Spiritual Lessons from the NY Jets

I gravitate towards books by or about explorers and sports coaches. I like the discipline these leaders show as they lead themselves and others to pursue goals and meet objectives. They strive for excellence and I find motivation for my own journey in reading about them. 

In Collision Low Crossers, Nicholas Dawidoff writes about a year he spent with the New York Jets football team. He spent the year mainly with the defensive coaches but also spent some time with the offensive coaches and had interactions with the players. 

In 2010, Rex Ryan's second year as coach, the Jets were believed to have Super Bowl potential but because of close losses and damage due to infighting they finished with a losing record.

In the book, Dawidoff chronicled the football year--from pre-draft, through the draft, into training camp, during the long season, and into the off-season. One emphasis of Dawidoff's was the way that the coaches strove for excellence. They did this in three ways: 

1. through attention to detail; 
2. by organizing and executing plans; and 
3. through constant growth and improvement. 

One takeaway for me from this book was to ask how those three points could be applied to both ministry and spiritual development. 

Do I pay attention to detail? Am I focused on the basic habits that I need to be successful? Do I read the Bible and pray? Do I worship with other Christians? What do I watch, read, listen to, and do they impact me with negativity or with a proper focus on God? If we do not pay attention to these "little" things, we will find later on that we have developed larger problems. 

Do I organize and execute a plan? How do I plan to serve God this year? How will I grow? What ministries am I involved in and how can they be organized to bring greater glory to God? Wandering aimlessly in our faith brings us the same result as the Israelites in the desert--forty years without reaching a destination. In partnership with God, we can make plans to serve him and then follow through on them. 

Do I seek constant growth? In my personal life with God, am I content to allow "a little anger" or "a little greed" to stay in my life? In my ministry, am I happy to reach a certain plateau and then stay there? God calls us to more. Our journey is one of becoming more like Christ. There is always room to grow and we must seek this growth even if it is difficult. 

Although a secular pursuit like winning football games may not seem to have much to do faith, a thoughtful reading of Collision Low Crossers caused me to reflect on my faith and my ministry and to be challenged to grow and do better in both.

Jeremy Hoover is the minister at the Otisville Church of Christ in Otisville, Michigan. His website is at jeremyhoover.com. He is an avid sports fan who enjoys biographies about athletes and books by coaches. His favorite sports are hockey, where he roots for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and football, where he pulls for the New England Patriots.

Pots of Gold

I noticed this story on a sports ticker the other day. (Read another version of it HERE.) Notre Dame sent some of their potential football recruits packages of 477 hand-written letters. This represents one letter for every Notre Dame player who has ever been drafted to the NFL.

This is certainly extravagant and as the article points out will lead to other colleges competing to see who can show their recruits the most love. If the next school sends 500 letters will that mean they value their players more than Notre Dame does?

As a church leader it's my job to send a letter or email each week to each first-time guest for whom we receive contact info. In fact, guests receive an email from me on both their first and second visits  to one of our worship services. Focusing upon hospitality toward guests is an important aspect of our Sunday morning experience. In an ideal world each guest would leave feeling they've made at least one new friend and met a church that cares about them and can help meet their needs.

I know other churches that attempt to demonstrate their love for each person that comes through their doors by dropping off a box of cookies or some homemade bread later that week or even Sunday afternoon. A couple of times I've received a pen in the mail as a "thank-you" gift for visiting a church. I've also heard a minister at a large church describe how he spends Sunday afternoon making phone calls to first-time guests that left their phone number on an attendance card.

I don't really imagine that any guest at a church service would want to receive 477 letters later that week. But it makes me think about our attitudes. Are we as passionate about "recruiting" people to the kingdom of God as we are about recruiting top players to a football team?

In Romans 10:1 the apostle Paul wrote, "my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved." 

What does your heart desire for your neighbours? Would you risk getting eternal hand cramp "so that they may be saved?"

Two Questions:
1. What's the most extravagant thing you've seen a church try as they followup with guests?
2. Can you think of another spiritual application to this story about "pots of gold"?  

Is Perfect Good Enough?

According to multiple news reports, including www.orangebloods.com the football coach at the University of Texas, Mack Brown, will be forced to retire in the immediate future.

