One Word

The new-year seems to always bring about change. We want to change this, or change that about our lives. We are going to workout more, eat better, be more involved, or whatever it is that you may make a resolution about. I have been the same way every new year, and I always seem to do well for a week or two, maybe even a month, but there really is no change. It’s temporary. Its surface level change.

During this Advent season, my wife and I read a great devotional by Paul Tripp (Paul Tripp Ministries). I could not sum up his thoughts on New Years Resolutions better than he does by saying:

“Is change important? Yes, it is for all of us in some way. Is commitment essential? Of course! There’s a way in which all our lives are shaped by the commitments we make. But biblical Christianity – which has the gospel of Jesus Christ at its heart – simply doesn’t rest its hope in big, dramatic moments of change. “

He goes on to talk about how we are not meant to live big moment to big moment, but we live in the mundane of everyday life where we are responsible for making 10,000 choices a day. It is the perfect devotion to go along with one of the resources we are starting to share with our coaches. It is a book by Jon Gordon and two FCA staff members (Jimmy Page and Dan Britton) called One Word That Will Change Your Life.

The book is about picking one word to live out each year instead of picking 5 big resolutions. It’s about making all those 10,000 choices we have daily based on one word. The word can be Grace, Simplify, Power, Life, or anything you really want it to be. It is much easier to remember, keep up with, and live out one word than it is 5 sentences.

Try it for yourself. Take some time to think about a word that might be good for your life this year, pray about that word, and live out that word. You can go to getoneword.com to read about people who have done it and seen a great change in the way they live their life. Be bold in the new-year and try something new.

— Andrew Baker

Discipleship

Matthew 28: 19-20 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

One of the hardest accomplishments for any athlete is to make it to the professional level. Even then once you make it you still have to work to stay there, and so often guys will make it but then fizzle out as a result of the physicality of playing at such a high level. The commitment that it takes to keep the body in the proper shape alone is tough enough. But one of the things that might be harder is to go from being a player, say in the NBA, to being a coach. As a player you’re playing for a team and playing on the same level as your peers, but to then move from player to coach you are being elevated above them. You go from being their friend to being their teacher, their mentor, their boss. Many times when something like this happens there is resistance because of the very nature of surpassing, moving on, or growth of one individual that can cause a range of emotions. In sports the notion is those who can’t play coach and rightfully so because one can coach far beyond their years of playing, and can then create more and better players because of their experience and knowledge. Recently this happened with Jason Kidd as he went one day from being a player on the roster of the New York Nicks to being the Head Coach of his long time team the Brooklyn Nets. This is a major transition for him going from being only responsible for his self to now being responsible for his entire team. As being a coach he now has to wear a different hat per say one that conducts himself with the utmost of respect and professionalism. Will he always do this? Of course not, but he will then pick himself back up and apologize and move on.
Now let us look at this from a biblical perspective in relation to being a Christian and how Christ called us to be more than a disciple. It is one of the hardest things to do, to live each second of each minute of the day like Christ. When we are a follower of Christ it is hard but Christ doesn’t want us to just follow Him. He called us to go out and make disciples. From the time we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior we are on a journey….we are developing our relationship with God, we are learning how to live life the way God wants us, along with all the other things that with Christianity. But we do not do this on our own; we are discipled, taught, trained and led on what it means to be a Christian, with the hopes that we will one day do the same to others. In essence we have a coach or many coaches in our lives and their job is to train us up in the ways of the Lord. Then God wants us to step in and be the coach. We are to go from being a follower to being a leader. Just like going from being a player to being a coach. This “leader” position can look like many things but ultimately it means that we are sharing the Gospel with others, leading them to Christ, and teaching them. God is calling us to get off the bench, play in the game, learn the game, and then coach others to do the same. This is basic discipleship and it is why Christ was so successful because he ultimately replaced Himself with 12. There is power in multiplication and if we ourselves take this seriously how many more people would hear the gospel and in turn have the opportunity to come and know Christ as their Lord. We will mess up and sometimes
the mess will get pretty sticky but we have to remember to ask for forgiveness and move on to what we are called to do. So my advice to all believers is get off the bench get in the game learn the game, learn from your mistakes, and start being a coach for Christ!

FCA Father Daughter Luau

FCA Father Daughter Luau

The Northeast Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) would like to invite you to attend the FCA Father Daughter Luau on May 24th 2013. This event is creatively and specifically designed for dads to spend one unforgettable evening with their young daughters (suggested ages 4-12). This evening will include dinner, dancing, entertainment and some special moments to share together.

If you are interested in attending the FCA Father Daughter Luau please register online . We must receive your registration with payment by Friday, May 17th. For more information, please contact our FCA office at (904) 421-8931 or e-mail Alisa Hendry at ahendry@fca.org.

