“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

Count the costs. Significance is often gained at the expense of our character as we are willing to lie and cut ethical corners to be viewed well by others. It makes us defensive when someone seeks to speak the truth in love. This ungodly pursuit embitters our hearts against God over disappointing and unchangeable personal issues like our size, shape, or color. Pursuing our own significance makes us vulnerable to a host of verbal sins, such as gossip, slander, boasting, lying, and immoral chatter. It’s why we are quick to violate basic principles of stewardship by burdening ourselves with debt in order to accumulate things that supposedly enhance our significance is long and serious.

Being driven to protect and advance our sense of significance renders us unable to serve others unless there is an advantage to be gained; unable to sacrifice for a cause that is not our own and unwilling to suffer for that cause if necessary; unable to surrender to any agenda that impedes the progress of our personal persona. In short, it cripples our ability to love God more than ourselves and to live to bring glory to God since, when we are compelled to glorify ourselves, we are unable to glorify Him.

What can we do about this? At the start of his letter to the Colossians, Paul notes that Jesus is the only true significant Person: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.” Yet, as Paul wrote to the Philippians, Jesus did not live to hold on to these things but rather poured Himself out for our benefit by humbling Himself in obedience to His Father.

Don’t miss the point! Jesus---who had every right to celebrate and advance His own significance---chose to serve, surrender, suffer, and sacrifice in order to bring glory to His Father and to rescue us from the grip of hell. As a child of God you already are significant! God is your Father. Significance is no longer a search but a secured reality. And once you are significant in Him, you are free to refocus your obsession to living to glorify His significance and not your own. So, let the attitude of Christ be in you. It’s a significant pursuit worthy of your obsession!

As I am reading I’m also wondering for how many of the athletes with whom I work is their experience with sport similar? I wonder how many of the players in my acquaintance hate their sport and those who drive them to excel in it? At some youth sports events I see sports parents who remind me of Andre’s father and I am grieved for the kids.

I’m still processing all that I’m reading, but am already more aware of the potential for the highly achieving to absolutely loathe the sport which has brought them fame and fortune. I cannot imagine the depth of conflict, guilt and shame that must be experienced by such people, but I am committed to seeking Christ’s consolation and peace for their tortured souls. Let’s trust the Lord Jesus for the grace to be His ambassadors to these people in such desperate need of His loving embrace.

Dependence is Christ-like because…

True Identity
What is your identity? Once more, what is your primary identity? The thing that defines you and if taken away you would be lost without it. Are you Kyle the sprinter, Kim the setter, Ryan the point guard, James the student? What happens if that identity is suddenly taken from you, do you become obsolete and worthless? So many times athletes put their identity in their sport, letting it control them and mold them. As Christians we are called to make God our primary identity, and let Him mold and control us. With an identity other than God we sometimes feel like we are on a roller coaster with extreme highs and lows. We constantly feel pressure to perform, especially if we claim it to be our identity.
If your primary identity is Ryan the point guard and you fail to produce points or assists people will no longer associate you with that identity. Then you must go looking for something else to identify with. See how this can lead to trouble? If all our self-worth comes from our performance we become slaves to outcomes. Great performances leave us on top of the world while poor outcomes leave us feeling alone and weak. If we identify with God first and make all other things secondary identities we become so much more stable. The outcomes of events can no longer take us on extreme highs and lows. In Deuteronomy 31:6 He promises to always be there through victories and defeats and that no matter the outcome He will never leave. We never have to worry about finding a new identity.
One of the main fears most athletes have with making God their primary identity is the loss of control. As competitive people we are taught from a young age that if you want something YOU have to work for it. If I want to get stronger I have to work out more. If I want to run faster I have to run more sprints. We love being able to control our outcomes and manipulate situations so that we win. That’s why Gods call for submission is so hard, when it shouldn’t be. It is almost too simple for us to comprehend. All we have to do is ask for it, He has already done the work. Submitting and living for Him is the only work we have to do. The issue comes with giving up all control and letting Him, not self, lead.
Having sport as your primary identity leads to decay in three areas. There is spiritual decay where our source of joy comes from our performance. How we feel and who we are gets tied in with the awards we achieve or the games and meets won or lost. It also leads to emotional decay. The friends we surround ourselves with start enjoying our company because of our status on the team. Our self-worth is based upon performance, and we are social butterflies after wins. While bad performances leave us feeling the need to fill the void, or looking for other outlets to get the bad taste out of our mouth. Finally, relationships become affected. The friends we have are there thanks to our athletic prowess so we know them and communicate on a superficial level. If God is our primary identity then He is our sense of joy and that will never change, because He is never changing. Emotionally we know that He is in control and there is no need to stress over uncontrollable circumstances or wins and losses. He also shows us how to be relational with people. We model our lives after His and our friendships become real and affectionate instead of simple and superficial.
To be successful on the field or in life one must be goal driven. When the goals are ours and not God’s we often run into trouble. We often set and run after selfish goals and in doing so we equip ourselves with blinders, blocking out all “distractions” to reach this goal. This leaves, in its wake, relationships with friends, families and most important God. With our mind firmly fixed on our goal God feels distant and we feel a sense of abandonment or emptiness, especially if the goal is not reached. This is not how it is meant to be, God wants us to compete and be successful in attaining our goals. To achieve our goals we must draw even closer to Him than normal, He is the only one who can give us strength and help us achieve. So set lofty goals in life and on the field making Him your primary identity and reap the blessings from it. As athletes remember that we are given our talents for one purpose, to reflect Gods light and share Him with the world. We are given a spectacular platform to share Him in locker rooms, media interactions, classrooms and beyond. We need Him to be our primary identity, while sports and other hobbies become secondary. Your gifts are given to glorify Him, not self. That being said, go out and compete with a pure heart in doing so win others for Christ.

