Get Involved!
The men’s ministry at Springfield First recently hosted a Saturday morning breakfast with guest speaker and retired Sacred Heart-Griffin Coach, Ken Leonard. Coach Leonard has distinguished himself in the forty-two seasons of his overall career. He has led his teams to 419 wins compared to 81 losses. This makes Coach Leonard the winningest coach in the history of Illinois sports! During his inspirational remarks, Leonard shared a three-step coaching philosophy that he follows, “Tell your team players what you want. Then, show them what you want. Finally, involve them in practices or exercises that demonstrate what you want.”
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| Involved and All Set! Image: istockphoto.com |
I grew up
with a contrasting model at school that overly emphasized that first step of “tell.”
This approach is what I prefer to describe as “Sit still while I instill!” We
were expected to stay in our seats! There was no group work or active
participation. We didn’t know enough and couldn’t be trusted enough to get up
out of our seats without causing commotion. The teacher did the talking and we
were to sit and soak it in. I have often joked that I sat behind the same
classmate for years in class after class and never did know what her face
looked like! 😊
Great
coaches are successful mentoring leaders who create opportunities. But that’s
only part of player development. The athlete must “seize upon this opportunity”
and make a serious commitment to partnering in the process toward their best development
in that specific sport. That commitment can be characterized as “giving it your
all!” I have also seen churches use this as an aspirational goal for spiritual
development. These faith communities have stated this vision as a calling to become
fully devoted followers of Christ.
A team or
community of faith committed to giving only “half-hearted effort” to their
mission is doomed to fall short of success. Jesus laid down some of the highest
expectations for His followers and allowed prospective followers to choose to
get involved or not. Many following Him, only out of curiosity, heard these strong
demands and “walked off the field” rather than make a serious commitment to His
mission.
Luke 18 is
an example of a compelling demand that Jesus made of His disciples one day. A
wealthy young ruler came to Him with this question, “Good Teacher, what should
I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus knew that this man’s wealth was an
obstacle to him. The Lord called the young man to give up those riches and
follow Him. “But when the man heard this, he became very sad.” (Luke18:23). This
response seems to indicate an unwillingness to do what Jesus required.
On another
occasion, Jesus said this to a crowd of seekers, “If any of you wants to be my
follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow
me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up
your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24, NLT).
During a
similar occasion of tough teaching. “Jesus sensed that his disciples were
having difficulty with this (or accepting the demands required) and said to
them, ‘Does this rattle you completely?’”
“Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: ‘Do you also want to leave?’
Peter replied. ‘Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life,
eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the
Holy One of God.” (John 6:61,68-69, The Message).
Coach Leonard
was spot on in his efforts to involve his players. We do learn by doing, but
this involvement is a two-way street. I’m sure that this great coach could tell
stories of how several promising players walked away from the demands of practice
and never returned. There is much to be done when devoted followers of Christ
are involved in His mission. Let’s “stay on the field” and seize our opportunities!
Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
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