There Are No Cinderella’s

Did you watch any of the NCAA Basketball tournament during March Madness? If so, I’m sure you saw the new Nike Commercial. The theme of the commercial is:

There are no Cinderella’s—become legendary!

The commercial starts with a bell ringing and then shows a basketball player doing “suicide” sprint work in a basketball gym. As he is sprinting, scenes from legendary games like the 1983 N.C. State upset over Houston and Michael Jordan’s winning shot as the University of North Carolina Tarheels defeated Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown to win the 1982 college basketball championship. It also shows players in practice working on the plays, such as Boise State’s statue of liberty to beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, which have now become legendary.

Then, it flashes back to the basketball player in the gym catching his breath as he rests in between sprints. The scene quickly switches to a second hand on a clock on the basketball gym wall. The second hand is quickly approaching the number twelve. Tick, tick, tick, tick and the second hand finally strikes twelve. The next scene shows the athlete duck his head and start running another “suicide” sprint. The commercial ends with the words:

There are no Cinderella’s—become legendary.

The whole point of the commercial is players have paid a price to be able to accomplish the historic sport moments that we now celebrate. In other words, these occasions did not happen by chance or by accident. A tremendous amount of effort and work went into executing these plays to perfection while under pressure with the championship on the line. The athletes we remember in these historic happenings paid the price to accomplish their feats. They are worthy of such honor.

I remember watching the movie “Miracle”, which is about the 1980 Olympic hockey team that beat the USSR to win the gold medal. Kurt Russell plays the legendary coach Herb Brooks. The movie emphasized Brooks’ training techniques as he took a team of divided and narcissistic college hockey players and turned them into Olympic champions when no one thought it was possible.

After the movie, I called a mentor and good friend of mine who coached college basketball for many years of his life before going into full time ministry. I consider this gentleman a very wise person and a man of deep passion. I was very interested to hear what he thought about the movie and Herb Brooks’ coaching style.

As my friend and confidant answered his phone, with great expectation and enthusiasm, I asked him the question, “What did you think about the movie?” True to form, without hesitation, he gave me one of his classic sagacious one-liners that I will never forget. He said, “Well, it was no miracle.” It was such a statement of truth. The U.S hockey team had paid the price to win the gold medal.

One of my favorite scenes is at the end of the movie when Herb Brooks is talking and reminiscing about his amazing experience as the scenes show the team and fans celebrating the victory. Then it switches to the medal ceremony. Brooks (Russell) comments on how he responds when people ask him about his most memorable moment during his time in Lake Placid. As he watches the medal ceremony he gives his answer by saying, “It was here, the sight of twenty young men from such different backgrounds now standing as one—young men willing to sacrifice so much of themselves for an unknown.” Brooks knew firsthand these young men had paid the price. He knew they were worthy of such honor.

In the context of paying the price, I can’t help but think about Jesus who proclaimed Himself to be the King of kings, Lord of lords and Savior of all mankind.

Is He worthy of such titles and such honor?

1 Timothy 2:5 says, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.”

Revelation 5:9 says, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Yes! Jesus is worthy because He paid the price of being tortured, shedding his blood, and dying on a cross to be our Lord and Savior. There may be no Cinderella’s, but there is a Christ who paid the price for our sins.

Serve Jesus and become legendary!

No Greater Joy (Part 2)

Apostle John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4). In order to build generationally, we must understand that God is the God of generations. I wrote about this in last week's blog "No Greater Joy". In this blog I will cover the second and third points concerning this topic.

Second, we must have a faith that the younger generation wants to emulate. Psalm 78:1-8 says, “1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old- 3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done."

Our dereliction to teach the next generation will ultimately lead to our destruction. In the book of Judges we learn that Joshua and his generation were faithful to serve the Lord in their lifetime. However, they did not pass the “baton of faith” to their children. When this happens, the generation that forsakes God ends up practicing idolatry and engaging in immorality. As people turn away from God’s laws, the result is moral confusion and chaos. With no moral anchor to ground them and no ethical compass to guide them, a generation lives by the motto: Do what is right in your own sight.

Judges 2:7, 10 says, “The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel. 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel."

While working as a strength coach at FSU, I used to do personal training after work to supplement my income. The majority of my clientele were young children under the age of thirteen. More than searching for a person to train their children in physical conditioning, most of the parents were looking for someone to mentor them. As their children approached their teenage years, many of them were rebellious, unmotivated and lethargic. In fact, it seemed they desired to be the exact opposite of their parent’s wishes. So, I was hired to try to get the kids compliant, motivated and conditioned.

As I got to know the parents, I began to observe that many of them did not model the kind of life they wanted their children to live. Some of them were divorced, some of them spent more time at work than at home, and some of them were not in good physical condition themselves. It made sense to me that their children were rebelling against the hypocrisy of their parents. So, I was hired to fill in the gaps.