Branch Rickey’s Starring Role in FCA’s History

As moviegoers flock to the theaters across America to take in the Jackie Robinson biopic “42″, Hollywood legend Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey will play a key role in influencing audiences’ opinions of the movie. In real life, Rickey displayed his pioneering ways by establishing the affiliated minor league baseball system as we know it today and by signing Robinson, the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. Rickey was also a devout Christian man and a key player in helping the Fellowship of Christian Athletes get off the ground.  Click on the link below to see how Branch Rickey helped launch the FCA ministry

http://www.fca.org/2013/04/11/branch-rickeys-starring-role-in-fcas-history/

Taking a Stand

Chris Broussard took a huge step of faith yesterday (4-29-13). He used his platform to state his belief to the sports world on homosexuality. He took a risk for God by openly condemning homosexuality, fornication, premarital heterosexual relations, and many other things. His stance is one that is not popular, and in my opinion will unfairly get him reprimanded by his employer (ESPN). But he took a risk for God, used his platform of a television sports report, and I believe will be rewarded in his eternal life! We can all be encouraged by this leap of faith by Chris Broussard, and we should follow in his footsteps. No matter the risk involved, we are to step up for our belief in what the Bible teaches us, and we are to hold to the teachings of Christ, while still loving those that are blind to their sin. I know I take encouragement from Chris Broussard, and I hope that you will as well. If you haven’t seen the clip, you can go to http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1623745-chris-broussard-believes-openly-gay-nba-center-jason-collins-is-living-in-sin. The article the clip is embedded in is a good read as well on the view the media and pop culture will have on the subject.

Here is the link to the full interview if you would like to see everything leading up to the comments, and the discussion after. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLGdX6lr4w

Eagle’s View Academy Baseball

The Eagle’s View Academy baseball team joined FCA for a team retreat April 19 & 20 bringing 25 players and coaches. The team experienced the FCA “4-Core” Values training (Integrity, Serving, Teamwork, and Excellence) and were educated how to let those values direct their action in life. As part of the process they were immediately given the opportunity to practice teamwork and leadership skills on the Military Leadership Reaction Course. During the weekend 5 student-athletes indicated their commitment to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

A 7 Year Old’s Dream

Many of you may have probably seen the video of the 7 year old who played one down for the Nebraska Huskers in their spring football game. He scored a 69 yard touchdown. I would not do the story justice if I tried to tell it through words, so here is a link to the touchdown run (Jack Hoffman Touchdown Run) as well as a link to the full story behind Jack Hoffman (Jack Hoffman Story).

There is something very touching about these kinds of stories. I do not want to get superspiritual or try to make a connection where there isnt, but this though came into my mind while I was watching these videos. “While we are innately selfish beings who are bound to our sin without Christ, we were also made in Christ image and we have the ability to love beyond anything we can imagine.” I do not know who all played a part in making Jack be able to have all the opportunities with the Huskers team, and I do not know if they are believers in Jesus Christ. What I do know though is that they loved this kid and his family more than they ever thought they could a stranger. It is because Christ loved us first and created us in his image, that we are able to love in this way.

March Madness

March is over and so is the Maddness that goes along with it. As I was watching the tournament this year is was very evident that many of the matchups were David and Goliath type games. The story of David and Goliath is one of the most widely known stories in modern day society due to its correlation of the little guy taking on the giant. If we look at this years tournaments we see that there were a few little guys who took on GIANTS and won. Two of the most notable were first Harvard who upset New Mexico, then the talk of the tournament was Florida Gulf Coast and their improbable run. Each time they stepped out onto the court they were up against a team that was said by the experts to be far superior then them. In the story of David and Goliath, we have the small shepherd boy and the success he had against Goliath. The key to Davids success was because he was not fighting with his own strength. Instead he was fighting with the strength of God. In our lives we all have our own Goliaths that we deal with and face. Whether it is dealing with issues at work, family issues or financial problems we all have them and many times we tend to take things into our own hands instead of relying on God. When we do this it is us saying Lord we are stronger than You, we don’t need you and I can do it on my own. I want to encourage you to stopping fighting with your own strength and take a page from the life of David! Take on your modern day Goliaths with the strength of God and see how it changes you!

FCA Softball Camp

The NE Florida FCA Softball Camp was a huge win for TEAM FCA. On March 30th FCA partnered with Michelle Moultrie, former University of Florida Gators All-American and a current member of the USA National Softball Team to share the gospel with young softball players from all over NE Florida. The camp was held at FCA’s new athletic complex (Tip Graham Memorial Ballpark) located near the Avenues Mall in Jacksonville.

More than 80 girls stood up amoungst their peers to indicate their decision to live their life for God and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Mandarin HS Softball Retreat

NE Florida FCA hosted the Mandarin High School Women’s Softball Team at the FCA team retreat. God moved in an amazing way as we saw 11 of the 13 girls who attended the camp make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.