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September 20, 2010
Set:
No matter where we are in the coaching ranks of our team or sport, there are times when we are called upon to step up to the next level. This call can be both a source of excitement and great fear. Will I succeed in this new challenge? Will I lead the team to a winning season? Will God be glorified if I accept this new position?
Joshua surely asked questions like these and many more besides. He was a faithful man, a type of assistant coach over the Israelites under the direction of Moses. When Moses died, Joshua had to step up and lead God’s people. Needless to say, this was a daunting challenge because the Promised Land was yet to be conquered. So God eased his fears with some encouraging commands.
October 10, 2010
Set:
In 1979, as a Christian follower for fourteen years, I awoke to find my world crumbling. I had tried to be a good coach, a good provider, a sharing Christian, a church deacon, and a well-conditioned athlete. But I learned a great lesson that day. Sometimes I can be doing God’s work and not God’s will! I had been trying to do God’s work, but His will was for me to love my wife more.
I turned to my Bible and immediately turned to the verse above, 2 Timothy 3:1–5. I knew this was written for me. Immediately I read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in order to know Jesus and His words. I said, “If I was an apostle with Jesus in His time—what would I have thought?”
July 27, 2011
Set:
I recently had the "pleasure" of running my 3rd 5K. A good friend of mine was also running the race, and at the beginning, I decided I was going to try and keep her pace since we have similar times. I soon realized her pace was a bit faster than mine, so I then decided I would make sure to keep her in my sights. This worked out great for a while and I kept pushing along, making good time (for me, at least). We then got to a weird turn and suddenly I didn't see her anymore. My pusher had disappeared, and it made me feel a little lost and like I wasn't going to be able to finish.
August 22, 2011
Set:
In church recently my pastor spoke about Acts 17:26 and how each of us was made by God for a reason. It wasn’t a just coincidence that I was born 22 years ago or that I was put in Austin, Texas three months ago because my job relocated me.
Oftentimes it’s easy for us to forget the simple fact that with God everything happens for a reason.
Sometimes working so hard in my job distracts me from what God has set me on earth to do—serve others. But, the neat thing is our ministry doesn’t have to begin after our normal work hours, when school is let out or at the once a year mission trip. It’s something we should be doing constantly and enjoy doing it too!
May 14, 2010
Set:
Bicycle touring is a favorite hobby of mine. There’s just something satisfying about hitting the open road on a bike. You pack your bags, check your tires, fill your water bottle, and start pedaling. A sense of adventure takes over as you venture through the countryside, visit small towns, and work up a good sweat exercising. It’s great fun.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Mark Messier was a great goal scorer with 694 goals in his 20 years of playing. But he doubled that number with the passes he made that helped his teammates score time after time. His linemates knew that he was a great playmaker and were ready to grab goals of their own from his assists. His efforts won him and his teammates six Stanley Cups.
December 02, 2009
Set:
A recent study reports that only six percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. Not good. Young people basically see life as a sliding scale. Truth has become relative, depending on the situation. In athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately, or unfortunately, winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
November 29, 2009
Set:
King Josiah was just eight years old when he began to change his world. Even at such a young age he decided to live in the ways of the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. I wonder if we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord at our age.
God asks us to change our lives—our worlds. If we think about it, our personal lives are pretty much our world. We feel like the world is falling apart when we are having difficulties. We do have the power to change a world—our world—when we rely on Christ, “not turn[ing] to the right or to the left.” And I believe that we can have an impact on others as well when we do “what is right in the Lord’s sight.” Don’t just read it!
May 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: The original Stanley Cup is made of pure silver. This precious metal for the prestigious Cup, was worked by a silversmith who makes silver in it’s purest form by first placing it over an intense flame. This high heat melts the metal and separates the impurities from the true silver. It is considered pure when the silversmith can see his reflection in it.
August 16, 2010
Set:
Rafer Johnson’s dream of a good life hinged on his athletic ability, even though he’d been told that a birth defect would prevent him from participating in athletics. He chose to deal with the defect as a simple setback rather than as a deal breaker. With the help of coaches and family, he not only won his battle but was declared the world’s greatest athlete when he won the 1960 Olympic decathlon.
September 25, 2009
Set:
I was a high school sophomore awaiting surgery to repair torn cartilage in my knee. In walked a young orderly with a razor to shave my leg. Before long, the blood began to flow. He was unskilled, and his razor was dull. Fortunately, the next day was different. The surgeon was skilled, and his scalpel was sharp.
Surgery is always painful, but its purpose is to heal. To be successful, the surgeon must be skilled. I once saw a documentary on a surgical technique to reduce an enlarged heart. The surgeon literally sliced off a quarter of the heart and sewed it back together, where upon it began beating again! Would you want a medical intern doing such a procedure? I think not.
May 25, 2010
Set:
I once was leaving my office late after a challenging day. Just as I was locking the door, a student whom I barely knew asked if he could speak with me for a few minutes. My initial thought was to ask him to come back tomorrow. I’d already worked later than usual and I was tired, but I noticed something in his eyes, so I unlocked my door and invited him in.
July 21, 2009
Set:
Twenty minutes into the road trip on our summer vacation and the game began. “Did you lock the back door?” “Yes.” “Did you stop the mail?” “Two days ago.” “Oh man! I forgot my swim trunks!” “No, I saw you pack them.”
Regardless of the trip, this is the conversation my wife and I usually have and for many of us, it’s a part of the vacation tradition. We plan, arrange, pack, plan some more and make sure all the details of our destination are in order. We fill up our days making sure we get as much as we can in while we’re away. After all, it is our vacation.
