Ambition is a word which evokes strong reactions from people. Some see it as a powerful tool for accomplishment while others see it as a terrible vice to be avoided at any cost.
Which are you? Does ambition seem to be an insidious evil or a genuine virtue to be developed? The real issue may be toward what ends is the ambition aimed? Are we ambitious for selfish gain or for the good of others? Are we ambitious toward superficial fame or lasting significance?
This quality, like many others, is given its moral weight by its object. If I’m only ambitious toward power, fame, money, and personal pleasure, my ambition will bring out many of the worst parts of my nature. However, if I am ambitious toward matters like altruism, service, philanthropy, building community among my teammates, the development of others and a legacy of truth and love, the best of my heart will be fully engaged.
Toward what are you most ambitious? What characterizes your highest priorities and most lofty goals? When realized, do they most fully serve your interests or would they benefit others? Do you compete your heart out to win MVP awards or team championships? Are you more ambitious for individual recognition or for team achievement?
May I challenge you to check you ambitions and to purposefully direct them toward your teammates and friends? You can then play your heart out with no pangs of conscience due to latent selfishness or personal ambition. You will have directed ambition wisely and properly toward the betterment of those you love and respect, your teammates.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Connections
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to have lunch with one of our university baseball players. He is a junior pitcher from a local small town. He is very unremarkable to look at, 5’-11” in height and about 165 pounds with a boyish face, but he can throw a baseball 95 miles per hour. He is the team’s closer and has rewritten the team’s record book for that position with a perfect record this year and he has tremendous prospects for the future.
He’s young in his Christian faith, has made some mistakes and now his young fiancé is pregnant. We have been meeting together periodically to discuss baseball, being a father and husband and how to grow one’s faith. I count this as a great privilege.
On this particular day we were discussing some wedding plans and the likely results of the professional baseball draft due to arrive on June 9. I asked him what his chances were for being drafted and he said that others tell him that he would probably go between the 3rd and 5th rounds and that he would probably be offered a signing bonus between $100,000.00 and $300,000.00. I about choked. How can a 21 year old handle that kind of money and responsibility when he has struggled with simpler matters? It was rather an intimidating situation to him.
I offered the help of an acquaintance who had played 12 years in the Major Leagues who also grew up in our area and maintained his “Southern Illinois” identity and values, even with millions of dollars in annual salary. I was thrilled to connect these two by phone and they enjoyed a 30 minute conversation about the whole process of the draft, agents, coaches, team management, maintaining one’s identity and more.
This is often our role in ministry when subjects are outside our areas of expertise. Let’s be humble and wise enough to connect our friends with others who can serve them with their particular knowledge or experience. This in no way diminishes our value to the player or coach, rather it enhances it and further builds trust. Let’s first and foremost serve the needs and opportunities given us with those around us and we’ll watch them become all the Lord has purposed for them to become.
He’s young in his Christian faith, has made some mistakes and now his young fiancé is pregnant. We have been meeting together periodically to discuss baseball, being a father and husband and how to grow one’s faith. I count this as a great privilege.
On this particular day we were discussing some wedding plans and the likely results of the professional baseball draft due to arrive on June 9. I asked him what his chances were for being drafted and he said that others tell him that he would probably go between the 3rd and 5th rounds and that he would probably be offered a signing bonus between $100,000.00 and $300,000.00. I about choked. How can a 21 year old handle that kind of money and responsibility when he has struggled with simpler matters? It was rather an intimidating situation to him.
I offered the help of an acquaintance who had played 12 years in the Major Leagues who also grew up in our area and maintained his “Southern Illinois” identity and values, even with millions of dollars in annual salary. I was thrilled to connect these two by phone and they enjoyed a 30 minute conversation about the whole process of the draft, agents, coaches, team management, maintaining one’s identity and more.
This is often our role in ministry when subjects are outside our areas of expertise. Let’s be humble and wise enough to connect our friends with others who can serve them with their particular knowledge or experience. This in no way diminishes our value to the player or coach, rather it enhances it and further builds trust. Let’s first and foremost serve the needs and opportunities given us with those around us and we’ll watch them become all the Lord has purposed for them to become.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Building Team Unity
Last week a friend and colleague of mine, Johnny Shelton from Virginia Tech University, called me and we discussed the problem of division among players on certain teams. There were apparent divisions between the white and black players on a team and we were looking for solutions, how to develop unity where division exists.
