October 8, 2015 - When Pride Overrides Process / Preparation

I was recently observing a basketball workout in which the coach was giving just some basic drills with a competition-twist… in other words, he was telling the players to count how many shots they were making in the minute-long drill and then having them call out to him how many they each hit. So obviously the competitive fires get burning and players want to “win.”

The same is true even if I am doing a clinic for little kids and have them compete…. And yet, I always witness the same thing, pride overriding process/preparation!  What I mean by that, is that players will cut corners and even cheat just to look like they “won.”

Whether it is a shooting drill that calls for using the weak hand and the player ignoring that direction to make more shots; or a dribbling competition that demands a player keep the dribble alive and stay inbounds, only to see players restarting their dribbles and stepping on lines; or even a ball control drill where the coach asks for the player to close his eyes, only to see the squinting to make sure they can keep control… these are all examples where players worry more about that temporary feeling of pride than trusting that the coach is building something in them! We live in a society where we want instant success, and will settle for just the appearance of it… I love sharing a John Wooden maxim that reminds us to “not mistake activity for achievement.” Yes, one may “win” a drill but if not done the way the coach called for, it did not achieve the goal of the drill.

Preparation/process takes time! For instance, people love to talk about John Wooden’s 10 national championships in a 12 year span… but don’t often discuss that the first one came in his 16^th year of coaching at UCLA…

God is at work in your life and wants/plans to use you… but remember it is a process of trusting the Coach! He has even promised in His Word (Philippians 1:6) that “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” In other words, He will complete the process, you can trust Him!

Here’s a great version of Psalm 119:1-8 from The Message:

1 You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.

2 You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.

3 That's right - you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.

4 You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it.

5 Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set;

6 Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel.

7 I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.

8 I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me.

October 1, 2018 - Keep Your Eye On The Ball

In honor of the tie-breaker games in Major League Baseball today, the upcoming MLB playoff series, (and the addition to our InBounds staff of new intern, Trenton Green, who played travel baseball growing up; this week’s devotion brought me back to some childhood memories on the “diamond.”

I know I most often write/talk about hoops, reality is that I spent an equally huge amount of time playing hardball… starting at a very early age I was able to regularly be taught to execute the fundamentals. One area I remember very clearly recall is training in the batter’s box…

I was always pretty big for my age and had a little bit of pop in my bat, but I emphasize a “little bit”! I wasn’t nearly as much of a power hitter as I thought I was… I confess my youthful irrational views for a reason… those irrational views caused me to at times forget the fundamentals at the plate.

I can still hear my coaches’ voices (especially the voice of my dad…) screaming for me to keep my head down and keep my eye on the ball… to stop dropping my shoulder and swinging for the fences (for greatness)! The reality is that I was a pretty good hitter when I stopped looking at where I wanted the ball to go and instead focused on the ball and just made contact! (Often, home run hitters are also leaders in strikeouts… because they take their eye off the ball and look at the fence!)

Over and over I write about things like the Great Commission that gives us a specific mission to make disciples, to teach, and to preach… as we go on our journey. (See Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15) Then there is 1 Corinthians 15:58 reminding us to stay busy at work… the Greek word ergon… with the idea of anything we can accomplish by “hand, art, industry, or mind.” (See BibleStudyTools.com Greek lexicon.)  

Philippians 3:14 tells us to “press on toward the goal”… Most of the time when I here this verse taught the emphasis seems to be on the “goal” but what if the emphasis should instead be on the “press”ing? That word in the Greek has the idea of running swiftly… How we run matters!

Even when Jesus is telling us how to serve Him (Mt 25), He reminds us that is done through “making contact”/serving with others. Jesus used action words like “gave, invited, clothed, visited, etc.” to describe what we should focus on. When He says, “You did it”, He uses a word that means you “produced, constructed, formed, fashioned” in the lives of others. (See the Greek lexicon again...) We serve Him not by looking up but by looking out…

All of this takes me back to the original thought of fundamentals… keeping our “eye on the ball.” Whether it be evangelism or discipleship or service the emphasis is on the process more than the outcome. They are rooted in focusing on the people more than the results… keeping our heads down and doing the fundamentals.

We tend to think in terms of results more than the process. We think in terms of grand numbers as being the measure of success. We focus on the end more than the process. Let me give you a quick Coach-B-Maxim I typed out on my phone yesterday:

Focus on making contact and good things (and sometimes great) will happen…

Focus on making great things happen and you may completely miss making contact!