November 27, 2023 - The Design of the Game (Part 3: Biblical Coaches are Decisive and Deliver!)

The last few days have reminded me of an important truth… I’ll set the stage, as usual, with some news from the wide world of sports…

The past couple of weeks, I have noticed the firing of many football coaches. Most of them involved support staff / assistant coaches that were deemed to not be getting the job done.  And a few cases involved head coaches getting axed… (Frank Reich got fired from the Carolina Panthers after just 11 games as their head coach…)

I want to focus for just a moment on the assistants getting fired. Say it was an offensive coordinator… this guy is getting axed due to decisions he was making that players were not executing well. The problem is that ultimately the head coach still had to approve of what the OC was doing, yet not held responsible. There is the old phrase, “The Buck Stops Here!” Good leadership requires an understanding of where the buck stops…

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in plurality of leadership for wisdom and direction, but at some point someone has to be responsible… This came to mind over the past couple of days that I spent in a hospital. Let’s just say there was a lot of frustration on the customer service and communication side of things… frustration that easily could have been directed at nurses and support staff, even though it was about things in which they had no authority. And then when I did talk with some brilliant, well-trained specialists in their respective fields, I was told over and over again that they didn’t have the authority to discharge me. Each time a high level member of the team said things like, “I’m good with you going home as long as so-and-so signs off on it.” When working with my nurse this afternoon he stated that I was “discharged if…” and then read stipulations of approval from these different doctors. The nurse simply stated that discharging me was above his pay-grade. Eventually he got each member of the physician coaching staff to answer the “if questions.”

When there is not a clear leader, it is hard to get things accomplished in a timely manner. “Ifs” are not good leadership strategies. (In honor of the season I’ll remind us how Don Meredith answered Howard Cosell in an interview in December of 1970: “if ifs ands and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a merry CHRISTmas!”)

We have been talking the past few weeks about The Design of the Game… How God intended for Team Jesus to play the game. This week the plan is to talk about strong, decisive coaching/leadership. Decisions are made based upon either the methodology and/or the message…

Well The Playbook (Bible) gives us many leadership lessons… In Ephesians 4 it says: Verse 15b… we should "…grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ –"!

I realize that it sounds like I am just being spiritual in talking about the headship of Christ… but this statement was preceded by the how to in doing this, by being grounded in the decisiveness of the Scriptures as the Word of the Head of the church… that we would “no longer  be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting… (Verse 14)

So the first rule of leadership, be it a church… a home… a team… etc., is that ultimately the buck stops at Jesus and His word! When ifs ands and buts carry us away from His truth we are in trouble!

And as for the decision making of leadership, the Head (Jesus) is clear… “But let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’, ‘no’. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37)

And before you think this is just about the words we speak, this is Jesus following up the command to “perform your oaths to the Lord.” (Matthew 5:34) That word “perform” literally means to deliver…

In Biblical leadership “the buck stops” with Jesus and His word!

In Biblical leadership, leaders are decisive and deliver!

November 20, 2023 - The Design of the Game (Part 2: Play Fast or Play Slow...)

Last week I shared what I called part 1 of The Design of the Game… it had a byline of to “Attend with Attention!” Shortly after writing that Game Plan, I was listening to a podcast and the guest had played D1 hoops in college and followed it up with a stint as a Navy Seal… when asked for a great nugget of truth he shared that he had been challenged to “pay attention to what you are paying attention to.” This challenge is based off the studies that show we have up to 70,000 thoughts per day… that is the highest number I found… and the numbers varied greatly… BUT all of the “science” seemed to agree that for most people up to 95% of thoughts are simply repetitive… and typically 80% are negative… So the goal of paying attention is to get our minds to think on the right things!

Colossians 3:1-2 If then you were raised with Christ, SEEK those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. SET your minds on things above, not on things on the earth.

Last week we looked at the mental challenge to be attentive to our teammates! The idea the “game” is designed as a team sport… and I even emphasized that it is not a solo sport. This is true AND YET it is also true that there is a responsibility to pay attention to how we are playing as an individual. After all, the team is a make-up of individuals supplying their parts… The passage in Colossians I just cited gives a different challenge on our ATTENTION… one that says it does matter how you play the game as an individual…

I often hear people comparing styles of basketball teams/players… the arguments center around style. (I hear arguments about churches that center on the same thing… style.) In hoops some like teams/plaers that play fast… some prefer teams/players that shoot the three… some prefer a slowed down offense that pounds the ball into the paint. (In churches I hear the arguments of what type of music is played… on how casual vs formal people dress… etc.)

In the early 90’s a new “style” appeared in the marketplace… And1 Basketball emerged and was super exciting! BUT those players/teams were not only had a different style, they also played a different game… the basic foundational rules of the game were thrown out the window… there was no concern with travel or double dribble or carrying the ball. It was “streetball” not “basketball” But due to its popularity it melted into the actual basketball scene where often times today you hear old guys ruing the downfall of basketball…

I remember years ago when I was asked to co-direct a basketball clinic with an old time coach… as the bhoys were warming up in a lay-up line, this guys went off on them dribbling between their legs and doing finger-rolls; YET I loved it and encouraged it… when I train players I love to not only see, but encourage players to bring their personality and style to the court. BUT… the older coach and I were in agreement that in order to be successful in the game, this must be done without breaking the rules. (I could appreciate the old coach’s style… but he didn’t like mine at all!)

I could go on and on about these ideas… but in the idea of how the game is designed for the church as a whole and as individuals… I encourage that methodology can be ever-changing… but the message is never-changing!

The Apostle Paul wrote much about our freedom to play the game… and in doing so he also reminded us to pay attention to what we are paying attention to… in the verses of Colossians 3 that follow there is a challenge to the individual believer/player. The passage is not about style but instead about substance. It is a challenge/command to play the game the way it was designed to be played!

