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| The pre-game prayer |
I'm a football coach. Over the past 13 years, I have had the privilege to coach every age group from 5th grade to high school varsity. This year I took over the junior high program with my primary responsibility being serving as the Head Coach of the 8th grade team. Since mid-August, we have been preparing for our first game, sweating through wind sprints beneath the hot sun, the sound of pads popping on late afternoons. Excited parents attended practices, the air rich with expectation and possibility. The team has some talent, kids who love the game and have been blessed with the ability to match their passion. Yesterday, the kids put on their scarlet and white uniforms and boarded the bus for our first game. I sat in my customary spot on the first row of the bus, feeling good in my coordinated coaching gear; red, white and black, even down to my shoes. I had ordered new hats and shirts for the coaching staff and dictated that black slacks be worn so that we looked sharp. We drove the hour and a half to the game, excited to play beneath the lights on a beautiful turf field. As the sun went down and the lights came on, we came together on the field, clapping and barking. I gave an emotional speech about relishing the moment, playing to the best of your ability. the whistle blew, the kickoff sailed through the air.......And we lost 33-0.
I'm a youth pastor. Over my adult life, I have had the privilege to serve as a juvenile counselor for kids who have been damaged by life and loved ones. I have been in the living rooms of families dealing with tragedy and been at the altar as a child I ministered to as a teen has asked me to be a part of their wedding day. My wife and I have held teenagers in our arms on our couch as they collapsed beneath the shame and regret of a decision they can never take back. I have given my Sundays, Wednesdays, Mondays as an investment in the lives of those I feel are so precious to God. I have driven miles to sit and sweat in gyms so that a kid on a bench can look in the stands and feel support. I have crowded into swimming pools thick with humidity and humanity so that a teenager, shaved hairless and stuffed into a speedo can introduce me to his parents and give me an uncomfortable wet hug. I have sat and listened to parents as they wept over a child and rejoiced with them years later as their child found Christ.
Last night, as the bus travelled through the darkness, I sat alone in the front row and wondered what went wrong. I had let down the kids, their parents. I texted my wife and kids the game results and responded to the encouraging texts from parents with a cheerfulness which I did not feel. My matching ensemble gave me no comfort in the aftermath of such a beating. After I got home, I sat alone in the living room and replayed the game; what could I have done differently?!..Around midnight, I threw my color coordinated black slacks in the hamper and trudged off to bed.
This morning, I walked into the church office still embarrassed about my failure to win an 8th grade football game. Before I could make it to my office, my co-workers asked how the game went. I recounted how I had lost, the kids played listless, we missed tackles and blew assignments. My mood was evident as they listened to my sad tale. Our office manager listened the entire time with a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. As I finished, she said, " Well, you might want to hear this...She told me how she had went on a walk with the mother of one of my players last night and recounted the question the mom had asked her, "Do you know Don Knight?” I told her I did and that I didn’t care for him…..just kidding…..anyway she went on to say that it was an answer to prayer and a relief to know that her junior high son was being coached by a “real man” who would teach him not only football, but what good men look like....
It is so easy to be distracted from our calling, to let the enemy conspire with our flesh to make us doubt the role we play as believers. We are more than coaches, or teachers, or businessmen and loggers. We are ministers of the Gospel. Both in word and deed, we have an impact upon every individual that crosses our path.
I'm a football coach. I'm a minister...So are you.
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