Difficulty In Defining Success

Written by Bob Schindler, COO of CEDE Sports

How Do I Know I am Winning?

“At the end of the game, all I had to do to know whether we had won or lost was to look at the scoreboard.” A then friend and now ministry partner at CEDE SPORTS, M.L. Woodruff, then said, “Now I don’t have that scoreboard. I don’t know whether I am winning or losing.”  M.L. served as a high school baseball coach for 30 years (where he won 11 state championships by the way - obviously winning more than he lost!) before pursuing a call to lead Istrouma Sports at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. It was in that role with Istrouma Sports that I met M.L. This conversation came up early on in our relationship. It stuck with me.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that M.L.’s challenge is not unique. We all want to know if we are winning or losing, making progress or falling behind. In some areas of life, we may have a clear “scoreboard.” In others, like in ministry, that scoreboard may not be so clear. For example, are you winning or losing in:

• Your marriage?

• Your parenting?  

• Your following Jesus?

If you know, how do you know?  What is your scoreboard?  

Keeping Score

In the pursuit of the answer, what sports, rec, and fitness ministers often do is to establish a scoreboard that is easily measurable.  Their scoreboard typically includes:   

• Number of participants

• Finances

• Facilities

While this is helpful information, it is incomplete.  It doesn’t evaluate the whole picture and give a true understanding of whether progress is being made.  To help sports, rec, and fitness leaders with this dilemma, we developed a tool to evaluate progress called The Wheel.  It is based on the three components of a wheel 

• The Hub – Power Source

• The Spokes – Power Transfer

• The Rim – Power Effects

On The Field Series: Russell Dulin

Out of a desire for you to understand more of what we do we decided to invite the people on the field to tell you themselves. In these blogs you will hear from the hands and feet of our ministry as they tell you how their story intersects with CEDE Sports. 

Meet Russell Dulin..

Russell serves as the Minister of Recreation at Hopewell Baptist Church in Monroe, NC. Q: How did you get connected with CEDE?

A: I was contacted by a CEDE Sports mentor many years ago while I was still a full-time public school teacher and part-time recreation ministry director about the possibility of meeting to discuss the recreation ministry. It wasn’t until I left teaching to lead the recreation ministry full-time that my schedule would allow us to meet. Since 2015 I have met with this mentor from CEDE Sports on a monthly basis discussing various topics of recreation ministry.

Q: What has been the impact of your involvement with CEDE?

A: CEDE Sports has provided a mentorship that serves both me and the ministry. My education and training was in education, not ministry. They took me from a mentality of athletic director to recreation minister. Helping to focus my priority on ministry first, sports second. Using the CEDE Sports online materials, book studies and monthly conversations has helped me stay focused on the opportunities we have to bridge the gap between the church and community using sports. Sharing the Gospel through sports is an effective way of ministering to people that may not necessarily hear to Gospel in a traditional church setting. CEDE has also helped me set yearly goals and cast vision for the ministry moving forward. Having goals and vision keep me from become complacent or stagnant in the ministry.

Q: Why would someone in sports, Rec and fitness get involved with CEDE?

A: I have had times in the ministry where I get bogged down in the logistics of recreation ministry; uniforms, schedules, coaches and referees. CEDE Sports provide online materials and resources to help with coach’s training. I didn’t have to move from education to ministry and “re-create the wheel”. Those online resources were quick and easy to adapt to my specific recreation ministry, which freed me up to focus on the ministry part of recreation. Meeting monthly with CEDE has kept me accountable. Their focus, is for me to focus on ministry first, sport second. Beyond the connection I have with my mentor, CEDE Sports has also given me the opportunity to connect with other recreation ministries, locally and nationally, through their website and the annual REACH Gathering conference.

On The Field Series: Bill Wise

Out of a desire for you to understand more of what we do we decided to invite the people on the field to tell you themselves. In these blogs you will hear from the hands and feet of our ministry as they tell you how their story intersects with CEDE Sports. 

Meet Bill Wise..

Bill serves as the Family Activities and Singles Minister at Central in College Station, TX. Q: How did you get connected with CEDE?

A: At the REACH Conference in Rockwall, Texas in 2017.  I struck up a conversation with one of the mentors from CEDE Sports and started to find out about what they do and I took a business card. At the conference we attended a few sessions taught by the staff of CEDE Sports and I realized this is something we need to take advantage of and have been rocking with them since.

Q: What has been the impact of your involvement with CEDE?

A: Our reach to coaches discipleship and accountability has vastly improved since. We have changed how we do our devotional times due to this relationship and seen kids and families grow because of it. Our meeting times with CEDE folks have been helpful in our development as ministers by seeing things from a different perspective.