Third, we need to collectively value the wisdom of the elderly and the zeal of the youth. Proverbs 20:29 says, “The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.” Malcolm Muggeridge once said that all new news is old news happening to new people. He was right; even as Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). All that has happened before so often happens again. That is why it is important for the young to learn from the old so they gain wisdom in their current decision making and not commit the same mistakes of previous generations. However, in quoting that verse, we must not forget something very important. The people to whom it is happening are new, and the answers, however old, must never sound stale. The younger generation knows how to make sure the answers are couched in a relevant context as culture changes.

God has always used young people throughout history to bring change. Josiah was a young king who led his nation in a revival of adherence to God’s word. God visited Joseph, the youngest of twelve brothers, with dreams about his future and the destiny of God’s people. David was chosen by God to unite Israel and Judah as the youngest in his family. God promoted Daniel, a young exile in who was wise, powerful in spirit, and a man of prayer, to influential governmental positions in the pagan nation Babylon. Young men Joshua and Caleb were used by God to lead the Israelites into their promised land. And, Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to be a Godly example in his youth to believers. 1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

It is interesting to also note the principle of generational building in the book of 1st Timothy. 1st Timothy 4:14 says, “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” Timothy led as a young man and the older generation imparted into his life as elders. In other words, they worked together in their service to the Lord and one another.

One of my favorite examples of how the young and the old need each other in every situation in their generation comes from the movie “Footloose”. Reverend Moore, who represents the older generation, is a minister in a small mid-western town. Ren, who represents the younger generation, is a free-spirited big city teenager who likes to dance. After the car accident death of his son during a night of drinking and dancing, the Reverend Moore led the town in instituting a “no dance policy”. This meant that seniors in high school could not even participate in a prom. From their traumatic experience, the town had mistakenly labeled dancing an evil activity.

Refusing to be dissuaded, Ren quotes Holy Scripture to the town council and personally meets with Reverend Moore to convince him that his cause is not motivated by malicious intent. Ren eventually persuades Reverend Moore and gets permission to host a senior prom. By the end of the movie, generations that have been divided over traditions, heartache and pain begin to reconcile with a new sense of trust and community spirit. Ren needed the wisdom of Reverend Moore to learn proper conduct, and Reverend Moore needed the youthful zeal of Ren to break dogmatic and legalistic community rules.

No Greater Joy!

I have enjoyed many moments of success in my life. It is true that all of my achievements have brought me considerable personal happiness. However, my greatest fulfillment in life has come from investing my life into others, and watching them grow into all that God has created them to be. Apostle John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4). Whether it’s watching my sons pray over an evening meal, marrying those I have mentored, or watching my staff preach on Sunday morning, nothing compares to observing those influenced by my leadership walk in the truth.

Last month I had the opportunity to worship in another church for the first time in three years. It was quite refreshing to worship and not have to worry about facilitating anything during the service. Being the ecumenical guy that I am, I really enjoyed my time at this church.

The first observation I had of the church was the fact that the majority of the people had grey hair. I’m not talking about a few strands of grey, but a whole head full of grey hair. There is nothing wrong with people who have grey hair. In fact, I tremendously value people of age and experience. It encourages me to witness people worshipping God in their latter years.

The second observation I had of the church was the fact that they had not adjusted their service in at least thirty years. The only upgrade or change they made, from what I could see, was exchanging hymn books for an overhead projector and screen. Even though they had made the switch from hymn books to projection technology, they still sang the same old songs.

About ten minutes into the service, I felt like I had been abducted, put in Marty’s DeLorean with an operational flux capacitor, forced to push the gas pedal until the magic number of “88” appeared on the speedometer, and sent back in history like the movie “Back to the Future”.

It is my opinion that the reason I did not see many college students and young people is because the leaders of the church were not willing to contextualize the gospel for the 21st century. Because of this unwillingness to embrace change, the younger generation did not own, and therefore, were not engaged very much in the service.

Why is it so important that we build generationally? The simple answer is that we can not accomplish everything God wants us to do in our lifetime. For us to reach perfection, we must realize our completeness and destiny is linked to the generations that follow us. Successful people of faith have understood this truth throughout history. Hebrews 11:39-40 says, “39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

In order for us to build generationally, we must understand three scriptural truths in regards to this topic.

First, we must understand that God is the God of the generations. When God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery and bondage in Egypt, He quickly revealed to Moses that He is the God of the generations. Exodus 3:15 says, “15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, [a] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”

God wants us to think way beyond our lifetime. He wants us to realize that our lives are supposed to be lived in such a way that we will leave a legacy of faith to our children. Once again, we see this modeled in antiquity by the great heroes of faith in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:17-22 says, “17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring[a] will be reckoned."[b] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

Wow! That is a powerful example of faith transferring from one generation to the next.

Stay tuned for part 2 of “No Greater Joy”.