First Round Grace

I heard a conversation on the radio this week about a young quarterback. The commentators explained how football players drafted in the first round will be given every opportunity to fail. They are seldom (never) cut from the team at the end of the preseason competition.

In contrast, NFL clubs will sign young, undrafted, players to temporary contracts to get them through training camp. Throughout the preseason NFL teams must gradually cut their squad from 90 players to 75, and then finally to 53 players on the teams roster at the start of the regular season. If you're doing the math, that means that 40% of the players present on the opening day of training camp won't play in the NFL that year.

For most undrafted free agents, the opportunity with their first NFL teams will come to an end before the regular season begins. To continue the opportunity into the regular season and onto a potential path to stardom, an undrafted free agent must prove his worth during training camp. ~ Bleacherreport.com

I had the opportunity this week to attend the Buffalo Bills training camp. I mostly watched the Bills wide receivers. Buffalo has a pretty settled group of wide receivers. They have:

1. Sammy Watkins (Buffalo's #1 draft pick in 2014 & 2015)
2. Robert Woods (Buffalo's #2 draft pick in 2013)
3. Percy Harvin (signed from the Jets this year)
4. Chris Hogan (played every game in 2013 & 2014)

No other Bills wide receiver in 2014 even had 10 receptions for the year. This means that the seven other receivers in training camp are probably competing to maybe be the fourth WR on the team More likely, they're hoping to be the fifth or sixth WR on the team knowing that the sixth WR usually doesn't even dress for games. The sixth guy is just there in case of an injury to someone.

Seven players. Two roster spots.

Every play they make at training camp will be scrutinised. Every time a defender stops them. Every time they drop a ball. Every time they run to the wrong place on the field. That might be the time that the coaches decide this rookie's professional football career will never get started. Every play is vital.

NFL rosters are made up largely of players who the team has made a significant investment in, either in guaranteed money or in a draft pick. Undrafted free agents, on the other hand, have minimal commitment from the teams they sign with, so they must prove they are better than their competition to have a shot at making the 53-man rosters. ~ Bleacherreport.com

At the other extreme the Bills have EJ Manuel on their team. Manuel was the team's #1 draft pick in 2013 and the sixteenth pick overall. Through his first 15 games Manuel has a passer rating of 78.5. That's not very good.

What are EJ Manuel's problems? This summary from his ESPN profile gives some perspective:

What did Manuel do to get himself benched in favor of Kyle Orton last year? If we had to pick one factor, it would be deep-ball accuracy. He completed only 28 percent of his throws that traveled 20 air yards or more (35th out of 42 QBs with at least 15 attempts). Manuel has a tendency to duck his head when a pass rush gets in his face, and his throwing mechanics suffer.

Despite these shortcomings EJ is now entering his third year and the team is hoping that he will improve and this will be the year that he lives up to the potential they saw in him on that draft day in 2013. The team has shown him patience. They've invested the time and energy of numerous coaches into his development. They've used early picks in the draft to gain wide receivers who they hope will help Manuel out. And this year they'll pay him like a starting quarterback to be the third string quarterback, hoping against hope that he'll suddenly get it all together and become a superstar.

Grace. Patience. Forgiveness. Time to Grow.

Manuel gets plenty of these.  Wide receivers 3 through 7? They'd better hope they graduated college or they'll be flipping burgers when the NFL season kicks off.

The good news for you is that when God looks at you, he sees a first round draft pick. It doesn't matter how you see yourself. It doesn't matter how others view you. God sees someone precious.

Because you're his first round draft pick, God gives you grace, patience, forgiveness, and time to grow.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells the story of a shepherd who leaves his flock of 99 sheep to go back and find one that wandered away. He describes God's love for each person. The team bus won't wait for the #7 WR, but the QB drafted in the first round? The coach would probably drive to his house personally to make sure he was okay. So God views us as his first round draft pick, and treats us accordingly.

As God's children, He gives us every opportunity to fail.

