There’s not much about Anthony Parker that isn’t unique. Among NBA starters, he’s probably the only one who can rattle off useful phrases in Hebrew — something he picked up while dominating the European League from 2000-2006. He’s also the only playoff-caliber shooting guard who really does have the potential to be shown up on the court by his little sister. (He refers to little sis, All-American Candace Parker, as the Parker.) And he may be the only person who can read or owns a TV who’ll defend the good reputation of the NBA.
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Injury - Chapel
1 – The recent injuries we have experienced serve to remind us of a very important truth.
The Attitude of Winners
Set:
There are times in baseball when it seems like nothing goes right. You drop a fly ball, you strike out, you ground into a double play, your team gives up a bunch of runs. . . None of those are very encouraging, and people usually get mad and throw fits in those cases. You see this in the pros all the time. Managers especially can throw some of the biggest fits if an umpire doesn't make the call that they want. You would think that adults wouldn't throw fits!
Athletes and coaches often think that winning is everything, but truthfully, it is not. A person's attitude--win or lose--helps determine true winners and losers.
Leadership - Chapel
1 – Today’s characteristic of Successful People and Successful Teams is Solid Leadership.
• Think about the best leaders across your lifetime, in your family, in your home town, from your youth.
• Think about the leaders among your team.
• When are they at their best?
• How do they change situations by simply being present?
• How do their words breathe courage into the souls of their teammates and strike fear in the hearts of their opponents?
• This is the stuff of Solid Leadership.
Walkie-Talkie
Set:
More than thirty years later there is still evidence that my front tooth took a chunk of wood out of my mom’s furniture. When my two older brothers and I were kids, we invented a game called “Walkie-Talkie.” I know a walkie-talkie is a portable, handheld communication device, but we hijacked the name because it perfectly fit our game. When I think back on it, I’m pretty sure it was really just a game that allowed my brothers to inflict bodily harm on me, but I wasn’t smart enough to figure that out. I was just thankful they wanted to do something with their youngest brother. (Do I hear an “Amen!” from all the youngest kids out there?)
Are You Kidding Me?
Set:
While watching an NFL game I saw something that made me scream out. I hollered a saying that everyone, especially sports commentators, uses when there is an incredible play. "Are you kidding me???"
Mutual Respect
Wisdom for a Young Head Coach
Week 10
I Timothy 5:1-16
Read the text aloud.
Discussion Questions:
Strength and Courage - Chapel
1 – Today’s contest will require strength and courage for us to finish the day with a victory.
2 – Strength and courage are character qualities required for all of life and especially for competition.
- Joshua 1:9 (read the text aloud).
3 – Be strong
- Strong of mind (focus well and tune out crowd noise)
- Strong of body (prepare to finish the contest strongly)
- Strong of soul (to deal well with momentum swings)
4 – Be courageous
The Playbook
Set:
One of the common elements in all levels of football from peewee to pro is the playbook. It contains the game plan each team uses to try to overcome its opponent. Without the playbook teams and players would be in a state of confusion not knowing what to do or where to go. On the other hand, no matter how good the playbook is, it’s absolutely useless if the players don’t study and apply it.
Major Contributors
Set:
Let’s consider who has had the biggest influence on our athletic careers. Has there been more than one person who has made a significant impact on our abilities as athletes? First Corinthians 3:6 speaks about compounded influence.
In Paul’s first letter to his friends in Corinth, he used a familiar farming illustration. Let’s turn Paul’s farming comparison into a sports analogy.
Growing an athlete is like growing crops. There’s obvious collaboration among those who plant, cultivate, irrigate, and harvest. In the same way, growing a champion involves the compounding influences of parents, coaches, teammates, opponents, and so on.
Sacrifice
Set:
In lacrosse, there are many essential pieces of equipment: gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads and, most important, helmets.
After mentally preparing myself for my final collegiate game, I started getting ready physically. I put on my game shorts, then my shoulder and arm pads. I laced up my cleats. All that was left was my helmet. I reached into my bag and found gloves, some tape, socks, a few lacrosse balls, but no helmet. I looked around thinking someone might be playing a prank on me, but this was no joke. I had left the most important piece of equipment three hours west in my locker.
Jealousy
Set:
Christian coaches are called to use their gifts for the glory of God and His kingdom. When we are generous with our talent and work to set an example of faithful stewardship, we allow our team to witness God at work in our lives. As coaches it is important that we make a point of guiding our teams away from the turmoil that comes through envy and selfish ambition.
