Prayer...it's what I do...

Last Thursday, the 2012 Football season was unleashed with the Freshmen team putting a beat-down on the Bears from Merced.  Long before the game started, I was preparing for this moment.  The moment when I could pray with the team.  This year we have a new head coach and a new coaching staff for the freshmen.

I approached Coach Garcia and asked him about praying with the team before the game and he said I could have the team for the last 2 minutes.  More than enough time.  Then something happened that I wasn't ready for...

Just when I think God has done the best, he raises the bar again.

Some of the coaches joined in the prayer.

Fast forward to the JV game...As the team is warming up, they always play music to get them fired up.  When we gathered in the endzone to pray and I noticed during the time I'm talking to the boys before the prayer the music stopped...

Then another young man asked if he could pray after me...Absolutely

Now the varsity game and the team is gathering in the locker room...and they are waiting for me to pray.  During that prayer there were three people praying, myself and two other young men.

Lastly, lets jump to today's Bible study.  I had my first Bible study of the year in Coach Parson's room.  I always wonder who is going to show up, will there be anybody there.  I had 23 young men and one coach.

One the way to the Bible study, I knew what I was going to talk about.  I was going to bring the Word and tell them what they needed to do to get to Heaven...Accept Jesus as their personal Savior.

I was just as nervous as last year, but had a sense of peace from God and just explained to them the good news about how Jesus came to this world, lived a sinless life and died on the cross so that we could have eternal life with him.

Then we prayed and I handed out 12 new Bibles to 12 new Christians...

I need more Bibles...

Join me and pray for these "Ironmen"

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" Romans 10:9

Ironmen

"Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another" - Proverbs 27:17

Blacksmiths used to make swords by taking steel and iron, heating it up and then pounding it into place.  They would pound and work the sword until it was just the right shape.  It was a pain staking process, but a process done with caring for what the finished product would be.

The correlation between sword making and team building on the football field is dramatically similar.  Young men go out each and every day, strap on pads and ram into each other trying to make themselves better.  They run 40's, do up-downs, lift weights...all to make themselves in better shape.  But something more has to happen if these young men want to be a team.

They need to strengthen each other.

Yesterday started the 2012 football season with a home scrimmage against Hanford.  the Freshmen and JV ran plays at the same time while the Varsity played 3 quarters of football.

Once again, I had the immeasurable pleasure of praying with all of the young men before yesterday's scrimmage.  God brought to mind the Proverbs 27:17 verse and I shared a little with them.

I tried to explain how not only is it acceptable to pick your teammate up when he's down, it's required.  Spurring each on and remind them of how great they are together...well that's a team.

Individuals are born but teams are formed.

The art of leading seems to be hard to find these days and I have been reminding key players at all levels of this fact.  It's kinda scary to lead because then people can point at you when you fail, but without leaders and accountability, there isn't a team.  God told us it takes accountability for us to get better.  When your on the field and you make a mistake, you feel bad and your teammates pick you up.  True accountability happens teammates accept nothing less than 100% effort.

I'm so looking forward to expanding on this topic in our first Bible study.  I'm grateful of this calling and this ministry.  Thank you God for this awesome responsibility.

As a side note, I've gotten some donations and printed some pretty sweet shirts.

My goal is to be able to give a shirt to everybody that attends the Bible study and all of the coaches as well.  So far I was able to purchase 50 shirts and I'm praying for more donations and more kids to give them to.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"
2 Timothy 4:7