What Baseball Taught me about Bible Study

Growing up in Florida, I was not an avid baseball fan. Until 1993, the closest professional baseball team was Atlanta. If people asked me who my favorite baseball team was I would have said the Atlanta Braves, but honestly I didn't know that much about them. I knew who their coach was, and I knew names like David Justice and John Smoltz; but honestly I very rarely watched a game and didn't understand very much about baseball. I tried over the years to get into baseball. I would occasionally flip over to a baseball game on television when there wasn't anything else on. I even occasionally went to a few games, mostly minor league, but it was never anything that I loved.

Then we moved to the Bay Area...
 

I had seen the movie Moneyball and enjoyed it. I also found the way the Oakland Athletics put together a competitive team with a small budget as fascinating. It's almost as if their team was the island of misfit toys from Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. So one night my wife and I decided to go to our first A's game. I really enjoyed it and became fascinated with the Oakland Athletics. But honestly, I still didn't know much about baseball.

 

So I began to study the game of baseball. I began to Google terms that I did not understand. Terms like "WHIP," "fielder's choice," and "4 seam fastball" just to name a few. I began studying the players, their histories, and the history of the team. I began to learn more about baseball. The more I learned of the game the more I love to the game. As a matter of fact, I can say very clearly that I am obsessed with the Oakland Athletics. This amazes friends of mine who knew that I grew up as a football guy. But I can't help it, I love baseball!

You may be wondering what any of this has to do with God. And no, I'm not going to say that God is an Oakland A's fan. But I am going to say that when we have a causal relationship with God, like I had a casual relationship with baseball, much of it has to do with the fact that we don't study God like we should. The more that we study God, and the more that we learn to know God, the more we will love God and become obsessed with God.

So, are you a casual observer of God? Or, or are you longing to know more about him? I promise you, the more you study about God the more you will fall in love with him. God does not need casual observers who occasionally flip over to him when there is nothing else on. Rather, he needs people who are obsessed with him.

I could say more about this, but the A's pregame show starts in 7 minutes.

-Glenn Newton

Glenn Newton has been serving as the preaching minister for the Pleasant View church of Christ in Pleasanton, California, since 2012. A 1997 graduate of Heritage Christian University, Glenn actively speaks at lectureships, workshops, and meetings throughout our country and has authored 6 books (5 of which are available through 21st Century Christian).

When Shepherds Eat Their Sheep

FIFA is a corrupt organization.

We've known it for years. Now the FBI has evidence.

On 26 May Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials while another seven officials have also been charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

FIFA officials had a sweet setup where they would receive bribes for their personal account in order to give organisational favours such as allocating tournaments. Then they would also use FIFA's organisational money to invest in facilities and various funded development programs. This investment ensured that those countries would continue to vote for the officials in their current roles, maintaining the organisational status quo.

It seems the event that really shone the spotlight on this corruption was when Qatar was awarded the rights to host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar is a tiny, albeit very rich, Arabian nation. It also has terrible labour practices with thousands of construction workers dying in recent years and hundreds more projected to die on building projects for the World Cup. The climate also seems particularly unsuitable for a World Cup with an average temperature close to 100 degrees Farenheit (38 C). Yet they won the vote.

Rather than go into further details I'll point you to a several articles from real news sites that you might appreciate:

• The New York Times breaking the story of the initial arrests.
• The Washington Post interview with a British investigative reporter who uncovered a lot of the corrupt practices.
• ABC News (USA) summary of the charges and arrests for non-soccer readers.
• The Washington Post article describing the terrible working conditions in Qatar.

It's not as though corruption just appeared on the scene. The Bible has a long history of condemning corrupt leaders. The prophet Jeremiah warns,

this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done.” (Jer. 23:2)

God consistently refers to national leaders and church leaders as "shepherds". An important element of this term involves the concept of stewardship.

Shepherds do not own their sheep. Shepherds are employees. They care for and protect the sheep on behalf of their owner.

When a shepherd forgets or ignores his role, trouble follows.

• He forgets that he's receiving money to protect the sheep and stops worrying when one wanders away or is attacked.
• He starts to think that he has a right to the sheep. After all, he knows their names and personalities.
• He begins to think that he's owed more than he receives and since the sheep are practically his it's okay if he sells a couple to make money on the side or even takes one for his own food while he's out on the road.

Whether in politics, the church, or sports management, this attitude of ownership and entitlement rather than stewardship is disastrous.

