Rod-West
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Yes Sir Coach

9/27/2013

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Romans 13:7 (ESV) Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
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I love … fall and the game of football!

One, I don’t believe there’s another team oriented sport that even begins to rival the complexities of schemes and intricacies involved as in this game. I realize some view football as nothing more than a brutal game where players only seek to inflict as much pain as possible. Having played from junior high through college I can honestly say this is a false perception. Don’t misunderstand, I do love the big hits and the sense of combativeness that takes place during each play, but there’s so much more.

Two, as a purest of the sport, I love what lies behind each play. The strategies incorporated to carry out a single play make the game intriguing. Formations and motions used by the offense to confuse a defense and gain the upper hand take a great deal of skill and knowledge. A defense will often employ similar tactics using a mixture of fronts and coverages to confuse the offense. In many ways the game of football is like a game of chess except it’s played on a much larger surface.

Three, I appreciate the fundamentals that must be taught for a player to be successful. The slightest change in a blocking technique or a route run by a receiver can make a difference in winning or losing. In the game of football everything matters even down to the smallest details. It takes eleven players working together and carrying out their exact assignments to accomplish the team’s goal.

Four, what I love most about this game is not the game itself but the lessons taught and applied to other areas of life. Personally, I believe I had some of the best coaches a player could ever hope for in this game. During my playing days at Liberty I had two different offensive line coaches: Kendall Keith an All-American from the University of Georgia and Chuck Kelly who played at Louisiana Tech and professionally. I learned much about the “X’s” and “O’s” from both these men, but one of the greatest things I learned was that men who love Jesus never quit no matter the odds. Both of these men were physically imposing figures that demanded respect and gave the same in return. Each pushed my teammates and me daily to the point of mental and physical exhaustion, and looking back I can’t thank them enough for being tough on me when needed.

Yet, I believe the greatest coach I ever had the pleasure of playing for was a man by the name of Johnny Sasser. He was the head football coach for twenty-four years at East Wake High School which is located outside Raleigh, North Carolina. Sadly, he died of cancer in 1993 at the age of forty-eight leaving behind a wife and two sons. Coach Sasser had a profound effect upon my life in so many ways. Not only was he an innovator as a coach, but he was a motivator for life. He had a saying for every situation, and the motto that he’ll forever be remembered for is “Winners find a way.” Coach Sasser believed there was always an answer no matter what problem might lie before us. This is not to say that we would always like the answer.

Johnny Sasser was a man of great conviction and Christian faith which is what motivated him to teach young men how to live in this world. For him, football was a teaching tool to mold young men into better men. On Saturday mornings I always knew where to find him – in his office watching the game footage from the night before. I would often wander into the Fieldhouse to watch the game film with him. I was hoping to learn as much as I possibly could about the game I loved, but he would often direct the conversation back to my life and dreams. Not long after I graduated from college I hit a spiritual rough spot in my life and the only one I wanted to talk to was Coach Johnny Sasser. One Saturday morning in 1988 I walked into the Fieldhouse again, and there he was as if he was waiting for me – he never missed a beat. I sat down to watch the previous night’s game film, and all he wanted to talk about was me and my life. That day he once again helped me begin to see what should be important … God and family.

During these last few weeks I’ve had the great pleasure of helping coach a local middle school football team. Each day as I head out to practice I take a few minutes to pray for the other coaches and young men that I’ll be working with on the field. As I pray I not only ask for God’s protection upon these young men, but most of all, I ask for God’s blessing and leading with the hope that each player will see Christ in my life, (just like I saw in Coach Sasser’s life). I suspect prayer became a habit because it was instilled in me early on at Liberty. Each position coach on our team would gather his players and lead us in prayer before and after practice. Looking back, this routine also had a profound effect upon my life. For fifteen years or more now I’ve volunteered to help coach different teams and praying for players and coaches before hitting the field is a habit I don’t ever think will be broken.

So why do I share these things with you?

We hear so many negative things about our youth today with their lack of respect for authority and their dismissiveness towards God and the Church. The coaches I presently work with are fine men, and their work with young men obviously extends far beyond the football field. I’ve been so impressed with the things I’ve heard from our players and the genuine respect that is shown. I routinely hear the phrases “yes sir” and “no sir” as our players address the coaches and officials on the field. Yet, I think the greatest thing I’ve witnessed thus far took place before our first game a few weeks ago. Without any prompting, one of the young men turned to our head coach and asked, “Coach is it okay if we pray?” With a nod of the head, the young man gathered his team and led them in a prayer. For some this may seem like nothing more than a ritual, but for me it was a reminder that there are moms and dads, coaches and teachers along the way that have done something right.