As we talked I reflected on how we have done that with Saluki Football and how I’ve heard others attempting to do it. A brief summary follows.
For our football program, we approached it relationally. We reasoned that for a championship team we needed players to be committed to each other, but people won’t commit to those whom they do not trust and they certainly don’t trust people they don’t know. We knew we must start at the “who are you?” level and work our way up. Our process looks like this:
Facilitate a discussion with the whole team, broken into small groups of around 8, introducing about 1/8 of the team per session.
Ask questions of the player about facts – name, uniform number, home town, field of study, etc…
Ask questions of the player about the sport – anything which can evoke the player’s passion for the sport.
Ask questions of the player about his or her heart – anything which can reveal the person’s core values, most important influences, etc…
The fact questions help us know who the player is – Who are you?
The sport questions help us begin to trust the player on the field of competition – Can I trust you?
The heart oriented questions help us begin to commit to the player – Can I commit to you?
This sort of relational “team building” activities have helped us bridge wide gulfs of division related to race, socio-economic barriers, class, region, etc… They have helped us reach unparalleled success on and off the field of competition. We’ll discuss in the future some other strategies employed by other coaching staffs for overcoming division and for building team unity.
As we talked I reflected on how we have done that with Saluki Football and how I’ve heard others attempting to do it. A brief summary follows.
For our football program, we approached it relationally. We reasoned that for a championship team we needed players to be committed to each other, but people won’t commit to those whom they do not trust and they certainly don’t trust people they don’t know. We knew we must start at the “who are you?” level and work our way up. Our process looks like this:
Facilitate a discussion with the whole team, broken into small groups of around 8, introducing about 1/8 of the team per session.
Ask questions of the player about facts – name, uniform number, home town, field of study, etc…
Ask questions of the player about the sport – anything which can evoke the player’s passion for the sport.
Ask questions of the player about his or her heart – anything which can reveal the person’s core values, most important influences, etc…
The fact questions help us know who the player is – Who are you?
The sport questions help us begin to trust the player on the field of competition – Can I trust you?
The heart oriented questions help us begin to commit to the player – Can I commit to you?
This sort of relational “team building” activities have helped us bridge wide gulfs of division related to race, socio-economic barriers, class, region, etc… They have helped us reach unparalleled success on and off the field of competition. We’ll discuss in the future some other strategies employed by other coaching staffs for overcoming division and for building team unity.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Satisfaction
Satisfaction would seem to be one of the most elusive commodities on the planet. In the world of sport it is not uncommon for a sideline reporter in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl to ask a player or coach for his thoughts and to hear, “We’re going to win it again next year!” The game isn’t even over yet, but the player is already thinking of next year.
Sadly, this is often due to the inability of the highly achieving to simply be satisfied with their achievements. There is the constant push for more, bigger, greater and higher.
I recall from my youth the story of a championship player who had just experienced the highest achievement attainable in his sport, only to lie on his hotel room bed and stare at the ceiling thinking, “Is that it? Is this all there is to the championship experience?” The whole thing was hollow and without meaning to him. It was wholly unsatisfying.
Is there a way to experience real satisfaction as we play our hearts out in sport? I believe there is and I would challenge you to give it a try. When you next take the field or court, pay close attention to the people with whom you compete; teammates, opponents, officials and support personnel. Think about your relationships with them. Surely some are characterized by love and genuine fondness. Others may be respected rivals and some may even be contentious or worse. Take a moment to reflect upon your relationship with the sport itself. Do you love it, hate it, respect it, need it, obsess over it, or all the above?
If we can cultivate healthy relationships with the sport and those with whom it is played, we have a real shot at finding satisfaction in it. Whether we win at the highest level of the sport or languish at its lowest end, we can be satisfied with our performance and even more with our life in it. Satisfaction is to be found in relationships of love and respect more than accomplishment and rewards. Compete your heart out and give your heart completely to the significant relationships in sport.
Sadly, this is often due to the inability of the highly achieving to simply be satisfied with their achievements. There is the constant push for more, bigger, greater and higher.
I recall from my youth the story of a championship player who had just experienced the highest achievement attainable in his sport, only to lie on his hotel room bed and stare at the ceiling thinking, “Is that it? Is this all there is to the championship experience?” The whole thing was hollow and without meaning to him. It was wholly unsatisfying.