Roger has been speaking of himself in third person all day and has contacted all the major media in order to give them a chance to cover this most important event (exclusively if the price is right):  ESPN, CNN, the Carbondale Times and such are in the running.

Roger will be announcing his decision between the following rivals for the acquisition of my considerable and certainly overrated skills:

• Roger may announce that Roger will forego his final four years of eligibility for NCAA Basketball in order to make himself eligible for the NBA Draft.  (Roger would be the best 54 year old, short, slow, white player available.)
• Roger may announce that he is a free agent and available to NFL Football as Head Get-back Coach, Get-back Quality Control Coach or, if the compensation package is agreeable, Assistant Get-back Coach for a guaranteed Super Bowl contending team.
• Roger may announce that Roger is ready to finally allow the St. Louis Cardinals to have his services and to replace their rather mediocre first baseman, Albert What’s-His-Name.
• Roger may even announce that Roger will stay in Carbondale.  Roger may decide to grace his wife with his continuing presence, to remain in the employ of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for another sixteen years and to forestall the horrible sense of loss and grief which this community would suffer if Roger should leave.  (Roger is sure this sense of unimaginable loss would last for at least five to ten seconds.)

Matthew 19:16-22: Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” [Jesus] said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered,
“Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?”
“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

A very wise, godly lady gave me some advice about a year ago. It was Grace’s mom, Lynn. She said, “Don’t ever acquire anything that you wouldn’t be willing to give away to someone in need.” God’s always using the people who know Him to give us messages to remind us that holding onto things, like stuff we buy, the things that we think are going to give us satisfaction and comfort, are only going to leave us dissatisfied. It’s a futile search to find things to fulfill us when all we need is to know our Creator. HE is the treasure we need to seek and find.

Ya know, this guy in the story from Matthew is not a “bad guy” and I’m not so sure that Jesus really wanted him to sell everything he had. Perhaps Jesus was just trying to see where this guy’s heart was, what he was really wanting in life. His response reveals that he preferred a life of ‘ease, predictability and comfort.’

A prayer: “Lord, thank you for all that you have provided for me. I know that “every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). The greatest of all gifts you given me is Yourself, a real and satisfying relationship with You! Everything else, my family, other relationships, my job, my house, my possessions are just icing on the cake. Enable me, by Your Spirit, to not hold onto the stuff the world has to offer and miss You. I pray these things in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

Many people speak sentimentally (and may I say naively) about amateur sport and pretend that all its players, coaches and administrations have the purest of motives and intentions in everything.  This is certainly not a consistently true perspective.  In much of amateur sport there is plenty of ambition, drive, cheating, envy and pride to sully the sport’s image.  Possibly the major difference between amateurism and professionalism is that in pro sports, there is not even an illusion of such nobility.  In many cases the “win at all costs” ethic is not only obvious, but openly stated.  Much of professional sport’s value is measured in terms of the sum of salaries paid, the economic impact on a local community or the influence of the club on the local culture.

Sadly, the longer one competes and the more one achieves in sport, the more likely he or she is to experience the worst ethics in sporting life.  At each incrementally higher level of sport one normally begins to see more and more degradation of the experience while at the same time finding that the system increasingly rewards selfishness, arrogance and individualism.

At its best amateur sport values these things:

• Teamwork
• Personal development
• Honor among competitors
• Fair play
• Respect for team leaders, coaches, officials, etc.

At its best professional sport values these things:

• Excellence in preparation and performance
• Acquisition of the best players for one’s team
• Accountability
• Individual achievement

At their worst both amateur and professional sport values these things:

• Individual achievement over one’s team goals
• Winning as the highest value
• “It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.”
• Selfish attitudes
• Star players over coaches

We who represent Christ Jesus in the world of sport must be stewards of its culture.  We can work to shape attitudes, to inform the ethics of sport with scriptural truth, to openly discuss these issues with the coaches, players, administrators and others who are the opinion leaders and decision makers for our sport communities.  We must be willing to take responsibility for those whom we serve and to redeem the world of sport by carrying Christ’s presence into it.  Whether we work at the most obscure levels of amateur sport or under the most glaring spotlight of professional sport, let’s honor our Lord by our faithful application of the Bible to the daily sporting life.

Mark 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You."

Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first."

After the last ten years of travel abroad investing in the sport chaplain and sport mentor community, I better understand this promise. The disciples were about to embark on exciting, perilous journeys and would follow Jesus’ instructions about how to travel, where to stay and how to receive hospitality (Matthew 10). They each, no doubt, wound up with homes all over their world as they carried the gospel of Christ from house to house, city to city, nation to nation. They, no doubt, found multiplied hundreds of people whose relationships with them were as dear as mothers, brothers, sisters and children. They, no doubt, also encountered persecutions which eventually took their very lives.