Brown has been the head coach in Texas for sixteen years. Fifteen of those years produced winning seasons. In fact, from 2001 to 2009 they won at least 10 games every year. In 2005 Texas won the national championship and came second in 2009. They won the Rose Bowl in 2004 and the Fiesta Bowl in 2008. They also won the the Big 12 title in 2005 and 2009.

In almost any college football program in the country this would be a hugely successful era.

But Texas isn't "any football program in the country."

The Texas football program has enormous financial resources and the administration and fans expect that support and wealth to result in regular Big 12 championships at the least and national championships every few years.

Over the past four years the Longhorns have barely broken even in the Big 12 with a 18-17 win-loss record. This article also points out that "Brown [is] the first coach in Texas history to suffer four straight seasons with at least four losses."

So turning around a season that started with two unexpected losses and clawing back to a share of second in the Big 12 wasn't good enough to save Brown's job.

Different jobs come with different expectations. Sometimes just having a winning record is a major achievement for the team. In other locations beating a traditional rival will make a successful season. But then there are those teams for whom anything less than ultimate success is failure.

Each time I hear of a successful coach being fired for not being successful "enough" I reflect on the grace I receive from God. The only "enough" God seeks from me, is a spirit broken enough to recognise my need for God's forgiveness and healing in my life.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:6 (tNIV)

Plenty of times I get caught up in the pursuit of various "enoughs" trying to please God or earn something from Him. I'm glad God's standards are so much lower that those of football fans around the world, because I'm never enough for God. The only "enough" in our relationship is that God is "enough" for me! 

Conversation Changes Everything

I don't like athletes who try to gain a competitive advantage by using drugs. When I'm feeling grumpy I say "Kick them out of the game and never let them back in." I hold a grudge against baseball's all time home run leader, Barry Bonds, and think his record should be removed from the books. I view Alex Rodriguez as a cheat and wouldn't cry if his career was now over. I don't feel sorry for Lance Armstrong, although I respect the work his charity does.

In the recent Australian scandal where AFL team Essendon was accused of systematically giving their players illegal performance enhancing substances, I would not have thought any penalty was too harsh. Ultimately, the evidence didn't quite support the allegations, but it was still pretty rotten.

I don't like PED's because they unfairly skew the field of competition (as if natural selection doesn't already skew it enough!). They often have nasty side effects. The nasty side effects not only impact the star performers, but the desperate younger athletes who try to imitate the stars as they try to make their own way in the sport. Often the drugs used are simply illegal.

BUT then MY baseball team signs a confessed drug cheat. Jhonny Peralta was suspended 50 games in 2013 for using PED's. I laughed in his face (not literally). And now the Cardinals have signed him! For the good of the team, I'll have to cheer for him each time he comes up to bat.

Peralta didn't even attend the press conference to announce his signing. At that press conference the Cardinals GM had to defend the signing of a drug cheat. All he could say is that if MLB only suspends the player for 50 games, why shouldn't the team sign him once the 50 games are up. The club shouldn't be expected to impose its own ban beyond that the league imposes.

Of course, the Cardinals have already been through all this with Mark McGuire. But here's the point. "Getting to know people makes all the difference." One of the first steps toward hating someone is to dehumanize them. Forget they have a family and feelings. Label them drug cheat/black/gay/some other sin, then call down fire from heaven upon them. It's much easier if you've never shared a coffee with them.

Here's a couple of articles from other spheres of life that make a similiar point:

• When a black man sits down with KKK members remarkable things happen. HERE
• This article makes the point that society's view of homosexuality is rapidly changing because "It's difficult to believe that gay people are bad when you know one."

Isn't this kind of what happened in John 8:1-11 when the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. Of course adultery is still a sin. But suddenly this wasn't an abstract question about adultery. This was a specific circumstance about a very real woman who was right there in their presence. Expecting to be stoned she was probably crying and wailing and begging for mercy. No this wasn't hypothetical any more. In this context the evil of the religious leaders in exploiting this woman (and not her lover) as a tool to trip up Jesus changed the emphasis of the moment.


So before you go on facebook, or vent to your friends about "those people" (whoever they are) make the effort to get to know one, or some, of them. You don't have to agree, but God does call us to love them. Unless they're an extremely unpleasant person, it's usually much easier to love someone once you know them.

