Tag: Sports

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The Power of Being Present

It has been rare in my life, especially growing up in the church, that I have met genuine Christ-Followers who I know I can trust and who I know are not a bunch of talk; people who genuinely love Jesus and love people. I count it a privilege every time I get to hangout with my brothers from other mothers, Shane and Drew. I got to do that last night.

Last week, Shane spoke at the Bible study for the substance abuse program I manage. Shane was raw and genuine with the men and he connected with a lot of them on a personal level. Shane had the opportunity to talk with some of the guys after the meeting one-on-one as well. As early as the next day some of the men were asking when Shane was going to return to speak for them again. This group is made up of non-believers, Christians and followers of other faiths (i.e. Islam). These men are not worried about style or appearance or professionalism; things that a lot of us get caught up with in the modern, American church; these men care about being cared about and about others being real with them. Shane made an eternal impact for some of these men because he chose to be present and he preached Jesus.

Last night, Shane and Drew took some time out of their day to play flag football with these same men. We all had a blast, especially since our team destroyed our opponents. Shane tweeted this following the game, “Felt more like a Christ follower tonight playing flag-football than in a long time. #Jesusandfishermen” We didn’t sit down with the men and have a Bible study and we didn’t preach them a message, we simply chose to be present. It is my hope that through our presence these men know that they are loved and cared for, that they are no less of a person than the guy who seemingly has it all together. We laughed with them, we high-fived them, we cheered for them and bragged on them. We communicated through our actions that no matter what they have done, they were still important enough to play football with. Isn’t that how God responds to us? No matter what we we have done, God stepped into our field and put us on his team through his Son, Jesus.

Shane has already shared that message and I can’t wait until Drew gets to share that same message with these men as well. Some would criticize us for not sharing the gospel on the spot, but that’s okay, because we lived it and we have an open door to keep living it and in those moments we speak it, these men will be hungry to listen because they know we love them and our words are supported with loving actions. Drew’s testimony is awesome and I know he is going to reveal Jesus in a powerful way. Drew has already opened the door for these men to hear him out because he made a choice to be present. That’s just one of the reasons I am thankful for my buddies, Shane and Drew, because I can trust them (except for Drew, I don’t trust him around my family and that’s why he has never met them) and they genuinely love Jesus and other people.

Join the Conversation…How can you impact people’s lives eternally by choosing to be present? When is the last time you chose to be present in someone’s life and it led to a great eternal impact as a result of your influence?

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A Man on a Mission

Let me clarify up front…I am a Gator Hater!!! I am an unashamed, proud Georgia Bulldog’s fan and under normal circumstances would pull for any team that played our border foes, however on Thursday night, things changed for me. We’ve all most likely heard the promise made at the press conference, if you haven’t I embedded the video here…

Tebow is passionate about football and about winning, but he is more passionate about Jesus! On Thursday night, I found myself pulling for, not the Gaytors, but Tim Tebow. I found it amazing that the game announcers could not even talk about Tebow without talking about his faith and his off the field missions work. There was no seperating Tebow from his faith. Now I know there are groups of Christians who act like Christianity should almost be on the down low, as if we were living out a covert faith life. I do understand the desire not to be identified with the cheesy Christian-ease that some enjoy, but I believe the early Christians would take issue with the idea that we should live out Christian principles but only talk about Christ if someone gives us the opportunity. Their lives were all about Christ and they preached the Gospel to everyone they had the opportunity to do so with. I see that with Tebow, he is all about Christ. Some people would not pull for a player just because he is a believer, however when someone will put all of his or her fame and reputation on the line to live their life absent of self and for God’s honor, it makes me want to pull for them.

When most college students are partying and wasting their spring breaks away, Tebow is taking the free time he has to share Christ with a disconnected people across the ocean. Tebow made me think of the first Christians on Thursday night when the announcers could not seperate the faith from the man. Francis Chan talks about in Crazy Love…The early Christians never called themselves “Christians” – it was people outside the faith that first called them “Christians” because their lives reflected Christ. As you can see in the video, Tim Tebow is on a mission to be successful and to win at the game of football, but I know that he is more interested in being on a mission to see lives changed through the Gospel of Christ.

There are thousands of Christians in college football, but I have seen none who are as vocal or as passionate about Jesus as Tebow. I believe God allows people to rise to certain levels on a national stage, not because they have followed the principles in Your Best Life Now, but because God knows He can trust them to use it and not abuse it. You will never see Tebow in his game gear without a scripture under his eyes or a praise for his Savior from his lips, and as long as he is surrendering his spotlight to allow Jesus to shine, I believe He’ll continue to be given the opportunity to excel in what he does. His life reflects what Psalm 115:1 says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.” I believe it is people like Tebow who can spark a passion for Christ in an entire generation! So, Thursday night this Gator Hater, cringed and celebrated a man sold out to Christ hoist a National Chapionship and a MVP trophy in victory in hopes my Bulldogs can allow him to demonstrate overcoming defeat next season 🙂

Join the Conversation: Thoughts?