Is there a way to experience real satisfaction as we play our hearts out in sport? I believe there is and I would challenge you to give it a try. When you next take the field or court, pay close attention to the people with whom you compete; teammates, opponents, officials and support personnel. Think about your relationships with them. Surely some are characterized by love and genuine fondness. Others may be respected rivals and some may even be contentious or worse. Take a moment to reflect upon your relationship with the sport itself. Do you love it, hate it, respect it, need it, obsess over it, or all the above?
If we can cultivate healthy relationships with the sport and those with whom it is played, we have a real shot at finding satisfaction in it. Whether we win at the highest level of the sport or languish at its lowest end, we can be satisfied with our performance and even more with our life in it. Satisfaction is to be found in relationships of love and respect more than accomplishment and rewards. Compete your heart out and give your heart completely to the significant relationships in sport.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Reflections on College Softball
This spring I have had the privilege of relationship with several college fast-pitch softball players at our university. I have been to a number of their games through February and March and took some notes about the things which characterize this game and its culture. Most of them are things unique to softball and some to this particular team.
· They play with an optic yellow ball, 12” in circumference with raised seams.
· They swing bats made from a composite material which are very light and extremely hard. It feels like swinging a feather made of titanium.
· They chant all manner of nonsense from the dugout. Some chants are related to the game situation, others to their teammate’s name, still others are related to the ball/strike count and some I don’t even understand.
· The pitchers throw rise balls, curve drops, fast balls, knuckle balls and straight changes. Some pitchers throw as many as five different pitches.
· The players have pony tails and hair ribbons peaking from beneath their batting helmets.
· Their uniforms start bright and clean, but are usually streaked by mud, dirt, grass stains and sweat by the third inning.
· Their bases are sixty feet between and rather than having a mound like baseball, they have a circle on the same level as the plate.
· The fences are 190 feet down the line and it’s 240 to straightaway centerfield.
After having breakfast and conducting a chapel with several of these players every Sunday morning of home games, I could see past all the details mentioned above and the obvious differences between their sport and baseball. I could see in their hearts the powerful desire to compete and to excel. I could hear in their voices the passion for their teammates and their coaches. I could see in their eyes the drive to be champions.
I saw them playing their hearts out when they returned to the field that day. This is who they really are and where they want to be. They are most at home in those uniforms, with gloves on their hands and that optic yellow ball in flight. They are at their very best when they see the ball on its way to a violent meeting with their bats, knowing an extra base hit is about to be.
Play your heart out and join these lovely young ladies in their pursuit of victories and the fulfillment of their lives’ great passion.
· They play with an optic yellow ball, 12” in circumference with raised seams.
· They swing bats made from a composite material which are very light and extremely hard. It feels like swinging a feather made of titanium.
· They chant all manner of nonsense from the dugout. Some chants are related to the game situation, others to their teammate’s name, still others are related to the ball/strike count and some I don’t even understand.
· The pitchers throw rise balls, curve drops, fast balls, knuckle balls and straight changes. Some pitchers throw as many as five different pitches.
· The players have pony tails and hair ribbons peaking from beneath their batting helmets.
· Their uniforms start bright and clean, but are usually streaked by mud, dirt, grass stains and sweat by the third inning.
· Their bases are sixty feet between and rather than having a mound like baseball, they have a circle on the same level as the plate.
· The fences are 190 feet down the line and it’s 240 to straightaway centerfield.
After having breakfast and conducting a chapel with several of these players every Sunday morning of home games, I could see past all the details mentioned above and the obvious differences between their sport and baseball. I could see in their hearts the powerful desire to compete and to excel. I could hear in their voices the passion for their teammates and their coaches. I could see in their eyes the drive to be champions.
I saw them playing their hearts out when they returned to the field that day. This is who they really are and where they want to be. They are most at home in those uniforms, with gloves on their hands and that optic yellow ball in flight. They are at their very best when they see the ball on its way to a violent meeting with their bats, knowing an extra base hit is about to be.
Play your heart out and join these lovely young ladies in their pursuit of victories and the fulfillment of their lives’ great passion.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Email Conversations
Below are a couple of email responses I sent recently to a college baseball coach when he asked me, “Does the Bible have anything to say about failure?”
Coach,
I’ve been thinking through the issue of failure and the Biblical examples of it, they’re all over the place.
• Moses failed by committing murder and was exiled for 40 years, but came back to Egypt and was used of God in a powerful way.
