Play here Someday? - A Gospel Presentation to youth football players

Play here someday?

At the beginning of the youth flag football season we plant the seed of getting the players and families to look forward to playing their final game on the local Carmel HS field. A field that many of them go to on Friday Nights with their parents to watch their local heroes play.

From being in touch with my own feelings at their age I know that it is a goal for many, at the elementary age, to play on that field someday and represent their HS. In the following Gospel presentation I simply brought that desire to the surface then paralleled it to a desire to be with God forever.

You certainly might word things differently and place more or less emphasis in places than I did but I think it is a very adaptable Gospel presentation for most any sport. whether you take a trip to the local field for the presentation, awards ceremony, or play your final game there.

Maybe this is what you've been looking for or maybe it spurs you on to come up with your own. I just think our devotions in our Christian sports leagues need to be more about the Gospel than they are life lessons using skills and concepts in sports.

Play Here Someday?

Setting: The Local HS Football Field (Center of the field if possible)

Audience: Elementary age children

How many of you have ever been to this field on a Friday night to watch our local HS team play?

Have you ever thought when you were here that you’d like to play for the HS team when you grow up? Wouldn’t that be awesome?!

Most kids just like you think the same thing when they are here on Friday nights.

Do you think they all will play for the HS team someday? As much as they want to they probably won’t.

What do you think will keep them from being on the team?

Answers… Poor grades, Poor decisions, Injuries, Not willing to sacrifice other things for the time it takes, Something else becomes more important, etc…

What if I were able to tell all of you today that there is a way for you to know for sure that you would be on the team? That would be pretty exciting wouldn’t it? It certainly would be something to look forward to wouldn’t it? The truth is I cannot tell you that today because of all the reasons we just listed. Bummer =(

But let’s talk about another place I hope you might want to be…How many of you have heard about Heaven? What do you know about it? Do you hope to be there someday with God?   I want you to know today that I want you to be in Heaven with me more than I want you to be on the HS football team…And I like football a lot! =)

Did you hear me when I said “Join me?” I used those words not because I think it would be cool to be there with me, but to tell you that I do know that I’ll be in Heaven someday. Would you like to know that you will be too?  Then listen closely to this…

Heaven is a place God wants all of us to be with Him in our forever home, but just like there are things that keep us from being on the football team there is something that will keep us from being in Heaven with God. It’s not that we haven’t done enough good things or that we haven’t done many bad things. The Bible tells us that none of us are good enough to be with Him because He is perfect and can only have perfect people around Him (Romans 3:23)

Because we aren’t perfect He says that when we die here on earth we cannot be with Him forever (Romans 6:23.) That’s bad news, but the good news is that God wants us to be there with Him so bad that He came up with a plan. Instead of letting us be separated from Him forever He sent His only Son Jesus to die for you on the cross….for all the wrong things you’ve done or will do in your life (John 3:16.) It’s kind of like someone fixing all the reasons you couldn’t be on the football team. They fixed things you couldn’t fix yourself and you didn’t even ask them to. If somebody did that for you wouldn’t you be thankful the rest of your life and do your best to make that person proud of you for the chance they gave you?

It’s just like that with God…If we really believe in our hearts that Jesus came into the world sent by God to die for us on the cross so we could be with Him forever the rest of our lives we’d do our best to show God that we are thankful with our lives. It wouldn’t mean that we would be perfect here on earth, that our lives would be easier, or that there is a list of things we could do to make God like us again after we’ve failed Him (Ephesians 2:8,9.)  It would just mean we would try our best and trust, love and obey Him with our lives because of His love for us.

How does that sound to you? To me it sounds better than knowing if I would be the football team playing on this field when I grow up!

If you would like to make the decision to believe God’s plan for you, what Jesus did for you and live the rest of your life for Him let’s go talk with Mom and Dad.