But God shared something very profound with me during the 12 hour car ride. It was so profound for me that I was curious as to how I could have overlooked it in all of my previous family vacations, treks and trips.
February 04, 2010
Set:
A few years ago I was privileged to participate in the memorial service for a faithful servant, a dear friend and a former head football coach. More than two thousand of this man’s family, friends, colleagues, and student athletes attended the service. As I stepped into the pulpit of the church, I thought, Look at all these people. The grandstands are packed for him today. Everyone here is a cheerleader! What a great send-off for a coach, and a great testimony to a life well lived.
March 09, 2010
Set:
Over the past fourteen years, I have been a defensive coach in our high school football program. Specifically, I coach linebackers. In order to play linebacker successfully at our level, a player must make a total commitment to the expectations placed upon him. It requires an unwavering self-discipline.
August 16, 2010
Set:
A man named Guy Dowd was once given the National Teacher of the Year award. One of the turning points in his career came, he said, when he was frustrated and couldn’t seem to reach his students. God impressed upon him that he should pray more for them. Each morning Guy would arrive early to pray with his students, sitting down with different ones each day. Over time Guy began to notice a difference not only in the way the students responded to him, but also in the way he taught and responded to the students. Prayer changes our attitudes and helps us see people as God sees them. When we can see people through God’s eyes, it makes all the difference.
May 04, 2010
Set:
Recently I sat in on a home school history session with my wife and three kids. The subject was Europe's transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period of history, and focused on the huge impact that Gutenberg's movable type printing press had on civilization. For those who are not aware of the history, Johannes Gutenberg created the first movable type printing press in 1456. Prior to that, all books were painstakingly written by hand - one by one - including Bibles.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Yup, that new guy on your team just blew the play. And guess what, you probably will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and make the wrong move too. Don’t criticize your teammates for the same things that you do…. making mistakes. Just watch an NHL game and you could play arm chair coach all night. It’s easy to say in hind sight what they should’ve done but much harder to actually be there doing it.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Carlton "Mac" McDiarmid, a long-time goal judge at the Montreal Forum, recalls one of his first NHL games in the early 1970s. When a Toronto Maple Leaf player wound up to take a slap shot at his net, he excitedly, and prematurely, signaled a goal. The puck was stopped by the net minder. Referee Andy Van Hellemond came up to him between periods to offer him some sound goal-judge advice. "He said, 'Look, Mac, it's better to be a second late than a second early.' "
July 02, 2010
Set:
Humility and competition, especially today, seem to be a contradiction in terms. As human beings, we believe that if we demonstrate humility, we will be walked over, pushed aside, neglected, or even abused. So instinctively we reject humility, maybe not as an idea, but in our everyday actions toward others.
Although Christ’s purpose was not that of competition, we can certainly agree that Christ had a purpose and goal and was successful in achieving it. In this vein, let’s consider our own goals as coaches. Where does humility play a part? Paul, speaking to the church at Philippi, reminded us that Christ recognized His humanity and this resulted in a humility that inspired obedience.
May 09, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: “That’s how the Cup changes everything.” This was the marketing message for 2008 year from the NHL, being repeated over and over about how everything in the game is elevated because of the quest for the Cup. It’s gone from just playing hockey to playing for the Stanley Cup.
November 01, 2008
Set:
I read a newspaper article last year about a professional baseball player who couldn’t seem to make the necessary adjustments needed in his approach to hitting. The player contended that his hitting was fine, but many of his current and former coaches disagreed. They pointed to the fact that his batting average had continued to decline and that he was striking out at an alarming rate.
In one game, the player might have 3 hits, but in the next 4 games he wouldn’t get a hit, striking out 9 times. It’s not that the player didn’t have good coaching—one of his previous coaches was a former batting champion. The problem was that he wasn’t doing what the coaches were asking. James 1:22-24 says:
December 17, 2010
Set:
As a coach, you’ve probably tried to learn from the best in your profession through clinics, articles, visits, and the informal conversations that happen when coaches get together. The knowledge we gain is often priceless, but sometimes it’s costly. Costly not so much in the areas of strategy and fundamentals, but in regard to the way we relate to players, coaches, and parents. This is not to suggest that advice in these areas is always negative, but any counsel we receive regarding the “life-related” issues of coaching, family, finances, etc. is potentially harmful if not filtered through God’s Word. Regarding God’s Word, the psalmist writes, “Your decrees are my delight and my counselors” (Ps 119:24).
June 08, 2009
Set:
David found trouble because he was in the wrong place. At the season when kings go off to war, he was at home. We cannot afford to be in the wrong place when we understand the eternal consequences. Our daily decision making is too crucial to have a momentary lapse in judgment. David’s lapse led to a lifetime of heartache.
God had chosen David, given him position, promise, and a plan—and made him the greatest king to ever live. God has great plans for us as well and provides His Word to help keep us in the right place. Scripture tells us that we must: (1) hide the Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:1-3); (2) understand temptation and ask God to help us be obedient (Psalm 119:37-39); and (3) remember who we are in Christ (2 Samuel 12:7-8).
September 24, 2010
Set:
The fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel is all about love, the nitty-gritty of life, and faith. In this chapter Jesus teaches that He is the vine and that we, His people, are the branches, and that by being united to Him, we will bear fruit. Coaches are responsible for recruiting athletes; Christians are responsible to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. God delights to use Christian coaches to recruit players and then open to them the truths of Christianity. He often uses us to plant the seed of faith and to expose the lost to Christ.
