Cybex Machine

We have added a new fitness piece to our cardio fitness room thanks to Capital Fitness Systems. It's a Cybex Recumbent Stationary Bike. This machine has multiple programs and a space for reading materials while working out. As I talked about several posts ago, we are working to re-create our space and add some machines to enhance the use of our guests. Thanks to Hobie and guys at Capital Fitness Systems for working with us. We will also be adding an Elliptical and new television in the coming weeks.

Pig Skin Party

We are tailgating this Friday night at Cool Spring Church in order to celebrate 5 years of Upward Flag Football with Cool Spring Baptist and New Hanover Presbyterian. It will be a Pig Skin Party to include over 800 people, all beef hot dogs, bar-b-que, sides, and fun. Following the tailgate event we have a section reserved for the Hanover vs. Atlee football game.

It has been a great 5 years for our Flag Football league. We have had great leadership - Ernie Leistner, Donna Browne, Bryan Berry and Cheryl Martin. As well as other league commissioners and hundreds of great coaches, ref's, and concession workers. But most of all we have had great kids and parents participating. We have seen growth and development throughout the years, both physically and spiritually. In reflecting on the mission of Upward, to introduce children to Jesus Christ, I can say that we have seen the fruits of many laborers.

Happy 5 years and I look forward to another season. It's time to party Friday night! (Go Han.... well I'll leave it at that)

Focus

One of my struggles I battle is focus. Maintaining a proper focus can be difficult with all the things going on around me. From adult league play, fitness classes, facility issues, Upward sports, and volunteers; I simply allow the non-essentials to overtake the essentials of my purpose and task ahead of me.

I remember playing sports and my coaches teaching me to have focus: keep my eye on the ball in order to get a good hit in baseball or focus on the mid section of an opposing player in order to play solid defense in football or basketball. Having a good focus will eliminate the "fake" that another player can put on you or even swing at a pitch that will fool you.

Hebrews 12 talks about "keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith." To many times I find myself looking at outside distractions (though some have to be dealt with) that I am unable to really see what God is doing in and around me. When our focus is weighed down by the troubles of this world and our daily grind, we lose sight of the finish line that God has for us - the presence of Himself.

Staying focused, that is focusing on God's plan and directives, is a discipline that has to be practiced. It's setting our minds on the things of the Spirit and allowing Him to control the view ahead of us. So, in this busy life, let's discipline ourselves to remain focused on God's directives, and not the distractions (troubles, struggles, and inadequacies) of our daily lives.

Trophy Talk

Check out this new blog by my friend Greg Edmonds. Greg is one of our Outdoor Ministry leaders and in this blog he talks about his experiences with the outdoors and how they relate to his life with Christ. Check it out: http://trophytalk.blogspot.com/

Number 3

One of the biggest kids on our Upward team is Offensive Coordinator Steve Jones. For years now, Steve has lobbied for coaches to get rid of the polo shirts and wear the jersey. Well, after years of debate and requests, Steve was presented his own jersey by our friends at Upward. Congratulations Steve! And by the way, good play calling Saturday. Big win for the Bengals!

Hall Of Fame

Spent the day at the Va Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth, VA with some of the guys who work in the Cool Spring Rec Center / Ministry. Going to the Hall was a great time to reflect on the days and players of old. The fellas reminisced about memories of former games that spanned a variety of generations. As well as played in the Nascar simulated driving game, shot baskets, threw speed pitch baseballs, and tossed footballs. It was a great day in downtown Portsmouth.

As I think about the Hall of Fame, I am reminded of those in scripture that God declares as Hall of Fame people - Hebrews 11. By their faith and lives, people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and other people are mentioned to provide for us a model in how we should walk by faith and live a life pleasing to God. As these athletes represent something significant to their sport, how awesome it would be for us to to be remembered for the significance of our faith.

We should strive to live a life with the anticipation of hearing God speak these words to us,"Well done thy good and faithful servant."

