The Most Improved Award

Have you ever attended the season ending sports team award night?

It's the night when the coaches or parents or someone you don't really know tries to give trophies to as many people as possible.

First, we get the serious awards:

• Most Runs Scored
• Highest Average
• Most Valuable Player

Then, we get to the "others":

• Best Teammate
• Most Improved
• Most Potential
• Most Encouraging
• Hardest Trainer

This generosity of awards means it really sucks when all the trophies have been distributed and you're not holding one!

Then there are the league award nights. These mean something. These awards pit your talent and accomplishments against everyone in the competition, not just your own team.

I once won one of these awards many years ago. In the end, that sucked too. No one knew I was going to receive the award, so I didn't attend the league presentation night. I just dropped by someone's house the next week to pick up my trophy. No applause. No photo's. No respect.

But still, it meant something. It justified all the training sessions I'd attended. It confirmed that I'd contributed to the team's success. It encouraged me to keep playing the next year.

On July 15 ESPN hosted the ESPYS: which might be the largest sports awards event in the United States. They handed out 37 different awards. Perhaps you heard about Caitlyn Jenner receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. That was only one headline from the evening.  You can view the total list of awards and recipients HERE.

On Sunday I attended an awards event with a difference. A local church had a special worship service to celebrate their 20th Anniversary. During the service they made several presentations including:

• The Lifetime Achievement Award
• The Most Improved Award

These awards and plaques were given to church members.

My immediate response was to laugh a little. I'd never seen a Most Improved award at a church before. But then I began thinking....

I've been around many Christians who are reluctant to give compliments for fear it will give the recipient a big head. We don't want to cause a brother to stumble from pride now, do we?

On the other hand, this type of public recognition can provide wonderful encouragement.

Do you ever feel like you're plugging away in a ministry and no one recognises you? Of course, you do it for God, not for personal acclaim, but it sure helps to know our efforts are appreciated.

Have you ever seen a young Christian growing in faith and long for others to encourage them and get involved in their lives? Maybe a public award isn't such a bad thing.

I know a fairly large church that had a practice of awarding a "Servant's Towel" once a month to recognise members who had faithfully served God in that congregation. I imagine in a smaller church it might happen once a quarter or once a year because awards really do lose their significance when everyone receives one.

Isn't it interesting how often Christians talk about Jesus washing his disciples feet in John 13 and no one thinks, "I bet Jesus is going to get a big head knowing that Christians are going to be talking about this act of service for thousands of years to come! John should have left this out of his Gospel so that it would be 'true service', anonymous and unappreciated."

I'll close with these words from Hebrews 3:13,

Encourage each other every day—for as long as we can still say “today”—so none of you let the deceitfulness of sin harden your hearts.

Are there people in your church you would like to give an award? Are there people working hard who could benefit from your encouragement? Are there great ministries taking place that need a little more awareness in the congregation?

Be an encourager and defend the hearts of those you love.

The Matheny Manifesto

As a Cardinals fan, I was thrilled to get my hands on the book The Matheny Manifesto by Mike Matheny. Matheny arrived at the Cardinals about the same time I started paying attention to them. He was then part of four playoff runs over the next five years. So I have a vested interest.

To be honest, the book wasn't quite what I expected. Perhaps I just hadn't thought through my expectations very well, but I had expected more of a biography.

If I'd thought about it I would have remembered the actual Matheny Manifesto that went viral online in 2008. I remembered I'd read it. I remembered I was impressed by it. But I didn't remember the details and that it was aimed at youth baseball parents.

This book will most benefit most parents and coaches of young baseball players. In fact, I'd describe it as a MUST READ! Second, parents and coaches of youths involved in any sport will also put the book down with some great ideas. Third, if you're a fan of the game, the Cardinals, or Matheny himself, you'll enjoy the storytelling that fills the book.

If there's one quote that summarizes Matheny's overall goal in writing the book and in coaching young players, I found it on the second last page (220).

