For other installments in the "What We Do" series, you can find them on our blog here:
Imagine you are the head coach of a softball team that is ranked #1 in the state. From the very birth of this season, the expectation -- both in house and across the state -- is that you will win the state championship. Anything less would be deemed failure in the eyes of your community and the community at large.
To the surprise of no one, your team makes it to the final round of the playoffs. Across the diamond in the other dugout is an upstart team -- a team that snuck into the playoffs with a losing record in district but caught fire at just the right time.
The night before the game in the team hotel, you lead your girls in a devotional -- a character lesson of sorts. In preparation for the devotional, you flip through the scriptures, praying for the Lord to direct you to the right passage for this particular moment in time.
You begin to wonder as the pages move effortlessly from one page to the next -- How about David and Goliath?
Almost as soon as the giant-like figure and the young shepherd boy illuminate your imagination, you realize -- Wait. We are Goliath in this situation. They are David. We can't do this one.
You lick your fingers and continue thumbing through the thin paper that tends to stick together. James 1 comes to mind next:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
You think -- Well, just like any team, we have had our troubles, but in reality, our path to this game has been pretty smooth. This won't work.
You continue praying. You continue flipping.
Finally, you remember. You remember the weight of expectations on these girls from the very beginning. You remember that this will be their last game together as a team.. You remember that this will be the final time you get to speak to them in this setting. You remember that while a goal is to win the championship, the goal is help form these girls in the image of God. You remember that they need the proper perspective for what has transpired over the last few months and what is to come in the next 24 hours.
This takes you to Psalm 9...
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
You spend the night before the biggest game of their lives encouraging the girls to give thanks to the One who has brought them this far -- for the moments of joy and the moments of sorrow; for the friendships formed, for the successes had, and for the memories made. Any other focus in this moment would seem like an acquiescence to the world's view of what matters, and not to what God matters. You realize the perspective needed is a cultivation of gratitude that will serve the girls the rest of their lives -- when they fail or when they succeed.
So together you praise the One who has graciously given the gift of His "wonderful deeds" made manifest through the moments hared between this team.
It took prayer; it took reflection; it took knowing your athletes and team. In the end, though, you landed on just the right note, just the right verse, just the right posture for your girls in this very specific moment in their lives.
At Incarnational Coaching, we believe this process is vital in building a culture that makes evident the way of Jesus. As this scenario lays out, the team you coach is vastly different than the team you are playing. The devotional moment before the game for your team probably look different than your opponent because your team is different than your opponent.
That is how it should be.
One of our greatest joys as a company is partnering with your team, program, and community, so we can get to know the DNA of who you are. This allows us to customize and personalize devotionals and character development programs for your team, athletic department, coaches, and/or community. Instead of giving you a handful of ready-made materials for you to use, we pray and dream together to see how God is desiring to form your team or community. We use language, verses, stories, and resources that will effectively meet your people where they currently are in their life in Christ.
We would love for the opportunity to talk with you about how we can create personalized curriculum to fit the needs of your team or community.
Interested in learning more? You can contact us here!