Q: Why would someone in sports, Rec and fitness get involved with CEDE?

A: It is another tool in the toolbox for growth, guidance, ideas and support. Their knowledge and resources are something we couldn’t get somewhere else. They are able to assist us in seeing things from different perspectives, what has worked somewhere else and walking through the process of making things work here. I highly recommend them working with any sports ministry that wants to improve.

On The Field Series: Taylor Price

Out of a desire for you to understand more of what we do we decided to invite the people on the field to tell you themselves. In these blogs you will hear from the hands and feet of our ministry as they tell you how their story intersects with CEDE Sports. 

Meet Taylor Price..

Q: How did you get connected with CEDE?

A: I came to Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL in 2018 from a career in banking. I was passionate, but truthfully I was just trying to keep my head above water. I got connected with CEDE through the Reach Gathering in 2019. The wisdom and support offered by the guys at CEDE came highly recommended from other sports ministers in attendance. At that point I got connected and the rest is history.

Q: What has been the impact of your involvement with CEDE?

A: CEDE has provided a fresh breath of air during the day in and day out grind that sports ministry can sometimes be. I believe sports ministers are to think like astronauts, how can we get to the moon? However, the administrative work can make us feel more like potato farmers, does this dirt look good enough to plant my next potato in? CEDE has allowed me to take my eyes off of the gritty details for a moment, and to shoot for the moon. For example, good coaches have always been hard to come by, and in my time before CEDE I would find myself struggling through the process of finding enough coaches. Ken helped me to lay out a better Mission, Vision, and Philosophy so not only can I find coaches, but I can invest in them so they buy in, and come back season after season.

Q: Why would someone in sports, Rec and fitness get involved with CEDE?

A: CEDE can help you fix your eyes on the big picture, most importantly on Christ, so that every aspect of what you do in sport ministry, and in life (these things overflow), can come from a Gospel-saturated worldview. Some of the best conversations I've had with Ken have not been ministry related as much as life related. At the heart of it, these guys will genuinely care for not only your ministry but for you as an individual, and having another person in your corner as we run this race for Jesus can make all the difference in the world.

On The Field Series: Jenny Young

Out of a desire for you to understand more of what we do we decided to invite the people on the field to tell you themselves. In these blogs you will hear from the hands and feet of our ministry as they tell you how their story intersects with CEDE Sports. 

Meet Jenny Young..

Q: How did you get involved with CEDE Sports?A: I discovered CEDE Sports early on when it was CSO Sports which propelled me in learning about sports outreach ministry. I did this by taking leadership classes and being involved in internships within the church. Being able to both learn within the church context and the classroom, helped prepare me for my future in sports ministry. CEDE was exactly what I was looking for!  I am so grateful for their unwavering leadership, mentorship and discipleship. My involvement started back in 2005 in Charlotte, NC where it then led me currently to Brownsburg, Indiana at Connection Pointe Christian Church with the sports and fitness ministry. I graduated through the leadership center of CEDE Sports in 2007 with two other ladies who are some of my best friends to this day.Q: What has been the impact of your involvement with CEDE Sports?A: Cede Sports = Family. It is about relationships within the church and with you. Their desire to see you mentored, equipped and challenged as a person outweighs any program. CEDE helped form my understanding of relational outreach along with being a Gospel-Centered ministry. The relationships with other sports outreach ministry leaders and understanding of how to connect with each other is invaluable.Q: Why would you recommend someone in sports, rec & fitness ministry get involved with CEDE?A: Without the leadership, mentorship, and friendship of CEDE Sports, I would not be the person I am today. They have taught me about sports, life and Truth. Keeping the Gospel at the center of my life and ministry. Those go hand in hand. CEDE Sports is a family and families take care of each other. You are not on your own with CEDE Sports and the experience I have gained both personally and professionally is beyond measure. 

Proven Effects of Gratitude

Written by Ken Cross, Church Mentor at CEDE Partners – an Initiative of CEDE Sports

Proven Results

Thankfulness and Gratitude has been proven to increase the performance of teams and individuals – Do you believe it?In addition to mentoring Sports Ministers, I am also the team chaplain for two collegiate basketball teams here in Charlotte, NC. As you know 2020 is a crazy year for college teams. Before their season started I sent the following quick note to encourage them. For context, one team cannot go to the college campus yet because the school is all virtual until January and the other team is in a bubble and I cannot visit them. Take the truths below that I wrote for them and let them speak to you too! Here at the beginning of a school year when so many questions are swirling in our heads:

•     What will our schedule look like? 
•     Am I putting myself at risk for potential illnesses? 
•     Will we fly in a plane this year? 
•     Are bus rides safe?
•     Will there be fans in the stands?