"Flippin" Out

Partnering with other organizations is part of our recreation ministry at Cool Spring. I have found it to be a great advantage to work with others rather than try to reinvent the wheel and brand my own stuff. One of the partnerships we have is with the Washington Wizards of the NBA. And today, I, along with Steve Rowe (adult basketball director) and Michael Curley (Upward basketball director), had lunch with head coach "Flip" Saunders. We, along with others, were able to hear about the pre-season preparations, game day decisions, and outlook for the this season. Check out the Wizards at www.washingtonwizards.com for more insight.

We have been working with the Wizards over the past year to provide NBA basketball action for our men's adult league and Upward children's league. Through this partnership we have been able to develop deeper relationships/friendships with those playing in our adult league. Often we have people playing that are not connected to Cool Spring and this provides an avenue of getting to know them better on a personal level. They love basketball and we love getting to know them. For the Upward league, it provides a family outing event and excitement for a young player. From the lights, to the introductions, the court, and the big players, the kids get to see it up front and personal. It's a way for us to minister to them while generating dreams for some.

Looking for partnerships that help enhance your recreation ministry is important. Knowing what your mission is, and finding a good partner, will aid you going deeper with your ministry. Look around and see who can help you do that.

Who's Included?

Who's included? Who's in our group? Who's on our radar? Who's not connecting with us?

Over the last few weeks I have heard the challenge from Gary Baker-Acts 2 class teacher- and others (as well as myself in a recent sermon) to engage people and connect with them for the purpose of sharing the Christ changing life with them. While I agree with this, the above questions often haunt me.

Several years ago Donald McGavran introduced the concept called "homogeneous principle." This prinicple stated that people were willing to come together based on their similarities. While McGavran identified a correct principle, we have to be cautious in our approach to it. If we are not careful in using this approach, we will find ourselves creating relationships and programs in order to reach ourselves. There is another approach to how we connect with people - the Medici effect. The Medici effect happens when you are at a place of multiple cultural intersections, where learning and innovation are heightened. It's being with people that are different from us in their backgrounds and worldviews that requires us to grow in the discipline of personal development.

A recreation ministry, or church, should seek to place itself in the heart of the Medici effect. For it's in this place where we find ourselves wrestling with the question of whether or not we are intentionally including people in our lives that make us uncomfortable. Are we spending time with people and pouring ourselves into others that may challenge our thinking, who don't fit our conventions, who are marginalzed and considered misfits with certain lables? Certainly the homogeneous principle makes life easier. It allows us to connect in a comfortable manner with people we typically want to be involved with. But throughout the life of Christ, we find the Medici effect. He engaged them in an expression of love and genuine conern for them physically and spiritually.

So, even as I reflect, who's in your group? Who's on your radar? Who's not connecting with you becuase of a homogeneous approach? Are you allowing Christ's love and power to take you out of your comfort zones in order to meet with others?

Values Kids Learn

In response of yesterdays post on "Why Kids Drop Out," here is a list of "Values Kids Learn Through Sports."

1. Appreciation for an active lifestyle
2. Positive self-concept through mastering skills
3. Teamwork
4. Social Skills
5. Leadership
6. Responsibility
7. How to handle success and disappointment
8. Fair play and sportsmanship
9. Respect for others

Dropping Out

Currently I am looking at some materials regarding the role of parents in youth sports for a discussion topic I am leading in an upcoming event. I found these statements relating to "Why Kids Drop Out" from a study by the University of Michigan.

Dropout Rates in Youth Sport = 70% drop out by age 14 and 50% drop out by age 12

1. Too much criticism from coaches
2. Lack of fun
3. Overemphasis on winning
4. Lack of playing time
5. Injuries
6. Conflicts with other activities

While I could comment on each of these points, it is worth reviewing the sport activity your child may be in and how it is carried out from the moment they hit the playing surface to the connection they have with a coach.

Are the youth of today being pushed to the point of drop out?