Blue Blood
The love that Cameron Mills had for Kentucky Wildcat basketball earned him little more than an unheralded spot on the bench. His passion for the sport, however, and his deadly accuracy from three-point range, brought him into the national spotlight through a pair of NCAA national championships.
Global Impact
For the past 55 years, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been on a mission to spread the name of Christ in the athletic community. Its vision: “To see the world impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches.” It’s a quest the ministry has been pursuing with a Godbreathed success that has led to spiritual growth throughout the sports community. Yet, to this point, FCA has largely been focused on the United States. Last summer, those borders got a little bit wider.
Followership
Set:
NBA Player, Chauncey Billups, said, “To be a good leader, at some point you have to be a good follower. I was always a good follower. I always followed the right people and listened to the right things.
Those helped shape me as a leader.” So, are you a good follower?
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “Are you a leader or a follower?” when I was growing up. A subtle principle was communicated through that question: “be a leader not a follower!”
Saving the Sooners
The empty beer cans and litter strewn across the field were the least of Patty Gasso’s concerns. When Gasso took over as the University of Oklahoma’s softball coach in October 1994, the program was in disarray. Her predecessor had been acting on an interim basis because the previous coach had resigned for health concerns. Some players rebelled, skipping the fall training period because they had wanted an assistant coach to get the head job.
Home Stretch: Swin Cash
I grew up in McKeesport, Pa., which is a town of about 24,000 right outside of Pittsburgh. It was a quiet place for my mom and stepdad to raise our family, which consisted of me, my two younger siblings and my older cousin, who became my older brother after my parents adopted him.
Mistakes Made
Orioles Second-base man Brian Roberts confesses his steroid use and talks about how to overcome the mistakes you've made in the past.
Victory Road
The clock hits "0," and the blare of the buzzer fills the already noisy arena. The joy on the victors' faces is evident from even the highest balcony as tears of happiness, relief and exhaustion stream down their faces. The roar of the crowd is deafening as streamers fall and cameras flash in every fan's attempt to capture the winning moment-one that will forever be imprinted on the minds and hearts of the newly crowned champions.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Set:
Hockey Chat: You take the time to lace up the skates just right. You got the good stick with the perfect curve. You have the essential pads and you’re set to go. You spring off the bench and over the boards and then just coast around. Is it too much work to skate hard? Well then what’s the point of coming to the game if you didn’t come to play to win? Is someone else suppose to pick up the puck and score the goals? You need to play to win.
Opportunity and Opposition - Chapel
1 – This is a great day for two main reasons – we have a tremendous
opportunity and a worthy opponent.
- The opportunity is that we, a strong, developing, ambitious team get to compete against another strong, developing, ambitious team. This makes for a great match up.
Why Not Now?
Set:
In Matthew 8:19-22, it would seem that Jesus was heartless and uncaring with the disciple. The reality was that Jesus had need of him at that moment, but the young man’s current condition or situation kept him from committing to God. What present situations or conditions keep us from God? What will we miss by not following Him today? What have we already missed by not choosing Him before?
The sweet reality is that God knows us and is well acquainted with our circumstances and conditions. If we always waited for the most appropriate time to come to God, we may never come at all.
No Other Gods
Set:
This can’t be happening, I thought. Not with only three and a half weeks to go! But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t deny the worsening pain in my right shin. As soon as I got home from my 12-mile run, I collapsed into a chair and cried. Three months of marathon training were headed down the drain.
Following the advice of my running peers, I didn’t run for two days. I was going crazy. A friend noticed my distress and offered a challenge. She encouraged me to pray during the time I would have been running. “Don’t get out of the daily training habit, just train a different way,” she said.
Winners in Christ
Set:
Everyone wants to be a winner, whether it’s in sports or life in general. Cindy Todd, a world waterskiing champion, spoke about winning. She said, “When I first read Philippians 3:14, which tells us to ‘pursue…the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus,’ I was reminded of a waterskiing competition. Everyone aims toward a prize. We all want it, but only one person gets to win. God has given me a talent for waterskiing, but thanks to Him, I’m a winner in another way. I have been cleansed of sin through the blood of Jesus. I have received salvation by God’s grace. This is the most important victory in my life, and it’s a victory we all can have. ‘…Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Ac 2:21).
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