is on my mind after preaching yesterday and dealing with the reality that most Christians say they are “willing” to do what God ask… they will sound spiritual by even quoiting Isaiah, “Here am I; send me…” (Isaiah 6:8) And then they wait for some big extraordinary calling, and then often find excuses to ignore those or reason them away.

Can I just remind us this week that the coach is usually not sending us in the game for something extraordinary… but simply to play our position and help the team. The Coach has called us off the bench… it is not a question of “if” He calls…

We sit under Biblical (Playbook) teaching, not to make us willing, but to make us ready to be working (doing)! The Scriptures are given to make “equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:17)

Yesterday’s message involved looking at many areas that God has called us off the bench to make a difference in the game… remember the commands are not to be willing to go… but to go!

Cool side note: The young lady mentioned in the start of this game plan eventually went into the game because she had a caring teammate that offered to go in with her… she entered the game and did very well… had a good season… and many years later had completed a high school career that even included a school rebounding record… FIND SOMEONE YOU CAN ENCOURAGE TO GET IN THE GAME! (“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24)