I was honored to be a coach, and now I'm humbled to be a [Cardinals] manager and hopefully a mentor. My goal, my obligation, is to pass along what has been imparted to me. When I get that right and serve my guys without another agenda or motive or need to be acknowledged for it, I win their trust and know I have done my job.

That's what I meant from the beginning  when I said youth sports had to be all about the kids.

Throughout the book Matheny displays a welcome realism in recognizing that athletic success requires talent and and natural ability. He acknowledges that the vast majority of participants in youth sports leagues will never play in college, and even less will play professional baseball. Given this reality he could easily choose to expend his time, energy and experience on his most talented players. However, Matheny never limits his definition of success to on-field results.

As stated in the original manifesto Matheny's main goals are as follows: (1) to teach these young men how to play the game of baseball the right way, (2) to be a positive impact on them as young men, and (3) do all of this with class.

"Class" is an important word for Matheny. It recurs frequently throughout the pages of this book. It seems to represent "old-school" values that Mike holds near and dear to his heart. He insists on his players not protesting calls during a game and shaking hands with the umpires at the end of the game regardless of whether they like the way it was called. He'll rotate all the players through all the positions, giving them an opportunity to gain experience. He won't tolerate parents lobbying coaches for their child's playing time or position, and is just as insistent that parents should do no more than applaud from stands.

When players or parents can't abide by these requirements, they're asked to leave the team. It's that important.

This book did a great job of weaving stories about the youth league that started all this, about Matheny's own youth baseball experience and his time in the Majors, into a book that clearly wants to promote a set of values.  I felt he did all this without ever becoming particularly preachy.

I particularly appreciated Matheny's willingness to spend an entire chapter discussing his Christian faith journey. While explaining his commitment to Christ, he also described the challenges of knowing when to speak up about faith and when to be silent. Can a devout Christian also be a baseball tough guy? Can a Christian manager stand up for his players as they expect him to do? This chapter describes Mike's growth and approach to these questions.

I also appreciated his chapter toward the end of the book discussing the end of his Major League career. Matheny fell victim to concussions. As a sports fan we often hear of players having concussions. The recent NFL law suit has raised the public profile of the issue. Matheny provides a glimpse of what life is like for those dealing with serious concussion symptoms, and the struggle "The Toughest Man Alive" had to work through to change his views of what toughness means.

I am very thankful I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. They didn't demand that I like it, just read it and write about it. But I genuinely did find this an interesting read and if you like sports I think you will also enjoy the book.

You can buy the book on Amazon HERE.

The N-Word

This week I stumbled across this video produced by ESPN show, Outside the Lines. The NFL has raised the possibility of introducing an on-field penalty (15 yards) for players heard using racial slurs, including the N-word. The proposal faces several difficulties, the least of which is determining an appropriate football penalty for a non-football violation.

The biggest issue is that while the vast majority of the population finds the N-word extremely offensive, within younger African-American culture the word is frequently used almost affectionately. It is interesting in the video below to see the disparate views between black and white Americans and also between younger and older African-Americans.  (This article provides a good overview of the issues.)

Why am I sharing this video? Because I believe conversations like this are a necessity to break down barriers between individuals and ethnic groups in our society. It's too easy to bury our heads in the sand and let other people sort it out.

This is only one segment of a longer show they committed to the topic. I encourage you to look around their site for associated videos.

There are several lessons Christians and churches can learn from conversations like this:

1. The meanings of words are fluid. What implications does this have for Bible translations?
2. Culture changes rapidly. Dictionary.com describes the N-word as "now probably the most offensive word in English" yet for some people and cultural groups the word is a term of endearment or brotherhood. 
3. The question that jumps off the screen at me is, "Why can ESPN and the NFL have this conversation, while churches have nothing to say?" How dangerous would it be for a church or group of churches to have assembled this forum? How much backlash and criticism would they have received...from their own members? 

Please leave respectful comments below.

Read a previous post on this issue HERE. 