My wife and I live very modestly in an apartment in Carbondale, Illinois. We have two cars with over 100,000 miles on each one. My wardrobe is the subject of affectionate teasing as most everything has a logo on it (FCA or SIU), meaning I didn’t pay for it. Many of my contemporaries seem obsessed with the accumulation of wealth or at least the stuff which makes on appear to be wealthy. A few of them are truly wealthy and they have found that the wealth brings along a new set of stresses and problems.

As I sat at a picnic table in the early morning mountain breeze I realized that I have received gracious hospitality and have found homes in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I have a home with my friends in Kingston, Jamaica. I have been welcomed, like I was home, in numerous states of the USA. In Melbourne, Australia I was made to feel as if I owned the place. The same has been true in Cuba, Singapore, Greece, London, Wales and now in Italy. I am the richest person I know!

As I have traveled internationally these last ten years, I have developed relationships with people on six continents and I cherish them as dearly as I do my brothers, sisters, my mother, father and my son. These total well over a hundred times as many relationships which have been lost to my pursuit of Christ’s call. My brothers and sisters speak Spanish and Chinese, Vietnamese, Patois, Farsi, German and French, Portuguese, Hindi, Thai, Swahili and many speak English with a wide variety of marvelous dialects and lovely accents. One lady who is as dear to me as a mother speaks Afrikaans and my thousands of children (in Christ) are scattered across the USA and abroad having come through sixteen years of Saluki Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Track and Field, Volleyball and more. I have received of the Lord an immense, global family.

The remaining item which gives me sober pause is that I have yet to be visited by significant persecution. At most, I have been inconvenienced, misunderstood or resisted. Persecution has yet to cost me even a drop of blood (though it almost did in San Pedro Sula in 1994). The Lord’s faithfulness to the promises of multiplied possessions and relationships must be also applied to the sure to come persecutions. I trust that, upon their arrival, they will be seen as less than nothing as compared to the gracious gifts which the Lord Jesus has lavished on me over just this last decade.

I challenged the interns to charge strongly into their futures, casting caution to the wind and trusting Christ to fulfill His promises. I would challenge you and the man I shave each morning to do the same.

• Sports talk radio knuckleheads worked feverishly to find a defining moment for Kobe Bryant’s career to rival that of Michael Jordan’s jump shot over Craig Ehlo for a championship. 
• Football commentators wondered if a defining moment for Wayne Rooney would appear so as to overcome his red card in the last World Cup. 
• Many in the UK are hoping for any kind of moment which can overcome their melancholy feelings toward their side’s manager. 
• Football fans and even casual observers in the USA are hoping their side is not defined by a disallowed goal in the game with Slovenia. 
• I am sure that the referee who made that call also hopes that does not become his defining moment.
• Robert Green, the England goalkeeper is surely hoping he gets another chance in goal and can overcome his unfortunate moment from the game with the USA.

Whether player, coach, official, sport chaplain or sport mentor, we all encounter defining moments in our careers.  They either enhance our lives like a beautiful piece of jewelry or they hang from our necks like the proverbial albatross.  Such moments linger like the warmest memories and fondest relationships or they dog our hearts and minds like Cujo, snarling at our heels and reminding us of our failures.

We who love and serve the people of sport must find ways to keep such definition at bay.  Rather than simply going with the flow of popular culture and sports media, we are uniquely qualified to help these people be defined by other matters.  The world wants to define them by their performance in sport; we can help them realize their lives are defined by the infinite worth of Christ’s blood which was shed for them.  SportsCenter wants to define them by a single moment of either success or failure on a court, pitch, field or mat; we can help them be more strongly identified by the life of Christ which they intrinsically exhibit at every moment of every day.  Let’s faithfully serve the men and women of sport and let’s not fall into the trap of foolishly defining the ones we love by moments of success or failure.  Christ’s performance through life, death, resurrection and ascension, on their behalf and ours, is a truly defining moment which endures beyond the memories of fans, media and even videotape.

Hyper-average – as a competitor in sport, my skill level never matched my desire. When I look in the mirror or step on the scale, I see a very average person. In height, weight, speed, skill, strength, intelligence, income and such I am extremely average.

Mega-normal – My lifestyle, marriage, extended family, blue collar work ethic and community make me and incredibly normal person for my age in the USA.

Ultra-medium – I live in the center of the country, work with “mid-major” university sports teams whose coaches’ salaries are median and whose student-athletes are ultra-medium in athletic and academic achievement.

Extremely-central – It would be hard to find anyone more extremely central than me in terms of political sensibilities, theological convictions and cultural opinion.

Super-mundane – Much of my life seems tremendously dull, marvelously pedestrian and phenomenally lackluster. Wow.

Upon closer inspection, I have found that these characteristics of my life are okay with me. I’m content with being Hyper-average on the outside, if I can be something more than that in heart. If my spirit is free to pursue Christ’s call on my life, I can live with a Mega-normal body. If my heart is empowered to live faithfully in the world of sport and all its extremes, I’ll be happy with a rather Ultra-medium IQ. If it’s pleasing to Jesus, I’ll stay in this Extremely-central position. If I can trust God to accomplish His purposes in those whom I serve, I’ll be pleased to run along this Super-mundane path.