Tribute to teachers from my youth

This week (May 5-9, 2014) is Teacher Appreciation Week , so I thought I'd take a little time to reminisce and  thank the following teachers listed below for impacting my life. What is interesting about my look back is that the teachers I remember specific things about were the earliest teachers in my life. It was actually pretty challenging to think of any High School teachers with much detail, and I honestly couldn't think of anything worth recalling about my college teachers. I don't know if that's just me or if most people are like that because our teachers early in life are more like our parents/family or because we spent more time with them. After elementary school I mostly remember coaches.   

Looking Back

The Classroom Mom (Helper/Snack provider) in every grade of Elementary School

- Phyllis Marsh  AKA- Mom

Kindergarten / Mrs Poor- Thanks for all the naps on the mats we brought to school, cookies and milk, teaching me the Pledge of Allegiance, and to not eat the paste or crayons.

2nd Grade: Mrs George- Thanks for disciplining me (Yes Spanking in school in 1967) when I pulled the chair out from behind the boy in front of me as he was getting ready to sit down in reading circle.

4th Grade: Mrs Kotterman- Thanks for encouraging me to embrace reading, birthing a passion for History, and writing me letters of encouragement long after I left grade school

6th Grade: Mrs Elliott- Thanks for being HOT! If I knew my wife Becca back then I'd say you remind me of her. Yeah, I don't remember much else from 6th grade =)

7th Grade: Mr Terry- Thanks for showing me that there were things to be learned, even in a winless/scoreless football season. I could see God in you before my own decision to follow him.

8th Grade: Mr Yule- Thanks for helping me see the value of being the mental attitude winner on the football team, and for all the stuff you showed us how to make in wood shop on the lathe.

9th Grade: Mr Cordell- Thanks for showing me how cool it was to be an athlete and a Christian....even if you did go to IU.

HS- Mrs Brown, my Guidance Counselor-  Thanks for giving me the worst advice about what major I should choose in college because I've had a chance to counsel many others in my adult years and I know exactly what NOT to say. 

HS- My Freshman Spanish Teacher (Can't remember her name)- Thanks for giving me an F on a test when you noticed I had written the answers on my desk. Never cheated in anything after that day.

HS- Mr Schug, my biology teacher- Thanks for showing me that being lighthearted in the classroom worked and was fun. I looked forward to your class each day.

HS- Coach Shrader (Shad) My Varsity Baseball Coach- Thanks for believing in me when others didn't and for coming to my Father's funeral my sophomore year in College.

God- Who continues to love me, teach me patiently every day of my life.

You know victory is near when...

.....your team chaplain hits a half court shot during chapel time right before the state championship game the next day!

I could see it coming for a couple of weeks actually...not necessarily making the shot, but being challenged to take it. When post season play started, in an effort to keep things lighthearted at the end of basketball practice, Carmel HS Coach Scott Heady began a half court shot contest. The first week it started out as just the players with some of the coaches shooting after the guys had gone into the locker room. Coach Heady played at Shenandoah HS and I heard he was pretty good so when he would hit about half of his attempts it didn't surprise me. The next week the coaches started joining the players in the fun, and when I saw they were giving the student managers a shot I knew I was in trouble. You'd think since I saw this coming I would have been practicing, but I don't think I've shot a basketball in at least a year because of some physical limitations. I especially hadn't taken any half court shots. As the last student manager took his shot coach asked, "anybody else?" That was all it took... one of the players started chanting my name, and it wasn't long before everyone was joining in, and the pressure was on. I tried to deny the ball 3 times but they kept pushing it back to me so I started emptying my pockets of coins, pens and keys (I was in dress clothes and shoes). All I could think about as I approached the circle with the ball is that they are looking to ridicule me for shooting an air ball so I didn't care if I heaved it over the backboard... it was going to get there. One of the mangers fortunately shot a rough video (See below) of me hitting the shot that I won't forget for a long time in front of the 2012 Indiana State HS Basketball Champions.

