Observe and Perceive.

The place of greatest impact for my ministry in sport for almost twenty-six years now is a team’s practice and training venue. When I go to practice, opportunities for life transforming ministry are at hand. I have been asked many times, “When you go to practice, what do you do?” For me the answer comes down to two simple ideas: observe and perceive.

At practice I observe. I observe things like body language, gestures, facial expressions, effort, how people speak to one another, how they receive coaching, how they coach, how they relate to teammates, how they interact with support staff, how they lead, and many other relational aspects of their lives together. I observe with my eyes, my ears, and most importantly with my soul. I aim to connect intuitively, emotionally, as deeply as possible. Sometimes I’m only there for fifteen or thirty minutes, but while I’m there I’m 100% locked into observation.

At practice I perceive. I ruminate on the meaning of all that I am observing. What shall I read into a subtle gesture, a coarse word, an encouraging expression, half-hearted effort, full-throated approbation, broad smiles, or passive-aggressive postures? I perceive with my soul. I perceive with my intuition, though I often distrust it. My perceptions shape my interactions with those I serve.

To observe and perceive enables me to speak directly to the hearts of the coaches, competitors, and support staffs I serve. Rather than simply tossing clichés around, my observations, leading to perceptions, allow me to scrape away a few layers of calloused  flesh covering one’s heart and to ask a probing question or make a soul penetrating statement.

Please, when you attend practice, observe and perceive so as to have the most transformational impact possible.