I am committed to a God whose power is without limits, whose knowledge is beyond measure, whose grace reaches the lowest (even me), and whose love never fails. I will leave the superlatives to Him and will continue along the course of the Hyper-average, the Mega-normal, the Ultra-medium, the Extremely-central and Super-mundane.

Karlton had a deep thigh bruise in one leg and his participation in the game was doubtful. As we gathered for chapel that morning, the room was full of bruises, broken thumbs, strained ligaments, sprained ankles and more. My friend and two time parachute accident survivor, Sergeant Bill McDonald, was speaking at chapel that day and I asked him to pray for our guys to experience the Lord’s healing hand. As Sarge prayed, I laid my hand on Karlton’s thigh and prayed with all that was in me for his restoration. We left for the game not knowing what the day would hold.

As the game started and Karlton carried the ball several times during our first possession, I was anxious to hear how he was doing. I walked down the sideline, put my arm on his shoulder and said in his helmet’s ear hole, “How you doing Karlton?” His simple response was, “I’m straight Rog.” That’s all. I said, “Run hard, son.”

I asked him again at half-time and again he said, “I’m straight Rog.” I again encouraged him to run hard. The same scenario played out in the third and fourth quarters as Karlton ran for 212 yards on the day, leading us to a hard-fought victory.

My heart is grieved by the knowledge that this was one of the last good days for Karlton. A number of health issues have led to a steep decline in Karlton’s life and I sit here helpless to make it better. I cling to this memory of Karlton’s simple trust in his teammates, the power of prayer and how it led him to play his heart out on the football field.

Coach Dick Corn’s Points of Emphasis for Players’ Parents:

• Our goal as coaches is to try to make each situation a "win-win." We want what is best for your son, but that has to fall inside the boundaries of what is best for our team and our program.
• A player can only play for one coach. Let us coach your son. Your job is to support and encourage him.
• As the Head Coach I will only meet with you, the parent(s), if your son is present. We will NOT discuss his playing time.
• If your son is dissatisfied, encourage him to talk to the coach first. He is the person responsible for the interaction between player and coach. Only accompany him is he doesn't feel comfortable approaching the coach.
• Our rules are in the school athletic code. Those that fall outside the athletic code will be dealt with on an individual basis. We will make every attempt to be fair and consistent and will try to weigh what is best for your son versus the team and the program. One should simply be a Good Citizen!

There is perfect joy and beauty in this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief are over, every restless tossing past; I am now at peace forever,

Safely home in heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly trod the Valley of the Shade? Oh, but Jesus’ love illumined every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me in that way so hard to tread; and with Jesus’ arm to lean on, could I have one doubt or dread?
Then you must not grieve so sorely, for I love you dearly still; try to look beyond earth’s shadows, pray to trust our Father’s will.
There is work still waiting for you, so you must not idle stand; do your work while life remaineth---you shall rest in Jesus’ land.
When the work is all completed, He will gently call you home; Oh, the rapture of the meeting! Oh, the joy to see you come!

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalm 116:15

"Because I [Jesus] live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19

“And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17

When I visited the coach in his office in March and as he was telling me about reading Genesis through Leviticus he said, “The Lord’s a tough guy.” I agreed with him and he started telling me stories from his reading of the Lord’s toughness. He related the stories with respect and admiration. Tough guys respect and admire other tough guys.

We are planning to publish these simple scriptures and prayers in a book to benefit a local cancer fund. I asked Coach if he’d like to contribute a couple of paragraphs about his situation as a foreword for the book and his submission is below. I hope it encourages your hearts to care deeply for coaches and players, especially for those who don’t naturally fit in the normal evangelical culture and all its expectations. They’re worth it.
“During my recent bout with cancer, I’ve noticed several revelations, some minor and some more major, in nature. I think most glaringly is the support and concern I have received, not only from my immediate family, but from my friends, co-workers and even complete strangers. The outpouring of love and has been difficult for me to define, yet at the same time very humbling.

Maybe more importantly, is my new found appreciation for The Bible, as well as the influx of prayers I receive from concerned friends like Roger Lipe, Woody Thorne and Coach Kill. As recently as several years ago, I couldn’t delete fast enough what I considered “Junk Mail” when I received a blessing or special prayer. Now, things have changed, and being on or close to your death bad, can initiate change IN A HURRY!

Is my paying closer attention to the scripture self-serving or an act of desperation? Maybe so. I do know this, though, and to put it rather generically, The Bible claims “better late than never.” I have found that through scripture! I don’t know if I’ve TRULY discovered The Lord and the Bible’s true meaning; but it now means more to me and I’m glad I’ve become one of those “better late than never believers.”

When someone emphatically states ‘The Lord stand behinds you,’ it catches your attention. If Coach Cal can become a believer, you can too. My best to whoever takes the time to read this and ‘thank you’ for YOUR support.”

