Learning & Doing The Basics

As many of you know, I coach my son's Pop Warner Football team here in Matthews. Our team is made up of 7 - 9 year-olds. Many of whom have never played tackle football on a team....this is their first experience. It is a lot of fun AND sometimes very frustrating.

My assistant coaches and I have spent countless hours teaching these young athletes the basics of football. How to get in a 3 point stance, a 4 point stance, how to block, how to tackle, how to throw, how to catch and the list goes on and on and on and on and on...you get the point.

About the time we think they have the basics down and we can move on to something more complicated and at a higher level.....we notice that these boys are still struggling with the basics. So....we go over it one more time! Last week, after practice, I was hot, sweaty, thirsty ( it was about 150 degrees outside) and I thought to myself....."I wish we could stop having to spend so much time on the basic stuff and really get into really playing football and running cool plays and drawing up new defensive strategies and....."

As I was thinking all of this....I heard The Coach of my life (God) say to me....."now you know how I feel when I see you and others stumbling over the basics of serving me, sharing your faith, stewardship, loving others in a significant relationship and living a life that is fully devoted to me. I want to do so much more in your life and the lives of those at CSF but you are still struggling the with the basics." Ouch!

Hebrews 5:11 - 14 says that we should all get to a point where we no longer are spiritual babies only wanting the easy to digest "Milk" of God's teachings. It says that God wants to use us in amazing ways to lead and teach others....but we are not learning and following through every day on the basic life principles and disciplines of the Christian life. For most of us, like my little athletes, it is not an information problem it is a follow through, commitment and constant practice issue.

Starting in September we will be offering THRIVE seminars/groups to help some of us to finally get the basics down and then for others to move beyond the basics and start really being all God created us to be.