As soon as they were able to get me calmed down we started chapel. I was more confident to talk to them than I had been all season as I started out the talk with..."Gentleman, you know you are going to win tomorrow when your team chaplain hits a half court shot in practice the day before!"

What a great memory for this old athlete...The stuff legends are made of.....Still got it Baby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjn-QUrHF1c

The Walk-through

I was honored to get a text from the Carmel HS basketball coach this week asking me to attend the Saturday morning "Walk-through" with the team in preparation for the Sectional Championship game against #1 HSE later that night.
When a team gets into post season play it's not as easy as the regular season when you are usually preparing for one opponent, and at the most 2 opponents a week. In post season play a team has to be prepared for 2-3 opponents a weekend in sectionals and if they are fortunate enough to survive they must be prepared to play 2 opponents a day in the Regional, Semi-state and State games. That's where the walk-through comes into play. Because you need enough strength to endure and because the time in-between games is often short the abbreviated, slower pace practice is a necessity. It's simply watching some game film and going out on the court to walk through a game plan that you would normally run through at full speed if given enough time to prepare and recoup your energy when it's done.
Mentally walk-throughs are tough on a young athlete because he's not usually patient enough to slow down  and buy into the planning process to make sure that everyone understands their assignment and is on the same page. They don't feel like they are accomplishing anything, or can demonstrate success at that moment so it's hard to stay focused. I only know that from my first hand experience on sports teams in MS, HS and College. I was going through the motions on the outside, but on the inside I was thinking... "We already know how to do this, we've been doing this almost everyday since November and it's March. How many times does coach need to remind me to _____ and then to ______? I could do this in my sleep. There's no way this is the best use of our time."

Do you think that as believer's in Christ and his daily direction for our lives we sometimes don't want to slow down for the walk-through to prepare for the day and all the different opponents we are going to face? I know I underestimate the importance of it more often than I care to admit. I head into the day without slowing down for prayer or reading a few chapters in His Word for me. How irresponsible that would be of me as an athlete. I couldn't afford to blow off the walk-through before any game, let alone the big ones, and in life we don't have the luxury of knowing when we get up in the morning if we are going to face a big one or one that we are in the habit of handling on a daily basis.  In the New Testament of the Bible it states 8 times (* see footnotes below) that in some form or fashion the teacher or writer knew what he was telling them was something they quiet possibly already knew but God was telling them they needed to be reminded of. I can't afford to not take advantage of walk-throughs every chance I get, or arrogantly think that I am above slowing down to be reminded. I want to be prepared for whatever the world is going to through at me, so I handle myself in a way that would glorify Him, and many walk-throughs are necessary for me to do that.

BTW...Obviously, the Greyhounds weren't taking the walk-though lightly on Saturday morning. They were well prepared by a great coaching staff and bought into the fact that up to game time they were in need of being reminded and prepared as they later beat HSE by 18 points to capture the Sectional Championship! Congrats Hounds! As a team we also did the spiritual walk-through at the end of practice as we prayed for the families in southern Indiana who lost loved ones to the tornados just the night before, and also thanked God for the opportunity to play in such a significant game later that night.

Chaplain Ray

* Jn 14:26, Rom 15:15, 1 Cor. 4:17 & 15:1, 2 Tim 1:6, Titus 3:1, 2 Pet. 1:12, Jude 1:5

Beyond Treasuring to Pondering

I've had a request to give the cliff notes version of a portion of the sermon I delivered yesterday called "Twas a week after Christmas." The main point of the sermon was how we should react to Christmas and what God allowed us to come into contact in all of 2011 with the purpose of living closer to Him in 2012.