Chapel with UGA Women’s Tennis Team at the 2010 NCAA Regionals

In the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 25-30, Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This past weekend, me, along with our intern, Emily Deans, had the opportunity to spend time with the defending ’09 SEC Champion Georgia Women’s Tennis Team. Our Dawgs swept Harvard on Friday to advance to the 2nd round of Saturday’s NCAA Regionals against the Clemson Tigers. On Friday night, me and Emily met the team at their hotel and had some time in the Word together. The verses above were the central passages of our talk that evening.

The longer I minister to these female athletes, the more I realize how much of a sacrifice they’ve made to be at this level of competitive athletics. Many of the sacrifices have been in the areas of their personal lives. It’s very hard to maintain close relationships with anyone-- other than your parents—when you have to train 5-6 hours a day, plus maintain your academic schooling. When they’re not training, they’re studying; and when they’re not studying they’re acquiring medical services for their injuries. When they’re not getting treatment, they’re eating and sleeping! There may be some time for internet messaging and texting a few family members, but, most of their time is spent with the people associated with their sport.

Imagine having this kind of life for 18-20 years straight! That’s all an average elite athlete experiences. No wonder they’re looking for various ways—some good, some not-so-good---to relieve stress and anxieties associated with their lifestyles! We know that many times they find temporary relief from alcohol, relationships and casual sex.

Well, where can an athlete find true real relief and true REST? Jesus has the answer. Himself. From the passage above, we find out several important facts about God and His Son, Jesus Christ:

• It gives God pleasure to reveal things to us about Himself.

• God reveals Himself through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus “reveals the Father to whom He desires”(v.27).

• God reveals Himself and His ways to those who come to Him in a child-like trust. The proud and boastful will not see God (v. 25).

• It is impossible to know God apart from knowing His Son! “Know” in Greek is “ginosko,” which means “to seek to know or investigate; an understanding that leads to a relationship that’s of value and importance.”

As we spent time with the Lady Dawgs, I shared a story from Andre Agassi’s recent book called Open. We discussed how it’s easy to think that God relates to us as other people do in our human relationships. On this point, we read an excerpt from Open in which Agassi relays a story about his father from when he was 10 years old: “My father likes to shoot the hawks with his rifle. Our house is blanketed with his victims, dead birds that cover the roof as thickly as tennis balls cover the court. My father says he doesn’t like hawks because they swoop down on mice and other defenseless desert creatures. He can’t stand the thought of something strong preying on something weak. (This holds true when he goes fishing: whatever he catches, he kisses its scaly head and throws it back.) Of course he has no qualms about preying on me, no trouble watching me gasp for air on his hook. He doesn’t see the contradiction. He doesn’t care about contradictions. He doesn’t realize that I’m the most defenseless creature in this godforsaken desert. If he did realize, I wonder, would he treat me differently?” Agassi goes on to explain how his relationship with his father was dependent upon how well he did in tennis. If he played well and won, his father was happy. If he lost, his father was a tyrant and verbally abusive.

For some athletes, they’ve been taught all their life that if they are successful, they are loved. If they win, they are accepted and valued.

God, on the other hand, knows our helpless spiritual condition. He knows that we are sinful and cannot do anything to change that. It’s in our nature and we’re born to make mistakes (Romans 5:6). We may be able to work our way to a sports championship or a successful career, but, we cannot work our way to God’s holy and perfect nature. We will always fall short (Romans 3:23).

What is the answer? Come to Jesus Christ. Rest in Him. Confess that you can’t do this life on your own. Stop trying to find your self-worth in performance. True rest only comes from God through His Son. If we know the Son, we will know the peace of the Father!

He had a sense of betrayal in that the administrators had earlier assured him that he was doing the right things to build the program and that he was on the right track. To now hear that they "want to go in another direction" left him feeling abandoned and betrayed. The fact that a couple of players had accused him of intimidating them, without ever expressing anything like that to him, led to further feelings of betrayal.

He felt deeply disappointed that he had failed to accomplish the turnaround in the program he had envisioned. He was disappointed that the values he had been building into the program were not valued as much as the winning percentage.

The coach felt shame because he was losing his job and had no immediate prospects for a new one. The administration also asked him to have no contact with the players and that led to a greater sense of shame because he values the relationships and investment of years in the players. The dismissal struck him directly in the heart.

He was indignant that the team's accomplishments in academics, recruiting, and individual achievement were undervalued. He was angry with the cavalier attitudes of those in power over him, the program and the players. All of them seemed to be treated unjustly by the administration.

Lastly, he was shocked by the firing. He had no indications that anything like this was likely to occur. He had just done post-season interviews with each player and heard nothing to indicate their feelings of intimidation. The administrators had been positive and encouraging in their most recent conversations with the coach.

Feelings of shock, anger, shame, disappointment, betrayal and pain all mixed together made for a tough phone conversation. He said that he had been trying to pray about the situation, but felt paralyzed. He couldn't even pray. He wondered if the Lord cared about any of these things. I assured him that these things did not happen behind the Lord's back and that He surely cared deeply about him, his players and his work. We prayed together on the phone and we asked the Lord for His grace to deal with all this situation has brought about. We prayed for the future and for the Lord's purposes to be accomplished in the coach's life as well in the lives of the players he's leaving as well as in the administrators who made the decision.