In many cases it reveals itself in financial or sex scandals. A quick internet search will find numerous examples of such instances in a variety of public offices. Sooner or later these things are exposed to public view.

FIFA officials forgot they were shepherds of the sport of soccer on behalf of national federations and millions of players and fans around the world.

Church leaders can lose sight of the truth that they're accountable to God for the souls of the people we lead. We can get caught up in disputes over remuneration, authority, and respect. When this happens we're at risk of falling off the cliff of ownership and entitlement which always ends in scandal. Just ask Sepp Blatter.

In Acts 20:28 Paul provides a prescription for healthy leadership to the elders of the church in the city of Ephesus.

Here are my instructions: diligently guard yourselves, and diligently guard the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has given you oversight. Shepherd the church of God, this precious church which He made His own through the blood of His own Son.

1. Diligently guard yourself. Keep your motives pure. Maintain a strong connection with your Master.
2. Diligently guard your flock. You have a responsibility to care for the souls in your church.
3. The church belongs to God. God acquired possession of the church through the blood of Jesus. Add arrogance to the list of shortcomings of any leader who believes the church is his.

Extreme Fatigue

Matt Carpenter plays third base for the St. Louis Cardinals and he's had a stellar start to the season. He's currently ranked no worse than 16th in all of the traditional batting statistics. (.333/.403/.620)

On a team that was leading Major League Baseball in wins, USA Today described Carpenter as "not only the catalyst, but the heartbeat of the Cardinals, who are off to their best start, 21-7, in franchise history."

More than just a a great player, Carpenter describes himself on his Twitter profile (@MattCarp13) as "Christian, Husband, STL Cardinal, Elkins Knight and TCU Horned Frog 4 life!"

Everything seems cheery for this All-Star on the team that played in last year's National League finals and looks like making a great run at it again this year.  Then suddenly things changed.

Towards the end of a game against the Pirates on 3 May, Carpenter felt an accelerated heart rate and dehydration and was subbed out of the game. He played the next three games against the Cubs but was only 1 for 12 at the plate.

Carpenter was diagnosed with "extreme fatigue" and left behind in St Louis while the team traveled to Pittsburgh.

Carpenter is known for his work ethic. He routinely gets to the stadium 7 hours before the first pitch. A quote in the USA Today article reveals his mindset, "I guess I never thought I was very good. So I thought I had to really work to achieve. I always thought someone was going to come take my job, or that today is my last game."

His manager, Mike Matheny, observed that this case of extreme fatigue came toward the end of a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. In a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, "[Matheny] described how Carpenter has been "pushing, pushing, pushing" and even when given Sunday off Carpenter went through a running program. Matheny also said that Carpenter has told the team he's had trouble sleeping."

It might surprise most church members to learn that burnout is a real threat for most preachers. In fact there's a website dedicated to it. One statistic from that site says that "40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations."

So think about your ministers, their wives, elders and other ministry leaders in your church. Are they encouraged to rest? You can play a vital role in your church's health by encouraging leaders to pace themselves and allow others to take on some of their workload.

But ministers aren't the only people in the church who battle burnout. How often do you greet someone at church, ask them how they are, and they respond, "Busy"? Have you ever had someone answer that question by saying, "I'm well rested and content"?


Sadly, many of us forget that God built a day of rest into Creation. Think about it. If God needed a day of rest after 6 days of work, who are we to think we can work and run incessantly?

I hope that Matt Carpenter doesn't have a health concern more serious than Extreme Fatigue. I also hope that Christians don't somehow think that Extreme Fatigue comes with the territory of living for Christ. That's a lie our culture feeds us. Burnout is as great an enemy as Laziness. Unfortunately our culture only condemns one.

Laziness is a vice. Burnout is a weakness. And "busyness" is productivity.

If Christians buy into this worldview we'll find ourselves battling Extreme Fatigue. We'll be too exhausted to give God our best. And before long we'll find ourselves seeking God's approval through our activity. We  might even view our fatigue as a sign that we're "giving our all" for God.

Matt Carpenter reminds us when we're running on empty we can't help our team the way they need us to. We'll be sitting on the sidelines recovering instead of participating.

Whether an athlete or a Christian, we all need to integrate rest into our lives. God made us this way.