The Story of an Oxgoad, the NFL, and You

I once preached a sermon based on the text of Judges 3:31. It says this:

"After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel."

I'm sure I was copying someone else I'd heard, but the point of the sermon was pretty simple. Shamgar was one of Israel's judges, appointed by God to lead His people.

In this instance he goes to battle against the Philistines with an oxgoad. What's an oxgoad? It's a stick used to poke oxen to keep them moving while they're ploughing a field. It's not a weapon... usually.

So why did Shamgar use an oxgoad for a weapon? It wasn't because he was skilled in the ancient martial art of oxgoading. It's my thesis (guess) that he used the oxgoad because that's what he was familiar with. Shamgar wasn't a warrior. He was a farmer who walked behind stinky oxen to plough fields.

God called a farmer to rescue and lead his people as a judge. When Shamgar received that call, he answered it with what he had on hand... an oxgoad. And God used him to save Israel.

Each of us faces a similar challenge to answer God's call where we find ourselves. Don't wait for the perfect time, perfect place, the most receptive person, or even more training. If God gives you an opportunity to speak or act for Him, do it with whatever you have. You just might save a nation!

All that to introduce this awesome video by Matt Hasselbeck who is now the backup quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. The website also has interviews by other Christian athletes.

Maybe it's different in the US with a lot of Christians hailing from the Bible Belt, but I suspect not. In my experience athletes and sports clubs are pretty difficult situations to discuss faith. It's much easier to discuss sex, or binge drinking, or gambling, or sports, or all sorts of things... but not Jesus. Professional athletes face the additional temptations of hedonism, pride, materialism, popularity, and greed. I just point that out to say, "Don't underestimate the challenges for Hasselbeck to share his faith with his teammates. It's certainly not easier than what you and I encounter in our social circles."

NBA Champion & Church member

I just want to draw your attention to an article in the Christian Chronicle about Norris Cole, a bench player for the Miami Heat.  He now has the same number of rings as LeBron James!  You can read it here.

The article discusses Cole's faith and church involvement.  I don't want to suggest that some of the excesses we see in the lives of superstars from time to time are the norm in every locker room, but I suspect that in that environment there are many temptations for Christian athletes to compromise their faith.  Any athlete able to maintain their faith convictions should be respected.  Too often though, we hear more about the failures than the successes.

In the article Cole comments that the team schedule doesn't allow him to attend the worship service at his home congregation in Miami every Sunday.  So to help him out "every sermon that I miss, the Miami Gardens church gives me a DVD so I can go back and watch. My mother, she gives me a daily Scripture reading and devotional for every day. They help me stay spiritually minded and keep me on task."

That demonstrates a high level of commitment.  I know that most members at my church who miss a service don't go back and listen to it or attempt to make it up.  So big props to Norris Cole.  I hope he perseveres in his faith and that his NBA career takes off.

Tiger wins..... again

Yesterday Tiger Woods won his third tournament of the year at the AT&T Classic. He now heads the FedEx Cup leaderboard and the PGA Tour money list for the first time since 2009.  He also passed Jack Nicklaus for the second most tournaments won (74).

Tiger's success poses several difficulties for me that maybe you relate to.  (The context for this list is that I struggle to feel charitable toward someone who treated his wife and children the way he did through his serial sexual indiscretions.)

• "Why do good things happen to bad people, like Tiger?" And the flipside of that, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
• I am amazed at how many people are excited to have him back on the PGA Tour.  My challenge here is not that I want others to hate him, it's that they seem more willing to extend grace and forgiveness toward him than I am.
• The previous point raises the question, "Are all these people really demonstrating grace, or are they just saying the sin isn't really that significant?"
• Is it wrong for me as a Christian to cheer for someone to fail? (Think bigger than just the sports field for this one.)  What if I just cheer for the other guy to win?

I'm not giving answers to this list, just sharing my questions.  How do you feel about Tiger's success?  Are you hoping that he beats Jack's record of 18 major championships?