It is in moments like these that I most often feel terribly inadequate as a Sport Chaplain. Everything in me wants to fix the problem. I cannot. My inadequacy leads me to turn to the ever-listening ear of the Savior for comfort and counsel. Let's take the risk to be woefully inadequate and carry our friends' cares, pain and frustration to the One who cares for us. (I Peter 5:7)

Ralston knew this solo trip would require weeks of planning in advance. He had every detail covered, including the contents of his back pack: one chocolate bar, a chocolate muffin, two small bean burritos, one plastic grocery bag, a mesh pouch containing a CD player, CDs, extra AA batteries, a mini digital video camera, a multi-use/knife tool, a headlamp, lip balm, two water bottles, one Camelbak/water pack, climbing ropes & harnesses. The only detail he did not attend to, however, was informing his friends and family where he was going and how long he’d be away.

Once his truck is loaded with his backpack and bike, Ralston sets out on his journey that ill-fated April morning. He parks his truck in a nearby tourist lot, gets on his bike and begins an 8 mile ride into the Park. By 1:15 pm that afternoon, he arrives in Horseshoe Canyon, dismounts his bike and U-locks it to a nearby juniper tree. He then begins hiking to his next attraction, Blue John Canyon. When he arrives at the bottom of the canyon, he immediately pulls out his climbing gear and starts up the wall. By 2:41 pm he is a quarter of the way into his climb and begins maneuvering over a series of chock stones, which are large refrigerator-size rocks nestled in the narrow deep slot canyon.

What happens next marks the beginning of what Ralston describes as an experience “nothing short of hell.” Three seconds play out a tenth of their normal speed as a rock---or more like a boulder--- loosens from above and falls. It crushes Ralston’s right hand, pinning it and his right arm against the wall. For six days and five nights, Ralston is trapped in the canyon, attempting to preserve his food and water rations, till finally he resorts to collecting his own urine in his Nalgene bottle and drinking it to keep from dehydration. The daylight gives Ralston hope, but as night falls, the canyon grows “bitterly dark and is an unbearably cold place of lonely solitude; an arctic prison without a warden and but one abandoned inmate, forsaken even by the supposed ringleader of the underworld.” Ralston then says, “There is no other spiritual energy, good or evil, on which to project love or hatred. There is only one emotion in hell: unmitigated despair wrapped in abject loneliness.” (Between A Rock And A Hard Place, 2004 Atria Books, pg. 238)

By the evening of Day Five of this “hell experience,” Ralston finally succumbs to what seems an inevitable fate: death. “I understand that this is the end, that I won’t survive the night, and the thought does not stir me, because I have stopped fighting for control. Letting go of my desire to dictate the outcome of my entrapment releases a disconnected feeling of lightheartedness that vaguely approximates bliss. I’ve recognized a great truth: Some other marvelous force is in control, and has been all along. Give it whatever name I want, all I know for sure is that I don’t have to sweat it out anymore, because I’m not in charge.” (pg. 247)

As you read about Aron Ralston’s story, perhaps you are in the middle of a time of great adversity. Are you caught “between a rock and a hard place?” Perhaps you’ve experienced some kind of life circumstance that’s left you discouraged and feeling like you’re in a “bitterly dark and cold place of lonely solitude.” Maybe your heartache and sadness has resulted from a stressful relationship, a break-up or even divorce. Or maybe your challenges have stemmed from a terminal illness or health condition; adjusting to retirement or the ending of an athletic or professional career; an uncertainty about the future; the death of a loved one or child; or a sickness that has brought you to a point of surrender. Maybe an insecurity has been exposed in front of very critical eyes. Since economical crisis hit our country a year ago, loss of employment has resulted for many people. Maybe that’s your situation. And, of course, there are many who suffer with depression.

When you lay your head down on the pillow at night, do you ever wonder if there is anything or anyone worth living for? Sometimes when we get alone with our thoughts we think there is no way out of the circumstances and we’re totally alone. We think it’d be much easier to die than to live with the unbearable pain. It would seem so much simpler just to give up.

But then, a new day dawns and after a long night of suffering and despair, you begin to sense this “Marvelous Force” as the sunlight peers through the windows of your bedroom. “For His anger lasts only a moment but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, ‘I will never be shaken.’ O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To You, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: ‘What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.’” (Psalm 30:5-10)

Each new day brings with it hope because you realize that you’re not in control and more importantly, that you, in fact, are not alone. The Marvelous Force is God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence around you in times of adversity. Listen to how Jesus Christ describes-- His third--- Person of the Trinity:

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer…But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:7-10, 12-14)

If you invite God’s presence into your life, He will reveal to you areas of your life where you fall short. Upon your confession, He will then give you His grace, mercy and His righteousness (Romans 10:9-10). Because of His sacrifice on the Cross, you can be made new (2 Cor. 5:17); “new” in the way you think and live. As you experience God’s presence and get to know Him by reading the Bible, you will begin to know His heart, His character, and His attributes. You will know how to make decisions concerning your life situations because a part of Him lives in you which directs your thoughts and desires.