Overcome Bullying with Good

As soon as you saw the word "Bullying" in the title you knew I was going to talk about the mess at the Miami Dolphins where Jonathan Martin has walked out on the team and accused Richie Incognito of bullying.

I really don't want to go into the details of this situation because its so messy I'm not sure that anyone really knows what went on. There've been many articles written on various facets of of this ugly mess:

• Racism - A Jason Whitlock article HERE and a Shannon Sharpe rant HERE.
• Violence - A report from NFL.com HERE.
• Immorality - "Compulsory" meetings at strip clubs HERE.
• A Destructive Locker Room Culture - Bringing in good influences. HERE
• Defining Masculinity - a good summary article HERE.

The point I want to focus on today is the widespread response to Martin's bullying claim that instead of walking out on the team, he should have "stood up" to Incognito and bunched him in the mouth. According to this article even the Dolphins General Manager, Jeff Ireland, thought Martin's best course of action was to punch Incognito!

Have you ever heard the advice that goes something like, "Bullies are really cowards. Stand up to them and they'll back down." So if Martin responds to abuse with violence that will stop the violence? I just finished writing a blog post on a separate issue here that included the thought, "Sin never heals itself". Likewise violence isn't solved by more or greater violence.

I'm not saying that walking out on the team was the right solution. Maybe there were other avenues of redress available. I do not that violent retaliation was definitely not the best solution, or even a solution at all.

I wonder if a Christian would handle this situation differently? God certainly gives us a few ideas to chew on in circumstances like this:

• Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (Matt. 5:39)
• I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:44-45a)
• Do not repay anyone evil for evil. (Rom. 12:17a)
• Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Rom 12:21)

I wish I had "5 Easy Steps" for putting these teachings into practice. But this Martin - Incognito story demonstrates how difficult and complicated these situations are. There are so many times where it's incredibly difficult to decide the best specific path forward. Sometimes it means walking away from a situation and risking being misunderstood and called a coward. Sometimes it means reporting events to an authority and risking being called a snitch, and possibly losing some friends. Sometimes it means praying for evil people. Sometimes it means serving people we don't like.

Out of all the verses in Matt 5 and Romans 12 that relate to this issue, Romans 12:21 that most resonates with me. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Do you believe God, really, deep down in your heart, that good is able to overcome evil? 

Rookie Nerves

The 2013 baseball World Series (Snopes article HERE regarding the origin of the name.) begins tonight between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. The teams seem to be pretty evenly matched and it should be an entertaining series. (A great series if the Cards win!!)

One of the remarkable aspects of this matchup is the youth of many of the Cardinals key players. Two years ago Michael Wacha was pitching for Texas A&M. Tomorrow night he'll start in Game 2 of the World Series. He's 22 years old, and has played just 18 major league games, and now he's an ace pitcher in the World Series.

But Wacha isn't the only youngster on the team. The Cardinals have 6 rookie pitchers of the 12 on their playoff roster. (This article provides a good summary.)

On any given night Carlos Martinez will relieve Wacha. Martinez is 23 and just made his major league debut in May. Oh, and his fastball sits above 95mph occasionally touching 100mph. In September Kevin Rosenthal made the move to closer. He's also just 23 and still classified as a rookie by MLB. Oh, and his fastball will also top 100 mph from time to time.

It's risky to trust such youth with such great responsibilities during the baseball playoffs. Particularly during  playoffs when scores are low and runs are so hard to get, one disastrous performance or a key mistake by a novice could cost the team the series. Fans undoubtedly feel more relaxed when veteran star Adam Wainwright takes the mound. He's done this before. There's a sense that we know what quality of performance to expect. Or when the King of October, Carlos Beltran, comes to the plate fans expect that somehow he's going to find a way to score a run. That's his track record, big hits in big situations.

But when a rookie pitcher takes the mound more questions than confidence fill the air. Will the moment be too big for him? Have opposing batters figured him out? Has his luck run out? Can his nerves handle this situation? How will he respond if he gets off to a rough start? And when he hands off to a rookie reliever, and another, and another... Those nervous questions become amplified.

But look where the Cardinals faith in their rookies has gotten them.