The Right People

In Jim Collins book, Why the Mighty Have Fallen, he points out several areas in which great companies over the last few years have begun to slide or even fallen from that which made them great. One of the reasons is not having the right people in the correct positions.

Having the right people in the right positions is critical to any ministry or job. To often we find holes that need to be filled and we simply fill them. Creating potential problems for the organization and the person. In a sense, we plan for failure.

In our recreation ministry we are dependant on volunteers and people. We have positions available at the Rec Desk, League Programs, Fitness Teachers, and our Upward Sports Leagues. Each of these examples requires that the right people are filling the right position. We need people who understand hospitality, administration, communication, and relational ministry with others. When seeking new volunteers it is important to lay out key positions for those interested and make sure there is a fit. Knowing the persons ability and giftedness helps assist in proper placement.

You may have some holes needing to be filled. Do not be tempted to fill them so you can say they are filled. Fillings are temporary and eventually you will be forced to deal with the harder issue: did the right person find the best fit? ,if you have found the right person, put them to work. Nothing stifles a person ready to exercise their skills and gifts than waiting for something to do.

FYI - We are looking for people to partner with us in recreation. We need coaches, ref's, and rec desk volunteers. Let me hear from you!

Where Am I with People?

A few of my thoughts from my message yesterday entitled The Habit of Relationships leads to the Discipline of Evangelism. Text from the life of Jesus and the Women at the well in John 4:1-42.

• Jesus takes the initiative to engage the woman - v. 7 Jesus found a common connection to create a conversation starter....water
• Despite his circumstance, Jesus still engaged the woman - v.6 -Jesus was at the well to rest and was weary, yet he put his needs away to meet hers.
• Jesus took a chance. He crossed the cultural norm - v.9 - Knowing that Jesus, a man and Jew, was not supposed to talk to her, he took the chance for the purpose of sharing his story. How often do we take a chance on people despite what others may say or the barriers we create about people based on our views, hurts, prejudices, etc.?
• Physical needs always lead to spiritual needs - v.10-11- Relationships allow us to meet people where they are. When we engage in a genuine relationship, we begin to see the physical needs people have that allows for the openness of of their emotional and spiritual needs.

Jesus was about people. He was about relationships. Where in your life are people?

Bistro Du Coin and Rob Bell

Saturday night I, along with my wife and two other couples, had the opportunity to go to Washington DC for a night of fine food, fellowship, and a great discussion topic.

After reading several books by Rob Bell, Pastor in Grand Rapids Michigan, we headed up to hear him speak on his new book - Drop Like Stars. Not really knowing I was there for two hours of discussion, Rob unpacked our thinking process in how we view suffering and persecution in our lives. He creatively invited us into the discussion through video background, bars of soap for sculpting, and golf pencils to be used for writing with the opposite hand. Through each of these elements, we, the crowd on the campus of George Washington Univ., grasped a better understanding of how suffering and pain can be used to shape our lives and share our story of God's love with those right beside us.

The discussion was great! But the food..oh the food was awesome. We began our night at the Bistro Du Coin - a french restaurant located in downtown DC. There I enjoyed the fine food that consisted of smoked mackrel with salad, moules rouqefort, and duck breast with gravy and flan. Being the want-a-be chef I am, it was amazing. And to think after all that, I stayed awake to be inspired.

Relational

I've been working on a sermon message for this week entitled The Habit of Relationships leads to the Discipline of Evangelism (the title is actually longer than the message). It is part of a continuing series we are doing about creating space for the spiritual disciplines.

This is probably my favorite topic. I am a relationship kind of person. I'm interested in people and enjoy people watching and learning about people. In this message, on Sunday October 11,(if you can not come check it out online at www.coolspring.org) I will be showing the importance of relationships through the life of Christ.