Back to the Aron Ralston story….it has quite an incredible ending! On Day Six, in a final desperation to save his life, Aron Ralston does the unthinkable. He purposefully breaks his arm and then takes a knife tool and saws through the muscles, veins and ligament tissues, freeing the remainder of his right arm from between the boulder and the wall! When he is found by rescuers, severely dehydrated and bleeding (it could have been much worse if he hadn’t used a tube like piece from his Camelbak as a tourniquet), his story quickly makes national news.

Ralston underwent 3 major surgeries to ward off potential bone infections and to repair the damaged arteries and veins of his right arm. Ralston then received a prosthetic device, which he now uses as he continues to go on mountain bike and rock-climbing adventures. Ralston has written a book about his experience (Between A Rock & A Hard Place, Atria Books, 2004) and does inspirational speeches around the country. He has appeared on the David Letterman Show and in other television and magazine interviews as well.

In the final chapter of Aron Ralston’s book, he explains: “For all that has happened and the opportunities still developing in my life, I feel blessed. I was part of a miracle that has touched a great number of people in the world and I wouldn’t trade that for anything, not even to have my hand back. My accident in and rescue from Blue John Canyon were the most beautifully spiritual experiences of my life. When we find inspiration, we need to take action for ourselves and our communities. Even if it means making a hard choice, or cutting out something and leaving it in your past. Saying farewell is also a bold and powerful beginning.” (pg. 342)

My prayer for Aron Ralston is that he would seek wisdom and inspiration from God. I pray that he will experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ and recognize how glorious Christ is! It is through Jesus Christ that we have access to God and a chance to experience true joy!

His Word tells us that He allows adversity to point us to His Son!

“…we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:4-5)

2009 Saluki Football Teambuilding

2009 was an outstanding season to be a part of the Saluki Football family. From December of 2008 through the final seconds of the season-ending loss to William and Mary, the team and the seniors in particular, had their sights set on winning championships. They won the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship, but fell short of their ultimate goal of becoming Division I Football Champion Subdivision champions.

Like every season since 2002, we were privileged to lead the Football Salukis through a set of exercises during pre-season which we call Teambuilding. This process has grown and developed over the years and this year’s set of discussions was focused on their collective goal of becoming champions.

In the following paragraphs we’ll share with you the ideas and the process which helped shape the values and relationships which ultimately made them champions. I hope you’ll try some of these questions with family members, coworkers and colleagues as you build your team to be champions.

The principle ideas around which we shaped all our teambuilding discussions, pre-game chapels and written communication were in these five statements -

Championship Teams:

• Love the game and make sacrifices for it.

• Are highly committed to their teammates.

• Develop strong leadership.

• Diligently prepare and execute their game plan.

• Compete on every play of every game.

In each of our Teambuilding sessions we had two main goals – 1) to build the team’s relationships so that they would know each other, trust each other and ultimately commit to each other. 2) To develop the culture of Saluki Football around values which make for championship teams.

In pursuing our relational goals we would interview a set of players each evening in small groups and then one of their teammates would relate another player’s answers to the questions to all ninety of his teammates. We asked them questions like these:

• Tell us your name, your home town, the position you play, and your uniform number.

• What is there you have yet to achieve in football that is very much a goal for this year?

• Tell us about a significant sacrifice you have made to be a Saluki Football player.

• Where you like to be and what would you like to be doing with your life in 10 years?

• If you could trade places for two weeks with anyone on the planet today, whom would you choose and why?

• Tell us about one of the most influential people in your life. How has that person impacted your life?

• If you could have a three hour lunch with any living person on the planet, whom would you choose and why?

• How would you like for your teammates to describe you at the end of your college football career?

In the process of building the culture of Saluki Football, we would discuss questions like these in both small groups and then with the whole team:

Championship Teams: Love the game and make sacrifices for it.

• Tell us about something you absolutely love about the game of football.

• What might you have to sacrifice now to become the player you want to be and for us to become the team we want to be?

Championship Teams: Are highly committed to their teammates.

• How have your teammates from the past demonstrated commitment to you and to your teams?

• How do you normally show your commitment to this team?

Championship Teams: Develop strong leadership.

• Tell us about one of the best team leaders with whom you have played football.

• What are some of the qualities you respect in team leaders?

Championship Teams: Diligently prepare and execute their game plan.

• Which of your teammates are the most diligent in preparation?

• How well does their diligence in preparation translate into execution on Saturdays?

Championship Teams: Compete on every play of every game.

• Can you recall an opponent from your past which competed at less than his best on some plays? What did you think of him?

• Tell us about an opponent from last year who was absolutely relentless. What did you think of him?

The 2009 Football Salukis were champions in large part because they fulfilled the five characteristics listed above. They grew to know, to trust and to make commitments to their teammates. These qualities make for championship teams in sport, in churches, in business, and in families. I pray your team will employ such Christ-honoring values as you pursue championships in all of life.

1. Know yourself. Strengths and weaknesses.
2. Never stop learning. Keep an open mind and be willing to take criticism.
3. Understand your role. We must all be pulling in the same direction. Be team oriented.
4. Control what you can control. Be positive. Be prepared. Be professional.
5. Know your players. Know their strengths and weaknesses. Build a relationship with each one.
6. Never allow or use excuses to justify failure. Take responsibility for your work.
7. Work smart. Be efficient with your work.
8. Take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and rest.
9. Include your family in your job. Coaching is the family business.
10.  Work the job you have. Don’t spend all your energy here pursuing your next job.

