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One of the common questions posed to sports fans is, “Who do you follow?” Most people answer with a city, school or mascot: “I’m a Denver fan.” “I follow the University of North Carolina.” “I’m a Hoosier.” No matter how you phrase it, we all follow one team or another. This applies to our lives in Christ as well.
It is not uncommon today to hear believers ask, “What are you?” Some say, “I am a Baptist.” Others claim to be Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic and so on.
Our small town high school football team had a record-breaking season last year. We finished 11–1, and ranked eighth in the state. This year our record is 0–6.
As coaches, we have all had the dreaded “rebuilding” season, the one where the most you hope to gain is respect for your efforts and sportsmanship. Even the best programs have rebuilding years. The best teams experience slumps. As coaches, we find this is a frustrating time. We get angry. We do not understand how we can do well one year and so poorly the next. We vent our frustrations on the players, our assistants, and even our families.We say and do things we later regret.
Hockey Chat: Could you imagine what the scores would be like if goalies weren’t allowed to wear any equipment. We’ve got some talent between the posts during our skates but they thank much of that to the equipment they put on. Not only does it help to stop the pucks, it stops the pain as well. Going out there unequipped would be disastrous. Sure they would stand there for a few minutes and maybe even grab a slow sliding puck with their bare hands. But as the attacks keep coming, their lack of preparedness would leave them broken down. Every player has equipment to keep them safe. It helps them stand their ground and play hard.
It was 5:56 in the morning, and I was barely awake. I knew this was going to be a challenge, but I couldn't remember the last time I woke up this early consistently. Maybe four years ago in college? See, for quite some time, I've been a slacker, a poser. I'd get up to head to work, and if I had time I'd cram down some Bible verses, toss up a few prayers and start the routine to the office.
Hockey Chat: There is a main component of hockey skates that is ultimately most important but always over looked. The laces. Without them you have a wobbly unresponsive skate. But when tightened you have a controlled skate that is inline and reacts to you. Skates only work if under control.
Hockey Chat: One of the greatest things about winning the Stanley Cup is that each member of the winning team gets to spend a day with the cup. They get to have all their friends over to show it off personally. They get to share the great reward they have with everyone.
Hockey Chat: Have you ever tried to skate on dull skates. No edge means no go. When you have a nice blade you can stand firm, be sure of your turns, and move quick.
Anyone who knows sports knows that turnovers and missed opportunities, especially in the game of basketball, spell disaster. This was never more apparent than in the championship game of our holiday tournament, when our starting point guard had 11 turnovers before halftime, and our team faced a 12-point deficit. The message for her was simple at halftime: “What could you do with 11 more possessions? Could you score the 12 points we need? Perhaps dish out 6 assists to overcome the deficit?”
Hockey Chat: Coaches have the important job of figuring where to play his skaters. All six players on the ice play an equally important role regardless of the position that they’ve been placed in. They are all there with the common goal, “keep the puck out of our net and get it into theirs.” Whatever they can do to play a part in getting to that goal, makes a winning team.
Hockey Chat: In 1896, the Ontario Hockey Association stated the role of the goaltender in the rules: "The goalkeeper must not during play lie, sit, or kneel upon the ice” These rules held until goalies were given permission to drop to the ice with the start of the NHL in 1917. The new rules gave them freedom from being penalized for dropping down and allowed them to better protect their goal.
To humble ourselves under God means to be subject to Him. Because we can’t see Him, we forget He is watching. Sometimes we can’t hear Him, so we forget He is speaking. We can’t always feel Him, so we forget He never leaves or forsakes us. Just because we can’t always see, hear, or touch God doesn’t mean He isn’t mighty. He is able to destroy entire nations if He desires, as is often illustrated in the Old Testament. God is all-powerful. When we live in accordance to His will, we will experience His abundant blessings. As 1 Peter 5:6 states, He will exalt us in due time if we remain humble to Him.
How can we humble ourselves under God? We can start by listening to His advice, searching His Word, and spending time with Him.
Hockey Chat: Goal judges were first used around 1877 in Montreal and stood right behind the goal (a brutal job for someone with no pads). Years later, they sat in elevated cages behind the glass and when they would see the puck cross the line, they’d turn on the bright red goal light to signal to everyone that a goal has been scored. The red light is a hockey icon now being a symbol of scoring a goal.
Hockey Chat: For many folks, the greatest hockey player they know was Wayne Gretzky. Even his old coach knew that. While playing for the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA in the 1978-79 season he was sold to Peter Pocklington owner of the Edmonton Oilers for a painting and a million dollars. He went on to win the scoring title 10 times in his career and blasted through the goal scoring record like he blasted pucks into the net. Nine Hart Tropheys, 4 Stanley Cups, 2 Con Smythes. He made the highlight clips nightly but the one clip that has not been talked about as a great feat was a great blunder (I just happen to still have it on VHS tape). As he was racing back to get in between a 2-on-1 break on his own goal, he stuck his stick out to block the p
You have to admit that the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has a fantastic concept. The show should be called “Extreme Transformation” because they identify a huge need and then, not only fill the need, but also go way beyond it. When they finally tell the driver to move the bus no one ever casually says, “That is exactly what I thought it would be. Thanks for meeting my expectations. Not bad work.” No, their expression tells it all. They are blown away. And, it’s hard for those of us watching not to tear up a little when we see their responses.