Many times in life, and in our churches, we fail to trust the rookies. Most church leadership teams are made up of veterans aged 50+. That's not a problem. Their experience provides a valuable asset. The challenge they face is to give the rookies responsibilities. So often we want to avoid failure at all costs, so we go with the "reliable" option.

Good leadership isn't just about achieving reliable outcomes. Good leadership also involves realising the potential of those they lead. Healthy leadership creates an environment where rookies can "fail forward". (For additional reading try this overview of John Maxwell's book "Failing Forward".)

It's interesting how quickly we'll grant grace to Michael Wacha if he fails miserably in Game 2 of the World Series. Fans and teammates will say things like, "Hopefully he learned from this experience," or "He'll be better next year." Yet around the church we might hear, "That was a disaster, we need to do something different next year." or "Who can we get to run it differently next time?"

The big difference in sports is that when a player fails to meet expectations, all sorts of coaches will encourage and advise him. If the player listens and commits to appropriate training habits there's every reasonable expectation that he'll improve.

When someone fails at church or another area of our lives, do we surround them with coaching and encouragement? Or do we just criticise or turn our attention to the next rookie or to the reliable veteran?

Jesus took a risk with 12 rookies. He surrounded them with encouragement and coaching. One couldn't get on the same page as his coach and lobbied for his removal, but the other 11 turned the world upside down.  Who are you coaching?

Here's a couple of videos on failure featuring none other than the great Michael Jordan. The first is a commercial by Nike. The second reflects on his foray into baseball.

Overreaction Monday

The various hosts on ESPN Radio often use the term "Overreaction Monday" to describe the panic fans express as they digest a dismal performance by their team or key player over the weekend. The players, coaches, general managers should all be sacked! The season is doomed, they should trade their stars and build for the future!

Equally, the games, matches, plays of the weekend may have them over the moon and absolutely convinced that this is the year, the season, the opportunity they've been waiting a lifetime to see. The championship, premiership, moment in the sun will be there's when they're the last team standing. (After Round 1, Chip Kelly is the greatest coach ever and Michael Vick will lead the Philadelphia Eagles to the Promised Land in 2013!!!  Then they lost their next two games!)

This phenomena is particularly potent early in the year as fans (and media and coaches) attempt to grasp the potential of their team and players for the upcoming season. Week 1 every team is undefeated, but come Monday morning half the teams have a loss and the other half a win. One half begin second guessing all the off season player acquisitions and coaching moves. The other half are convinced their hiring and firing guys are geniuses.

Australian professional athletes have their own version of "Overreaction Monday" called "Mad Monday" which immediately follows the end of the regular season. Before the clubs have the chance to review the player list and delist or trade players, the players organize an end of season revelry that often gets out of hand. (Here's this year's 'mad' headline!) This custom is also overreaction as players overindulge in alcohol and in some cases assume, right or wrong, that this will be their last moment with these teammates.

Coaches beating each other up at a high school football game: OVERREACTION!  And the list of over passionate coaches, parents and players in youth sports could go on for a very long time.

I highlight these examples as a reminders of how often we all need to take a deep breath and consider the bigger picture before responding to specific events. When our families say or do something that surprises or shocks us, how often do we overreact? When things don't go our way on the job, do we overreact? Do we manage to keep perspective when something happens at church, or do we walk out the door at the smallest offense to find "the right fit for me"?

Jesus himself addresses this issue a couple of times. Overreaction Monday has been around for quite a long time! In Luke 9:51-55 a Samaritan village refused to give him a bed for the night. His disciples asked "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" (Wow, even the craziest football fans don't ask that question when they get mad at their team!) After pointing out their craziness, Jesus just walked on to another village and slept there.

In Matthew 13 Jesus told a parable about the devil planting weeds in God's field or kingdom. God's servants immediately wanted to pull out the weeds, but God said "No, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Overreaction Monday makes for great radio. It's passionate. It's interesting. It's opinionated. But it's also lacking perspective. God wants us, both as winners and losers, to show grace. In our family, job, school, church disputes, He wants us to step back and consider the bigger picture. Don't you be the person escalating and extending hurt by overreacting to perceived wrong doing. Confirm your perceptions and then prayerfully consider an appropriate response.  

It's never our job to call down fire from heaven on anyone's head... not even on Overreaction Monday!!!