Again, why do I share these things with you? Every so often we all need reminding someone can make a difference in the life of another by living out our Christian faith.

I praise God for the people who made a difference in my early life!

Thank you:

Teresa Hall West
Sharyn Siler Stevens
Bruce and Grace Hall
J. D. West
Johnny Sasser
Kendall Keith
Chuck Kelly
The Pastor and Deacon (whose names I can’t recall) from Friendship Baptist Church in Raleigh North Carolina who led me to Christ

1 Peter 2:9-12 (ESV) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 
Blessings,
Rod

This is a framed article at the top of this page is from the Raleigh News and Observer covering the life of Coach Johnny Sasser following his death in 1993. It hangs in my office as a constant reminder to be a "difference maker" in the lives of others.
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Do I Stay or Do I Go?

9/18/2013

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Many times the story is told of how an individual or family joins a local congregation and all seems well until "feelings" are hurt or difficulties arise. Some leave and join another congregation while others drop out of church altogether. 

Have you ever left a church or moved your membership because of one of the following reasons?
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Lord, Is It You?

9/13/2013

1 Comment

 
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Have you ever asked yourself this question: “How do I know if this decision I’m about to make is really the will of God for my life?” If you’re like me God has never appeared to you physically, spoke in an audible voice from the clouds or a burning bush. I’ve also never had an angel appear with a message from God like the prophet Daniel, but I am confident God still speaks in this present age.

Gideon, in the book of Judges had his own unique conversation with God. Threshing wheat in the wine press he meets with “The Angel of the Lord.” This appearance was a theophany – a manifestation of the preincarnate Christ. Note part of his encounter below.

Judges 6:14-18 (ESV) And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
When I read this event in its entirety several things jump out at me.

First, in verse twelve the Lord calls Gideon a “mighty man of valor.” Let’s remember Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress which was normally carried out on a high open area. So why thresh wheat in a winepress? He feared the marauding Midianites; these were a people who terrorized the Nation of Israel for seven years.

Second, Gideon’s response in verse fifteen may have simply been a statement of humility, but most likely he was from a very poor family. We might also say that Gideon was the “runt” of his family. The facts surrounding Gideon’s family status makes the Lord’s choice of him to rescue the people Israel even more intriguing. As is often the case with God, He chooses the least likely from among us to do the greatest things in His name.

And third, why after such an encounter with God would Gideon request more conformation through not just one sign but two? One might think a conversation regarding God’s will with the preincarnate Christ would be more than enough to move ahead, but to me this seems contrary to our nature. Within us naturally abides a sense of fear, doubt, and lack of trust because of the misfortunes experienced in life.

So how can we know God’s will or directing today if we’ve never had a Moses, Daniel or Gideon experience?

As stated earlier I believe God continues to speak to us, but unlike Gideon and the others mentioned we must settle for a different form of communication. God speaks to us presently through His Word and prayer as He ministers to our spirit. The key to understanding His will involves at least three things.

  1. Learning to listen spiritually as we read, study, and meditate upon the Scriptures. As we do these things we become more adept at identifying what falls within the purview of God. Ask yourself this question: “Is there anything about this decision that is in opposition to God’s Word?” 
  2. We need to maintain a submissive and contrite spirit. Those who humble themselves before God tend to be the most malleable and useful servants. Ask yourself this question: “Is there anything about this decision that glorifies me rather than God?”
  3. Trust and respond by faith. There comes a time when we must simply act because we are called to do so. Ask yourself this question: “Is there anything about this decision that would be unpleasing and dishonoring to God?”
If the answer to each question is “NO” then you most likely have your answer. Trust God and move forward believing the path before you is His will. If we somehow veer from the proper course then God has His way of correcting our course.  

The uncertainties we have will no doubt intensify our feelings of fear and angst causing levels of distress that can be debilitating at times.  And like Gideon we’d love to have a miraculous sign to confirm God’s will but most likely that’s not about to happen. We overcome and advance by consistently practicing our faith.  

I don’t mean to sound cynical in any way. I certainly believe in miracles, especially after witnessing the healing of my wife two years ago from a brain mass. I’m simply saying that knowing God’s will is not as complicated as we sometimes make it out to be. Just trust Him and hold true to His Word and you can’t go wrong.

Blessings,
Rod  
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