Recreation and Sports is relational. It creates opportunities for us to meet people where they are and interact with them in a common way. It provides us the opportunity to be transparent, real, and genuine as we play, work, and spend time with others through recreation outlets. It also provides us insights into the lives of others as they reveal their strengths and weakness through their particular outlet (just this week our team dealt with an over abundance of confidence in one adult player that led to frustration for another). We can also begin to learn of their physical needs as well as their emotional needs. It's then we are able to share the Christ life experience with them.

So, whatever recreation activity you participate in, take time to be relational with someone. It's a discipline that will be rewarding....for you and the other person!

Call It

The compliment for any ref or umpire would be to be told, "I didn't even know you were out there." Good officials know that there job is to keep the game in motion and create as little distraction or attention to themselves as possible. Despite the wave of emotions that are handed to them by the unstable fans from play to play, they must remain confident and secure in the task on the playing surface. As a baseball umpire for over 10 years, I have always said that any coach would become a better coach if they would officiate for one season.

In our Upward sports leagues our officials are volunteers. Yes they are provided training and direction specific to the league rules and purpose of our league. We strive (with continual need for improvement) to be sharp and crisp in the the way they interact with the coaches, players, and other participants. An official needs to make the call with confidence and clarity. It is their job to ensure that the game stays in motion and they make the proper calls that allow that to happen. But it is also part of their job to work with the kids on the field: to encourage and assist them in their sport development. While the coaches will have an impact on the child throughout the season, we also realize that in one moment on the field an official can motivate a child "to give it another shot, step it up, or comment on their great play or speed." Making sure your officials know their role and task is part of communicating to others that you take their child and their child's experience serious. It's another part of impacting someones life.

Great job to our officials for giving of themselves each Saturday to invest in the lives of others.

(The above model in the picture sporting our ref shirt is one I heckle and jaw with. And make no mistake about it, she throws the flag on me in a hurry)

Cost of a Bathroom Experience

Over the last week I have had the opportunity to attend the Va State Fair and travel to South Carolina. In each of these two events, I have found a similar theme..the cost of a bathroom experience.

Between the years 2001-2005, my family and I lived overseas and traveled throughout several countries. What I learned about living outside the U.S. was that it cost to use the restroom! Every time I entered the "WC" or washroom, I would have to leave a tip to the person sitting at the entrance. I was never really sure they were cleaning the facility, but they were employed...by me and others needing to desperately hit the "WC."

Well four years later, the trend has hit the U.S. At the state fair and in the Charlotte Airport I was hit by the urge. So, in both locations, I walked in and there it was - the cost of a bathroom experience. An elderly man in one location and a young man in another. I began to debate this in my mind as to whether I should tip or not and reflected of how it was overseas. My bathroom experience has now moved to the side of anxiety as to how will I face the men waiting for me to leave. Finally, after much debate, I walked out with my head up strong while greeting the two men knowing that I had given financially to the cause (still not sure what they do).

I guess we are just getting closer to a universal world. We have now taken up the habits of other countries. But, on the positive in this financial hardship, I have to give the guys props for finding a way to make a living. And I found joy in supporting their ambition.

IMAC

Out at the Mac store watching my oldest son purchase his dream - a MacBook Pro. He has worked hard over the last 6 months in terms of research and jobs and is ready to take the plunge. He has learned the value of hard work, patience, and how fast HIS money can spend!

Good Meeting

I know you think I've lost my mind, but I love a good meeting. A good meeting consist of a well planned approach, the right people involved for the meeting, and no rabbit chasing. That's what my time at Upward Unlimited consisted of... A Good Meeting.

The discussion was open between Recreation ministers (like myself and others from the east coast to the west coast) and the Upward staff, to the President of Upward and the people responding to our daily needs to develop a league. When you know how to ask the right questions and address the hard issues, as well as celebrate the good things, you can have an effective meeting. And good leaders know how to incorporate both aspects.

Upward continues to be a well run organization that impacts local communities across the United States. They need to be commended for their mission to introduce children to Jesus Christ and their work ethic to ensure they are producing the best leagues possible within their mission.

For more information visit www.upward.org.