A friend of mine recently shared some thoughts along a similar line that I encourage you to read HERE.   Also, if you're looking for a longer discussion on the topic of Sabbath, I've written more HERE.

Playing to Lose

I am not overly familiar with European soccer, but I have come to love the concept of relegation between divisions found throughout European leagues. This keeps everyone fighting for a win. In the English league the bottom two teams at the end of the season in a given division will be relegated to the next lower division. At the same time, the top two teams from that lower division will be promoted to the higher division.

According to Wikipedia....

The English football league system, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the hypothetical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system. There are more than 140 individual leagues, containing more than 480 divisions^. The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 15 clubs per division implies that more than 7,000 teams of nearly 5,300 clubs are members of a league in the English men's football league system.

Currently facing relegation from the English Premier League.

In the lower division the player salaries are lower and usually the profits for the club are much lower as fans and general interest level wane. Only the the top 4 or 5 leagues are able to sustain full teams of professional players.

One fundamental reason this will never take off in the United States is that owners have so much invested in their teams that they're unwilling to risk that investment by being demoted to a lower league. Can you imagine if the NY Knicks were playing in the D-League next year? How many tens of millions of dollars would James Dolan lose?

Of course, if they won the D-League they'd make it back to the NBA the following season, but that one year absence could be crippling. And if they didn't win the D-League New York City might be without an NBA team for a long time. Not a single NBA owner would be happy to have an NBA team leaving the NYC media market and being replaced with current D-League leader the Maine Red Claws who play in Portland, Maine in front of about 5,000 fans.

Not. Going. To. Happen!

HOWEVER, because it's not going to happen, fans of all professional sports in the US will continue to find themselves cheering for their teams to lose in the hope of getting a top draft choice and rebounding next year.

"It's us against the world, Guys!"

I live an hour from Buffalo, NY. The Buffalo Sabres ice hockey team has spent weeks locked in a neck-and-neck struggle with the Arizona Coyotes for the worst record in the NHL. By finishing last the Sabres would be guaranteed one of the first two picks in the NHL draft.

This desire to lose isn't even a secret. Here's an article on the Sabre's official radio partner's website describing what the team needs to do to lock up last place in the league. When the Coyotes came to Buffalo a couple of weeks ago, sections of the crowd cheered when Buffalo lost. What a crazy mixed up system.

I believe that the players continue to play for wins, but perhaps without their usual passion. The players play for their reputation, for their next contract, because that's all they know to do. Meanwhile, the team bureaucracy undermines their efforts by trading stars and including young "development" players in the lineup. Officially, this is how they build for the future. Unofficially, it's how they guarantee losses to gain high draft picks.

Other sports are just the same. Should I cheer for my Indiana Pacers to make the playoffs when I expect them to bomb out in the first round, or hope they lose a few games to improve their draft position. This headline and article from Grantland.com pretty much sums up the dilemma, this time for Boston, 

"A Playoff Problem: If the Celtics Are Trying to Rebuild, Then Why the Postseason Push?"

Wouldn't it be beautiful and exciting and nerve-wracking if these teams were instead fighting to win each night in order to avoid relegation?!?!

Spiritually, I feel the existing system forces the fans and team administrators to adopt the role of Satan. He sees people desiring to live good lives, longing to honour God, striving to serve others, and doing their best. All the time he's attempting to undermine their efforts and cheers each time we lose. He discourages us and seeks to convince us that winning is futile and even impossible: that the odds are stacked against us.

Sometimes Satan promises a brighter future in exchange for a short-term defeat. Isn't this what he offered Jesus when he showed him the world? “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” One defeat, one loss, one compromise, and you'll gain the world. Tomorrow you will have everything you desire. Loss will lead to victory!

In contrast, God cheers us on and motivates our victories with heavenly crowd noise. When we're struggling he's still present, still cheering, still hoping for triumphs and mourning losses. He knows that long-term success is a process. He provides a winning culture and supportive environment in the church. Through this spiritual community He supplies spiritual coaches and mentors to keep us building and moving in the right direction. As the team owner he holds nothing back that will help us reach our goals.

We'll lose at times. God knows that. He recognises that losses build character. Good things can come out of great difficulties. But He never cheers for us to lose. There is no shortcut to our spiritual finish line.