• David the king failed by committing adultery with Bathsheba and conspiring to have her husband killed, but was restored and was used of God in a powerful way.
• Peter the apostle failed by denying that he knew Jesus three times, but was used of God in a powerful way.
• Judas failed by betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and hung himself in despair.
• Three utter failures who were restored and one failure who lost all hope and was destroyed.
These were Jesus’ words to Peter, even before he was to fail later that same night, "Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start."
The point seems to be that failure is the human condition, but that we can press through it, we can be restored and emerge better than we were before the failure. That has certainly been my experience through 53 years. I have failed plenty, but I trust God to make me better through the experience.
Baseball is built on failure and recovery. A hitter goes to the hall of fame if he fails 2/3 of the time. Hitting is one player vs. nine, a perfect design for failure. It takes 4 balls to walk, but only 3 strikes for an out. Just throwing strikes is terribly challenging for pitchers.
It seems that the ones who deal best with failure are the ones who don’t treat it as an enemy, but as an ally. They strongly pursue success and excellence, but know that short-term failure is inevitable and they learn from it and improve. The batter who strikes out his first three at bats can come up in his 4th and get the game winning hit. Suddenly successful in the midst of failure.
Coach’s reply:
Thank you so much, Roger. I have read this, and I am going to save it and reread it on occasion. I have to remind myself that failure in baseball is inevitable. I just do not like it; and because of that, I take the losses way too personally and way harder than I accept the wins. Thanks for caring.
My reply:
Sadly failure is not only a part of baseball, but life in general. I also take losses in sport personally and feel them at the heart. To do otherwise feels like betrayal to me. I feel I owe it to my teammates to care deeply and to feel the sting of loss as acutely as I feel the exhilaration of victory.
I believe that's a part of what Christ Jesus has done for us, to give us hope beyond the failure and to fuel our hearts for competing our hearts out again in the next game, the next day, the next treatment.
Let's both commit ourselves to pressing through life's failures to experience Christ's gift of hope and faith.
Summary:
I believe the Lord uses such communication, simple and direct, in a similar way to the way He uses epistles in the New Testament. Paul wrote to his disciples and churches he had founded very directly, whereas he was much more gentle when face to face. Let’s prayerfully consider the power of the written word as a way to communicate God’s heart for the people of sport and then we can follow up those words with face to face, compassionate and caring relationship building.
Coach,
I’ve been thinking through the issue of failure and the Biblical examples of it, they’re all over the place.
• Moses failed by committing murder and was exiled for 40 years, but came back to Egypt and was used of God in a powerful way.
• David the king failed by committing adultery with Bathsheba and conspiring to have her husband killed, but was restored and was used of God in a powerful way.
• Peter the apostle failed by denying that he knew Jesus three times, but was used of God in a powerful way.
• Judas failed by betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and hung himself in despair.
• Three utter failures who were restored and one failure who lost all hope and was destroyed.
These were Jesus’ words to Peter, even before he was to fail later that same night, "Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start."
The point seems to be that failure is the human condition, but that we can press through it, we can be restored and emerge better than we were before the failure. That has certainly been my experience through 53 years. I have failed plenty, but I trust God to make me better through the experience.
Baseball is built on failure and recovery. A hitter goes to the hall of fame if he fails 2/3 of the time. Hitting is one player vs. nine, a perfect design for failure. It takes 4 balls to walk, but only 3 strikes for an out. Just throwing strikes is terribly challenging for pitchers.
It seems that the ones who deal best with failure are the ones who don’t treat it as an enemy, but as an ally. They strongly pursue success and excellence, but know that short-term failure is inevitable and they learn from it and improve. The batter who strikes out his first three at bats can come up in his 4th and get the game winning hit. Suddenly successful in the midst of failure.
Coach’s reply:
Thank you so much, Roger. I have read this, and I am going to save it and reread it on occasion. I have to remind myself that failure in baseball is inevitable. I just do not like it; and because of that, I take the losses way too personally and way harder than I accept the wins. Thanks for caring.
My reply:
Sadly failure is not only a part of baseball, but life in general. I also take losses in sport personally and feel them at the heart. To do otherwise feels like betrayal to me. I feel I owe it to my teammates to care deeply and to feel the sting of loss as acutely as I feel the exhilaration of victory.
I believe that's a part of what Christ Jesus has done for us, to give us hope beyond the failure and to fuel our hearts for competing our hearts out again in the next game, the next day, the next treatment.