“What do I put on to serve coaches well?”

Colossians 3:8-15 (New International Version)

8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Put on:

Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience

Be:

Confident, Caring, Courageous, Consistent

What to do?

Pray.

Find a meeting place - off campus - to talk.

Be transparent.

Share from the overflow of your devotional life.

Offer them game day prayers (in person or via phone or text).

Offer accountability meetings.

Discuss your passions with each other.

Provide family functions.

Serve them.

Here’s how writer Beth Felker Jones describes the power of stories: “I love the way a story can carry us into another world, a world of imagination and mystery. When a story captures our heart, we dive into it! We sink deep into the waters of the world the author has created for us and learn its geography. We fear what the characters fear and love what the characters love. Most of all, I love what happens when we come out of the story world. We come up from under the water of imagination and take a deep breath of air of our own world. But it isn’t the same world it was before we dove into the story. The story world changes our world. It helps us imagine possibilities we couldn’t possibly have seen before. It suggests new dreams to guide us, new fears to horrify us, and new hopes to inspire us. The stories we love have power. They change our lives.” (Intro from Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages of the Twilight Saga)

I once heard a man say, “There’s a good book in all of us.” I believe that’s true. We all have a story. And as long as we’re breathing, our story is on-going. It had a definite beginning (when we drew our first breath), it has a process (the present), and it involves an uncertain future. Perhaps one question we’ll ask ourselves at some point is “What is God’s role in my story?” Or more importantly, “Who is writing my story?”

Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.”

• “Success is just like drugs and sex in that it medicates our psychic pain and disappointment.”

• “Most champions don’t compete to win, because the rewards are so fleeting. They compete not to lose, because the pain is long lasting.”

• The world’s values for sport are clear:

o You are what you do.

o Your worth is based on your latest performance.

o The purpose of pain is to produce enough self-loathing to motivate one to further training, so as to win next time.

• Our ministry as sport chaplains shapes how our players and coaches handle defeat and success. It shapes how they perceive God in either case.

• We are called to communicate to the world of sport that our value is not based on our performance, but on the performance of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Success and Failure lie to our souls about our identity, our worth to and our standing before God. Those who achieve highly hear Success's lies related to the unimportance of ethical issues, teamwork and character. Failure lies by stating that even one's margin of victory may be a failure because the spread is deemed to have been insufficient.

Both Success and Failure are measured by the World in terms of results as expressed in wins and losses, points per game, home runs, yards per carry, championships won, world records, batting averages, strike outs, earned run average, and on and on and on. Success and Failure speak truthfully about one’s performance. There is truth in their descriptions of the game’s final score and the endless list of statistics which accompany sports today. The problem for many of us is how Success and Failure spin those results into lies related to who we are and from where we derive our personal worth.

Success lies by inflating our sense of importance. It says, "I must be the best player on the court today." "My team could never do without me. I can do whatever I please." "I don't care what the others do, I will get mine today." "I must have God's favor because we're winning." It flatters us with words which excite our egos by reciting our accomplishments and comparing us to those lesser souls not faring so well. "My success is obviously the mark of God's approval." "If the Lord was not so pleased with me, I would not be winning like this." Success lies to your soul as it mimics the voices of sycophantic fans, hangers on, groupies and fawning media.

Success distorts the truth of our identity by telling us that it's to be found in achievement. Its greed is never satisfied. Success deceives our souls' sense of worth by whispering that performance makes us worthy of love and dignity; that losers are not worthy of such delights. It tries to convince us that wins are the indicators of a life in Christ. Lies one and all.

Failure's condemning voice whispers in our soul's ear, "You're not good enough." "You can't compete at this level." "You should just quit." "You aren't worthy to wear this uniform." Failure shouts at us when we're running on the pitch, "You can't guard this player, she'll embarrass you." It laughs heartily as we stumble and fall, the pain in our body echoing Failure's derisive comments.

Worse still are Failure's accusations that our lack of success is a sign of God's displeasure. "You must have sinned badly to have failed so miserably." "God is angry with you; that's why you struck out three times today." "A real Christian wouldn't play this badly." "Maybe God wants you to give up this silly game and get on with more important things." "If you were a better Christian, you would be more successful than this."

Failure assaults us in the condemning voices of the coaches from our past who used shame to motivate, our never satisfied parents or angry teammates. These voices remind us of our most bitter failures and disappointments.

Failure lies by distorting the truth of our unlimited value to Christ (Romans 5:8), our identity in Him (Ephesians 1:3-14) and our being totally without condemnation before him (Romans 8:1).

All these lies gnaw at our souls, impeding our progress as lovers of God and hindering our Lord's gift of fulfilling enjoyment of sport. Both Success and Failure speak these lies with equally damaging consequences to our hearts, minds and souls.

There is more wisdom to be found by focusing our hearts and minds on the process of training, competition, personal and team development in sport. Take care to listen wisely to the reports of success and failure. Understand that statistics, win/loss ratios and other measurements of sporting achievement speak truthfully about performance, but they lie about identity, worth and significance. These can only be found in an abiding relationship with Christ Jesus.