There were four parts to the sermon but central to the message was verse 19 from Luke Chapter 2 that says, " But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

The word treasure can mean many things but in this context of scripture I believe it to means to gather, make a pile or list of things that have been impacting in your life. Not necessarily doing anything with them, but for posterity sake, making sure they are in close proximity should there ever be a need to find them and remember a detail or fact that might easily be forgotten. In the Christmas story things that Mary would have treasured were the visit to see Zechariah and Elizabeth, the birth of their son John the Baptist, The angel Gabriel's visit and words to her, Joseph's reaction to her announcement that she was with child, Joseph's dream, the long hard journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the birth of the Christ child, The surprising visit from the shepherds, the question of why God chose her? And last but not least, as she begins to ponder...what the future will be like for her son.

Pondering, again in this setting, and for our purposes, means connecting the dots of the things, people, places, experiences, and circumstances that up to this point have been collected or treasured with the purpose of trying to figure out what God may be trying to show us about ourselves and what kind of life He wants us to live in the future. No doubt as Mary pondered she put the independent variables together to better realize what God was up to and how she could be in one accord with His will as her son began his life and purpose here on earth.

The best word picture I can give for going beyond treasuring to pondering is a jigsaw puzzle. When you pour it out of the box on the table you've got many different independent pieces (Treasures) that if put together make a big picture. That's what the result of pondering the treasures God has brought into your life can reveal. But before you say to yourself, well "That was easy" you need to be reminded that it's easy to think about doing, but actually very hard work to do. How many jigsaw puzzles have you started and never got around to finishing? You probably didn't finish them because you weren't able to. You didn't finished them because it takes time, effort, commitment and focus to look at all the pieces closely, group them by color and shape, then begin to see which ones connect and which ones don't. I'm sure you know the routine.

God wants us to approach the things (Pieces of the puzzle) over Christmas and this past year with the mindset that we can connect them and see a clearer picture of what He's trying to show us or who He is trying to get us to become. Treasuring comes naturally to us, but pondering is hard work and only an exercise for those who really care to discern what God is trying to show them.

To help us get there I've come up with a simple but serious exercise that will help you treasure this past year and Ponder what if means when you add prayer to the equation for 2012.

1- Carve out one hour of uninterrupted time (Quiet zone, no people, phone, tv, music, or internet)
2- Begin with prayer
3- Tell God you are sorry that most of the time you are guilty of only treasuring the things He's brought to you in life and not pondered what it is that He's trying to show you with them.
4- Ask Him what good and bad things He wants you to remember from 2011?
5- List a top 10 of major  happenings in your own life (Positive or negative impact) in the past year. 
Hint: Writing down the names of the months helps me recall what happened when.
6- Continuing in prayer...ask Him to reveal to you re-ocuring patterns or lessons in your list
7- Reflect on a predominant characteristic about God you've been aware of in 2011
8- Ask how you can get to know Him better in 2012?
9- Ask Him where He might be leading you in 2012?


By the way... I don't believe in resolutions. We may change our ways for a short time based on guilt, but true and lasting life change will only happen when we grow in our relational intimacy with Christ. Here's to you and I living closer to God and His will than you eve have before in 2012.

Champions...GreyhoundNation's Football Heritage

As the chaplain of the Carmel High School Football Team the past two years I have an insider's vantage point for seeing what motivates this football family to get to the state championship game five out of the last six years, two state championships in the last five years, and counting this year (2011), seven state championships overall.

It starts early in the season as Coach Wright begins reading letters at many team meetings and pre-game locker room pep talks. The letters are addressed to the current team from Greyhound gridiron heroes of the past who played in some of those big games since that first runner up team in 1975 and championship team in 1978 until now. Letter after letter is full of words that say " We know it's hard, but it was worth working hard for, we did it, here's how we did it, and you can do it too!" It's usually signed by a former player who went on to play in college or the pros, and if he didn't he is a successful and recognizable businessman or leader in the community where he lives. Speaking of the community where he lives.... because some of the greyhound heroes stay close by in the community an opportunity often presents itself to get them physically in front of the team to inspire them in person. A very supportive Greyhound Football Alumni Association is the main reason for the letters and personal appearances. 