I have some good news for you. Recent studies have proven that if you have gratefulness for what you do have, life all around is better. That catch phrase, “Attitude of Gratitude” now actually means something.In the book, Theoretical Approaches to Multicultural Positive Psychological Interventions*, Dr. Nicole Gabana states the following: “Some of these benefits include increased life satisfaction, social connectedness, positive affect, resilience, altruism, better quality of sleep, and reduced psychological distress. Specifically, in the athletic population, recent research has shown that athletes who have higher levels of gratitude also report greater social support, life and sport satisfaction, team cohesion, and lower levels of burnout.”This got me thinking – which is dangerous, I know – what is the opposite of “thankfulness”. My first thoughts flowed toward “entitlement mentality”. 

Entitlement Mentality

Entitlement Mentality (EM) is defined as the state of mind that you are owed something when most people around would beg to differ. The most toxic expression of entitlement mentality is the gap between egotism and reality. Everyone seems to agree that until you get rid of it, you will have difficulties achieving what you want to achieve and it’s unlikely that you will maximize your true potential.Four common characteristics of someone with “EM” are:

1. Giving Little Recognition to Others because that is not my job.
2. Talking Too Much because they are convinced that what they have to say is much more important … and anyway "ya’ll owe me attention!”
3. Ignore Others Opinions
4. Interrupt, Deny, Pontificate

Think how our team can be negatively affected by this! Do you feel you are entitled to a certain amount of playing time?  Do you thank those that serve you? Do you listen to others or is your music more important than teammates? Have you ever thanked your family for helping you on your path to this school?

Listen To Scripture

As your Chaplain, let me remind you these studies and definitions simply reinforce what the Bible says:"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." Hebrews 13:15-16 One of the best things about thankfulness is that the more you choose it, the easier it gets. The more you profess gratitude, the more you notice things to be grateful for. The thankfulness muscles respond to exercise!Let’s flex our “Thankfulness Muscles!” Please be assured I am praying for you! *Gabana, Nicole. (2019). Gratitude in Sport: Positive Psychology for Athletes and Implications for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Performance. 10.1007/978-3-030-20583-6_15. pp.345-370 (Asst. Professor of Sports Psychology at FSU)Clip of this research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBd2hWae-dE 

Restore, Reorient, Rejoice!

Written by Bob Schindler, Executive Director of CEDE Partners – an Initiative of CEDE SportsMany friends reached out to me after my sabbatical that I recently took to see how it went."How did your sabbatical go?" This is a question I enjoy answering, for God did great things over the two months.

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.One generation will commend your works to another, they will tell of your mighty acts.They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty –and I will meditate on your wonderful works….They will celebrate your abundant goodnessAnd joyfully sing of your righteousness.”Psalm 145:3-7

As I outline some of what God did over these couple of months, my hope is that it would cause you to meditate on the wonderful works God is doing in your life and to join with me in celebrating God’s goodness.

The Good Shepherd Guides

I chose to use Psalm 23 as my general template for the sabbatical. With that template, I looked to the Lord, as my Good Shepherd, to:

• Lead me beside quiet waters and into green pastures to RESTORE my soul
• Guide me in paths of righteousness – to REORIENT my future direction
• Set a table before me in the presence of my enemies, to anoint my head with oil, tooverflow my cup – to bring me to deep REJOICING

My regular rhythm included an extended time of worship, several hours of prayer/reflection/journaling, with most afternoons filled with study and prayer. The highlight of my reading was Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund (highly recommend it) and, of my study, Matthew 11:28-30 and 2 Timothy. I have over 90 typed pages of notes from the two months. To say it was rich and restorative is an understatement. To try to condense all that God did in a few sentences feels almost like a disservice.

What I can say is..

On RESTORATION - The Lord pointed out four areas in my heart that needed to be restored. I was carrying PAIN and SHAME from the past that he made clear it was time to let go. I also had more recent DOUBTS and STRESS that he resolved or eased.On REORIENTATION - The Lord expanded this reorientation perspective beyond just CEDE Sports to my whole life. He made it clear that I am to express more leadership into every area – like my marriage, my family, my role at work, and my role with the adult fellowship class at my church that I help lead.Specifically, this doesn’t mean do more but to give more vision and equip others more with the gentleness and humility that would reflect Jesus Christ’s heart toward his body.On REJOICING - The Lord impressed upon me the gift of this sabbatical throughout the two months. I see clearly the ways his goodness has poured out to me throughout my life, especially his goodness in the gospel and making me a part of His Story. I was reminded that I was one who was “dead in our trespasses and sins…but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” now to be “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10