Let's both commit ourselves to pressing through life's failures to experience Christ's gift of hope and faith.
Summary:
I believe the Lord uses such communication, simple and direct, in a similar way to the way He uses epistles in the New Testament. Paul wrote to his disciples and churches he had founded very directly, whereas he was much more gentle when face to face. Let’s prayerfully consider the power of the written word as a way to communicate God’s heart for the people of sport and then we can follow up those words with face to face, compassionate and caring relationship building.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Resources for Ministry in Sport
Books
The Bible - Learn to see Sport in its pages:
· Coaches and Competitors
· Relationships
· Competition / training / intensity
· Adversity / joy / excitement
· Struggle / victory/ defeat
Sports Ministry books
· Focus on Sport in Ministry by Lowrie McCown and Val Gin
· Real Joy by John Ashley Null
· What the Book Says About Sport by Stuart Weir
· Transforming Lives in Sport – a Guide for Sport Chaplains and Sport Mentors by R. Lipe
Coaching books
· Faith in the Game by Tom Osborne
· The Carolina Way by Dean Smith
· Coach Wooden One on One by John Wooden and Jay Carty
Leadership books
· Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney
· Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels
· Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders
Web sites
· http://www.teamchaplains.org/
· http://www.wired4sport.com/
· http://www.veritesport.org/
· http://www.hockeyministries.org/
· http://www.srsonline.de/ (German)
· http://www.christiansinsport.org.uk/
· http://www.geocities.com/chaplainsroundtable
· http://www.sportschaplaincy.com.au/
Blogs
· http://sportchaplainsportmentor.blogspot.com/
· http://insider.sport.org/
Email networks
Roger Lipe’s network -
· lipe@earthlink.net
· Weekly Devotions
· Weekly Sport Chaplain / Sport Mentor notes
Bill Houston’s network –
· bhouston@rbc.org
Podcasts
· Sports Spectrum Radio - http://www.rbc.org/radio-tv/sports-spectrum/home.aspx
· Sharing the Victory Radio - http://www.fcapodcasting.com/
Videos
· Movies
· Clips
· Bluefish TV - http://www.bluefishtv.com/
· God Tube - http://www.godtube.com/
People-
· Network of chaplains
· Coaches
· Pastors
· Former players
Where to find resources:
· www.crosstrainingpublishing.com
· http://www.veritesport.org/ (many free downloads)
· www.fcagear.com
The Bible - Learn to see Sport in its pages:
· Coaches and Competitors
· Relationships
· Competition / training / intensity
· Adversity / joy / excitement
· Struggle / victory/ defeat
Sports Ministry books
· Focus on Sport in Ministry by Lowrie McCown and Val Gin
· Real Joy by John Ashley Null
· What the Book Says About Sport by Stuart Weir
· Transforming Lives in Sport – a Guide for Sport Chaplains and Sport Mentors by R. Lipe
Coaching books
· Faith in the Game by Tom Osborne
· The Carolina Way by Dean Smith
· Coach Wooden One on One by John Wooden and Jay Carty
Leadership books
· Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney
· Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels
· Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders
Web sites
· http://www.teamchaplains.org/
· http://www.wired4sport.com/
· http://www.veritesport.org/
· http://www.hockeyministries.org/
· http://www.srsonline.de/ (German)
· http://www.christiansinsport.org.uk/
· http://www.geocities.com/chaplainsroundtable
· http://www.sportschaplaincy.com.au/
Blogs
· http://sportchaplainsportmentor.blogspot.com/
· http://insider.sport.org/
Email networks
Roger Lipe’s network -
· lipe@earthlink.net
· Weekly Devotions
· Weekly Sport Chaplain / Sport Mentor notes
Bill Houston’s network –
· bhouston@rbc.org
Podcasts
· Sports Spectrum Radio - http://www.rbc.org/radio-tv/sports-spectrum/home.aspx
· Sharing the Victory Radio - http://www.fcapodcasting.com/
Videos
· Movies
· Clips
· Bluefish TV - http://www.bluefishtv.com/
· God Tube - http://www.godtube.com/
People-
· Network of chaplains
· Coaches
· Pastors
· Former players
Where to find resources:
· www.crosstrainingpublishing.com
· http://www.veritesport.org/ (many free downloads)
· www.fcagear.com
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The next few weeks will feature a series of thoughts concerning the Sport in Ministry Map which was developed by Lowrie McCown and was deta...
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