Galatians 5:13a For you, brethren, have been called to liberty (freedom); THIS IS A STYLE STATEMENT… PLAY THE GAME FREE!

Galatians 5:13b only do not use liberty (freedom) as an opportunity for the flesh…; THIS IS A SUBSTANCE STATEMENT… WE ARE STILL DESIGNED TO HONOR THE RULES OF THE GAME!

Play fast or play slow… let the shots fly from deep or pound it to the post… dribble between your legs or stay very basic… but do these things without traveling, double dribbling, carrying the ball… fouling… etc. Play the game the way it was designed to be played!

November 13, 2023 - The Design of the Game (Part 1: ATTEND WITH ATTENTION!)

I was reminded last night of a game I was in back in high school… it is one I think I have written about in the past during these Game Plans, yet one worthy of using again as an example…

It was the ‘81/’82 season, and we had a game against another small Christian school… we did not have a great team… but neither did they. They were not very athletic… and honestly, not very well coached. Our coach utilized some very simple action off high screens and picks… action which got the opponents in a ton of foul trouble. And their coach, for some reason did not explain to them how to go under or over the pick or screen… leading to many of their players fouling out. They ended up with not enough guys on the court to compete…

You see, In order to compete in a game that was designed to have 5 against 5, it is greatly helpful to be able to put 5 guys on the floor…

You see, I loved suiting up for games… even tough there were times I didn’t like all my teammates a whole lot… some of my teammates were pretty good… some not so good… some thought they were good. There were times I didn't like the style of basketball we were playing or how I was being used as a player… didn’t see eye to eye with my coach… but I loved suiting up for games! And to be a part of a game that was designed for 5v5 action, I was totally dependent on having teammates!

This came to mind while watching the Jesus Revolution movie, and one of the scenes showed “Greg Laurie” sitting outside of the meeting tent by himself… when a reporter from Time Magazine askes him what he is doing out there, “Laurie” responds, “I fell like worshipping alone.” In the story “Laurie” had been hurt and let down by others… wasn’t very happy with his “teammates.”

(Recent surveys show that over 56% of Americans attend church infrequently or never at all. Since the pandemic I have heard many say that they prefer to “worship alone.”)

The reporter responds to “Laurie”: “I’m no expert, but I don’t think that’s how this thing works.”

This thing called Christianity is not designed to be a “solo sport”!

This is part 1 of some Game Plans I’m calling The Design of the Game… so a very basic first reminder is the importance of attending…

Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some…

Yet I also want to challenge those that “attend” without attention… a preface to the command to assemble as the team, is the command to “consider one another,” (v 24) a command to be attentive to others and to be the best teammate you can be to them… so if your reason for not suiting up with the team is a complaint about what the team has done for you, maybe a better question is what have you done for the team? DON’T ATTEND WITHOUT ATTENTION!

The ”game” is designed as a team sport!

November 6, 2023 - When I Grow Up I want To Be.... AVERAGE???

I think it was around 15 years ago when Monster.com came up with a hilarious commercial… it included numerous kids completing the statement: When I grow up _______________...

My world revolves around being a coach… a motivator… an equipper; all these things work around the question of what one hopes the future looks like. Maybe it is a short-term goal of what the next game looks like… or the longer view of what a season will look like… and even longer view of what a career might look like.

The commercial was so funny because it centered around kids “setting the bar” in such a way that they are content with mediocrity. Some of the answers in the script were… “I want to file all day” … “I want to climb my way all the way up to middle management” … “to be a yes-man” …

The last few weeks on these Game Plans for Life, I have talked about “raising the bar” and being “obsessed” like a “gym rat.” Since that time there have been numerous more reminders that we tend to “set the bar” way too low as believers. On the positive side, have heard some solid messages from our previous church home, LifePoint Church, during their current series called “Suit Up.” In it there has been an emphasis on a higher pursuit… and in the bumper video there is a quote from a Nick Saban speech… I looked up the speech and Saban said the following:

“Mediocre people don’t like high achievers and high achievers don’t like mediocre people.” Saban is discussing building a championship culture… he went on to state that during spring football he is simply trying to make sure they get “the right guys on the bus… and the wrong guys off the bus.” He talked of a culture where everyone “buys in… to the same principles… value the organization to the same high standards…”

I stated there were a few things that keep this thing going… I have also dealt with Christian folks recently that have talked negative about a Christian that expressed high standards / convictions. The complaint was that the Christian with high standards was unreasonable, that it was “too much.” In fact, there is typically more of a backlash to high standards than low ones in church and Christian school circles.

I remember one young lady that came to a Christian school I worked at when she was in 10^th grade.  She was fired up about serving the Lord… she valued the Head of the organization… This young lady would eventually become a missionary and has served the Lord faithfully, and to a high standard, throughout her life. Yet she left our Christian school after one year because she said she got more backlash/persecution at the Christian school than at the public school she had gone to. WHAT A SHAME!

When we received ETERNAL LIFE, we received not only quantity of time but also quality of time… the Greek word for LIFE carries the idea of “absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical,… A life ACTIVE and VIGOROUS, DEVOTED to GOD, BLESSED…”

When John 3:16 promises ETERNAL LIFE to those that believe… it promises not only a pardon from sin and life everlasting, BUT ALSO a life that can “BUY IN” to a whole new beautiful culture.

And this includes many passages urging us to pursue excellence… to avoid mediocrity… to despise the idea of just being average… to be high achievers…

“THEREFORE, (because of our Heavenly inheritance), GIRD UP the loins of your mind, be sober,… not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, BUT as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:13-16)

I would say there is a higher standard in the organization that we should all be striving for… (and make sure you have the right people on the bus in your inner circles)!

When I grow up I want to be a spiritual giant!