It’s not from the world of sports, but it is what we’re all talking about today: the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas. There are so many questions to be answered, so many emotions to be addressed, so much pain to be endured. Our prayers are with the families of those killed and wounded today as they pick up the pieces and begin life under very new circumstances.
I grew up in east Texas. Texarkana, to be precise. If I were to sum up my east Texas experience for someone unfamiliar with its culture and people, I would simply tell them about Gary Mills. He was a man who worked for my dad. Sort of. Gary worked when Gary wasn’t in jail.
Gary Mills owned a van that he’d bought at a pawn shop. Now, only in the piney woods of eastern Texas and portions of rural West Virginia can vehicles be acquired from pawnshops, for like two dollars. These are my people.
We fret about everything. We worry about the future, our careers, and our team’s performance. We are afraid of failure. We live in a harried society where many illnesses are stress-related. Medication is prescribed at record rates. However, as Christians, we know there is a healthier way to live our lives.
God is so good. He offers us freedom from worry and stress if we will seek Him first. There are so many things that distract me from truly seeking God: money, job, success, comfort, security, and worldly pleasures. God wants to be first in our lives, not just in our words, but also in our deeds and daily agendas.
Hockey Chat: A regulation size hockey goal opening is 24 square feet. A fully armored goalie covers approximately 18 square feet of that space leaving only 6 square feet of open net and that’s with the goalie standing still. It takes practice and determination to get the puck into the mere 25% of the goal that is uncovered while that padded guy it hopping around in front to stop it.
What enters your mind as you read the verses above, knowing that God hates the behaviors listed there? Do you find yourself thinking of times, perhaps even recently, when you have done something that God abhors? It’s interesting (and convicting) that the Lord puts shedding innocent blood and spreading strife among brothers in the same list. To the world, shedding innocent blood is certainly considered much worse than creating conflict. But just what does it mean to stir up “trouble among brothers”?
When the world tends more and more toward darkness in deeds and spirit, sometimes we like to qualify how good or bad our actions or deeds are. We say things like, “I know I shouldn’t be doing that, but at least I’m not…” Does it really matter what word or phrase goes in the blank? The more we allow small amounts of evil to permeate our lives, the more Satan takes over. Give evil an inch, and the evil one will take your soul.
One of my players committed a costly turnover during a basketball game, and I screamed, “How could he be so stupid?” I had officially hit rock bottom as a coach. Winning games had become so important to me that I publicly demeaned a player. My will as a coach needed to be broken and conformed to God’s will. So I spent some time with God and asked Him, “Should I still be coaching?” God graciously provided the answer in Jeremiah 7:3, “Correct your ways and your deeds, and I will allow you to live in this place.” When I knew that God wanted me to coach, I needed to ask “Why do I coach?” Was it for the wins or my personal glory? Or was it to have an impact for Christ?
Coaching involves serving, teaching, encouraging, and leading. If you are in a coaching position right now, you have tremendous power to influence the lives of not only the athletes you coach, but also anyone in your circle of influence. What an awesome responsibility.
Hockey Chat: We’ve seen it at every level. From the pee-wee’s up through the professionals. As much as skaters on the same team try to move fluently and work together, there is always some moment in some games where two guys on the same team cross paths and trip each other up. The lack of proper communication or the way they communicated caused them to run into each other. One misjudged the other and they both wound up in the same space and down on the ice.
How do you feel when someone wrongly criticizes you or says something false about you to another? In Nehemiah 6 we read how the rumor mill got started by a group of people who wanted to slander and intimidate Nehemiah. A man named Tobiah wrote a public letter stating that the reason Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall was for his own benefit, so that he could become king and lead Israel into a revolt against the reigning powers of the day. However, Nehemiah had received God-given guidance for his actions, so when he was confronted by adversaries, he trusted God for further wisdom. God will give us wisdom if we seek Him when we are faced with slanderous attacks and false accusations.
Do you have a favorite sport? Maybe, maybe not, but regardless of the type of game we enjoy, our favorite aspect of any sport ought to be respect. We owe respect to our opponent and to ourselves, as well as to the sport we are playing. The name for such respect is sportsmanship, and it also includes courtesy and fairness. I’ve discovered a sportsman-like attitude in golf and in track more than in other sports. Golf is typically played with honor. Winning first place in track isn’t crucial; a runner can earn points for finishing third, fourth, or even fifth place.
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