I had the great privilege of speaking to the team this weekend in our chapel program just a few hours before they were to play in the state championship game. Since Coach Wright and the alumni association had been so successful all season proving that present and future confidence can be gained from hearing from courageous players and teams from past Greyhound seasons it only seemed natural to take that line of thinking and actions to God's word where the same scenario plays itself out.

When any leader of the nation of Israel was trying to get their people back in touch with the power of the mighty God they were serving and following they would simply do what God did Himself and remind them of how He had provided in the past and been true to His promises to help them conquer adversity. Whether it was Abraham trusting God one more time when He asked Him to be prepared to sacrifice his only son, Joseph referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while trying to protect the tribes of Israel in Egypt, or Moses doing the same as he pointed Israel towards it's past while convincing them to break away from the hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt. And finally Joshua who trained under his protege Moses and took the baton to lead the nation into the land God had promised them so generations before. Moses had been coaching Joshua as often as he could after he realized God intended to give Joshua the leader's role for the final stretch of the journey. Moses coached him time and time again to trust in the God who had provided in generations of the past for the victories like walking through the Red Sea on dry ground and now to claiming the land
God had promised to give them long ago. No doubt Joseph would have liked to have a letter or personal appearance from Abraham as he tried to pass the story along, and I'm sure Moses was thinking the same thing. 

Just as Coach Wright brings relevance from the past to the presence to get the current crop of Greyhounds to realize their potential on the field it's up to you and I as believers to not let the mighty God of our past heritage be forgotten about as we live out our faith in a world that would like us to believe that He is not relevant anymore....

Joshua 1:1,3,5,6 and 9
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses....  5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.... 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Moving on...

Moving towards more can mean leaving less behind

Moving On...

Did you ever need to hear some news that you didn't want to hear but it allowed you to quit dwelling about a situation and move on?
I feel like that's finally what happened for so many in Indy this morning when the Colts announced that #18 was out for the season. News Article >  http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/sports/colts_and_nfl/peyton-manning-out-for-the-season .  I know that there are a lot better examples than the status of a football hero, but I thought this is one that is easy for most to relate to. I've told some friends in the past that one of the regrets I always have at the end of a long season of watching my favorite teams (Cubs, Colts and  Purdue) is the many hours spent in an area of my life on people and teams (Winners or Losers) that I'll most likely never meet or have a chance to impact. I grew up in that kind of environment and sometimes I too easily get sucked back into it. I'm not saying it shouldn't be there at all...it just gets out of proportion to more important areas in my life, and I justify it by saying to myself that I watched it with family members, or that I'm a sports minister and this is good water-cooler conversation for many of the ministry situations I find myself in. I suppose I could say the same thing for other entertainment shows in my life like The Amazing Race, The Office, 30 Rock, Parenthood or America's Got Talent.


For some the announcement by the Colts is going to mean giving up on the team and selling their tickets or changing plans for Sunday afternoons around the house, and for others it will finally allow them to start looking at the team (individuals and the unit) before them with different eyes and maybe expectations. And still for others it will mean finally being able to give time to the more important things in life (One on one time with God, people in need in their life, church responsibilities or other good causes that haven't been able to break thru the fringes in their lives) than whether we are going to make it to the Super Bowl this year!


I know as much as I dread hearing news that doesn't look like its good on the surface it often gives me the release I can't give myself to quit spending mental and emotional energy in places that I shouldn't anymore....or at least until God shows me that I can again. Isn't it interesting how success in almost anything begins to consume more and more of our time and energy to the point where we get myopic about it and lose focus on the balance in life? I think we all underestimate how much time and energy we forfeit on things that are in fact out of our control.
More and more I gravitate towards being thankful in all circumstances (1 Thes 5:18) or being content (Phil 4:12) with where I am in life. It's not a feeling of not caring about things or entertainment anymore, but that I am realizing in a better, more full way where to spend my time on things that really matter, and that God is in control so I don't have to be.