Character Coach / Sports Chaplain Blog

A few weeks ago I heard this presentation from Southern Illinois University Head Football Coach, Dale Lennon, as he outlined the expectations he has of his coaching staff. I took notes and later thought how these same expectations could well apply to our role in serving people in sport. I hope these ideas enhance your ministry. 1) Know yourself. Strengths and weaknesses. 2) Never stop learning. Keep an open mind and be willing to take criticism. 3) Understand your role. We must all be pulling in the same direction. Be team oriented. 4) Control what you can control. Be positive. Be prepared. Be professional. 5) Know your players. Know their strengths and weaknesses. Build a relationship with each one. 6) Never allow or use excuses to justify failure. Take responsibility for your work. 7) Work smart. Be efficient with your work. 8) Take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and rest. 9) Include your family in your job. Coaching is the family business. 10) W...

Notes from a talk by Brad Long of Indiana FCA at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Sports Chaplain Conference in Kansas City, Missouri – February 2010 “What do I put on to serve coaches well?” Colossians 3:8-15 (New International Version) 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on lov...

Below are some notes I took during a talk by my friend and colleague, Ashley Null, at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Sports Chaplain Conference in Kansas City, Missouri in February of this year. • “Success is just like drugs and sex in that it medicates our psychic pain and disappointment.” • “Most champions don’t compete to win, because the rewards are so fleeting. They compete not to lose, because the pain is long lasting.” • The world’s values for sport are clear: o You are what you do. o Your worth is based on your latest performance. o The purpose of pain is to produce enough self-loathing to motivate one to further training, so as to win next time. • Our ministry as sport chaplains shapes how our players and coaches handle defeat and success. It shapes how they perceive God in either case. • We are called to communicate to the world of sport that our value is not based on our performance, but on the performance of Jesus Christ on the cross.

There exist in sport two liars of the highest order. They lie to novices and to sport's most highly achieving. They lie to both the obscure and the most famous. These liars fluently speak every language on the earth and deceive without conscience or conviction. They both whisper and shout with equal effectiveness. These masters of deception never tire, never take a day off and never worry about being caught. They monitor every practice, match, game and even one's most private thoughts and emotions. Success and Failure lie to our souls about our identity, our worth to and our standing before God. Those who achieve highly hear Success's lies related to the unimportance of ethical issues, teamwork and character. Failure lies by stating that even one's margin of victory may be a failure because the spread is deemed to have been insufficient. Both Success and Failure are measured by the World in terms of results as expressed in wins and losses, points per game, home...