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Impersonations

Frank Caliendo from Frank TV does some great impersonations in these two videos. The first one is of Charles Barkley and the second is of Jim Rome…its worth about 5 minutes of your day to watch these!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=akB8gfCMTDg]

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=3s8BZjcP3qU&feature=related]

If you could impersonate anyone, who would it be?

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Sports Philosophy Truth or Opinion?

I was listening to game 1 of the Atlanta Braves‘ double header against the New York Mets today on my way back to the office from lunch. The commentator was talking about some troubles that are taking place on the Mets’ squad, here is the philosophy of the commentator:

“It doesn’t matter whether you like or love each other on the team. All that matters is that you go out and play hard, and then go your separate ways after the game.”

I don’t believe I fully agree with this philosophy. Maybe on a sports team if you have a lot of individual talent, but then that talent can only take you so far. As well, when a team is built around hard work and talent, individuals have the tendency to do their own thing and go their own way. I believe it is important to have good re pore and unity amongst team members, a single focus and a single goal. This happens through strong relationships.

So, what’s your thoughts? Can a team (whether a sports team, a business team, a leadership team, a ministry team, etc.) win if everyone comes to their “job” works and plays hard, but never does anything to build relationships outside the job or even on the job?

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2008 Sugar Bowl Champions: My Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs are the 2008 Sugar Bowl Champions after beating the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 41-10 on Tuesday night. However, there is a lot of controversy surrounding not only their win, but also their rightful place in the BCS.

The truth is this win should have been taking place in the National Championship, but at least we can say we’re champions! Georgia, who was projected by all of the so called ‘experts’ to either be upset by Hawaii or to only win by 3-5 points solidly hammered the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors by 31 points.

A little over a month ago Georgia was leaped by three teams in the final polls. It was not the computers that pushed them out of contention for the BCS National Championship, it was the other coaches, all for a rule that does not exist. Many say the Bulldogs had to win their division to be in the National Championship, however there is no rule that a team has to win their division to go to the National Championship. Georgia was ranked #4 behind the #3 Ohio State team when #1 Missouri lost to Oklahoma and #2 West Virginia lost to Pitt in their final week. In all previous cases in the BCS no top 5 team has been leaped by another team, much less by three teams.

A lot of thanks goes to arrogant coaches like Bob Stoops of Oklahoma who voted the #4 Bulldogs at #10 in the final polls before the bowl selections trying to give his team a shot at the National Championship, other coaches voted Georgia in places like #9 and #12 and some even worst. Bob Stoops, who helped vote his team into the previous spot that Georgia held at #4 got a taste of the game he voted himself into when he was hammered by West Virginia last night, losing by 20 points (48-28). The Sooners had no answer for Pat White and the West Virginia offense and really their defense. So, I believe it is rightfully so that Georgia fans are calling for a split National Championship. The AP could very well set the record straight by voting Georgia as #1 at the end of the season. If you watch college football, you are very aware of what happened to the Bulldogs and it wasn’t right.

However, Georgia’s Sugar Bowl win over Hawaii was a lose/lose/lose for them. I called it about a month ago on the ESPN forums and the Foxsports Forums. People are already saying the things that I thought they would hours after Georgia was victorious. The first loss for Georgia would be if they smoked Hawaii, as they did, then it would be said that it was no challenge for the Bulldogs and that Hawaii did not deserve to be in the Sugar Bowl. (Listen you may be able to hear Mark May saying it now.) The second loss for the Bulldogs would be if they barely won, in this case it would have been said that Georgia was not as good as they or their fans said they were and did not deserve a shot at the National Championship afterall. The final loss for the Bulldogs would have been if they lost to Hawaii. The experts would have hailed and praised the Rainbow Warriors and would have said once again that Georgia did not deserve a shot at the National Title and that their coaches and players were confused about how good they really are. Georgia has barely received the credit they deserve, as is, for shutting down the #1 scoring offense and the only undefeated regular season team in the Sugar Bowl.

The experts who are now saying that Hawaii did not deserve to be in the Sugar Bowl are the same ones that said they would upset Georgia, or that if Georgia pulled out a win it would only be by 3-5 points. Funny how the success of one team will change a story. Thank you West Virginia! You solidified that a smaller team can beat a larger team. You proved that a smaller team can be just as fast and carry just as much talent as the bigger schools. With your solid win over Oklahoma, it proves one point for UGA. They are as good as they say they are and their play over their past 7 games is for real. Hawaii could have won if they were better than the Bulldogs, if they came out with passion as did the Mountaineers, but they didn’t and they could not overcome Georgia’s defense, so does Georgia deserve to be in the National Championship? Yes! As does USC. No one in the country wants to play these two teams, and without a playoff they don’t have to, but Georgia should have never been leaped over by 3 teams. #4 Oklahoma (a division champion) already lost, #3 Virginia Tech (a Division Champion very well could lose tonight) and #2 LSU (a Division Champion) may lose as well. If all 3 division champs lose, what will everyone say then about Georgia having to win their division? The point is invalid, and the BCS is a joke!

All that to say, Georgia is the 2008 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions and National Champs in my mind!