The Good Shepherd Speaks

The surprise from the time was how much I was renewed to the joy of hearing the Lord speak. I began the sabbatical being reminded in John 10 that the “sheep listen for his (the Good Shepherd’s) voice. He (the Good Shepherd) calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…and his (The Good Shepherd’s) sheep follow him because they know his voice.” I ended the sabbatical being reminded from John 8 that “he who belongs to God hears what God says.” I long, we all long, to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. There is something deeply intimate, restorative and empowering when we do. Several times during the sabbatical I experienced this. I don’t mean I heard God speak audibly. What I experienced was the Spirit of God illuminating the Word of God in a way that made that Scripture real, personal, and alive. This stirred my longing to experience this more often. In understanding that longing, I realized the need to slow down enough to hear his voice, the voice of my heart, and the interaction between the two. I hope to maintain a remnant of the rhythms I adopted during the sabbatical as they fit into more of my normal rhythms. My desire is to hear and understand the voice of God, the voice of my heart, and the interaction between the two.I hope this gives you a glimpse of God’s goodness over the last two months. Please let me know if you are interested in knowing more. I’d enjoy talking about it with you. This time away was incredibly formative and I don't think I will ever be the same because of it.

Sports as a Laboratory

Overflow

Human beings are complex, our actions even when thoughtless are not random. We speak and also act out of the abundance that is in our heart (Luke 6:45). There are many arenas in life that are the proverbial "squeezing of the sponge", ringing out what is already inside of us. In some scenarios we merely see a trickle of our hearts desires and motives, but other arena's can bring about a gushing display of what is going on inside of us. Sports, in all its varying levels of competition and fields, courts or stadiums, has the potential to produce this gushing display. One could refer to this phenomenon as the Laboratory of Sports. Bob Schindler recently wrote an article for Faith Driven Athlete exploring this very topic. A synopsis of this article is below, highlighting the key points. (Link to the full article here)

The Laboratory of Sports

I was playing basketball one Monday night at the church we were attending after recently moving to Charlotte, NC.  A long rebound came my way, I went racing down the court to make the game winning basket, insuring we would be on the court for another game.  Just as I was about to lay the ball in, I got pushed from behind with the hardest push I had ever experienced in my basketball days.  I flew into the unprotected concrete block wall.  Fortunately, I caught my balance and cushioned my fall.  I was shaken but wasn’t hurt.

Under my breath, I muttered, “I will take him out the next time down the court.”  The opportunity to fulfill that vow came as he moved to my left to drive to the basket with the ball.  I stuck out my left knee to block his path, purposely trying to trip him.  He went sprawling to the floor.  No words were exchanged.

As I went to the sidelines to await the next game, I had the thought, “What was that about Bob?”  I knew God was probing.

As I examined and dialogued with Him, it quickly became clear that my anger at the opposing player was disproportionate to the incident.  What he did was wrong, but I was seething.  I knew from experience to probe further.  But first, I had to apologize.

Lab Results

After that night, I reflected on my anger.  I had learned that anger is always a secondary emotion.  There are always other emotions beneath the anger, something more vulnerable, harder to admit and embrace.  Going further down, I came to see that the move had exposed some vulnerability in me.  In that vulnerability, I was afraid about what the future held for me and my family.  In addition, I was also grieving what we left behind.

Former UCLA Coach John Wooden famously said, “Sports don’t build character.  They reveal it.”  Wooden didn’t stop there though. Wooden would then use sports to “rebuild” what is “revealed.”  His famous Pyramid of Success is built on that revealing and rebuilding.

I like to think of sports as a laboratory.  A lab is a safe environment in which to experiment. In these safe experiments, things come to light, things are revealed.  Lessons learned here can be applied to a much broader context than the lab.

That night the laboratory of basketball revealed my anger.  It was already there before that night.  God used basketball to show it to me and expose it to others!  Once out, I could examine it and learn.

From there, I could turn to God, find comfort and then move on in trust.  God used basketball to not only reveal but build my character.

Play Your Position & Win it!

Guest post by Jenny Young

Play Your Position

In Mark Chanski’s book, Womanly Dominion: More Than a Gentle Quiet Spirit, two coaching slogans are mentioned, “Play your position!” and “Win it!”. Chanski shares with his readers the importance of these two slogans in sports and life. “Play your position!” means “Stay put, and don’t wander away from your assigned post.” The illustration for soccer would be for a goalie not understanding the significance of defending the goal, but rather believing the only significant contribution would be scoring goals and running around undisciplined in their play. This would be detrimental to the team in her/ him leaving their position as goalie and then seeing an opposing player dribble uncontested up the field to score without the goalie around. The goalie then hears the voices of the fans and coaches saying, “You’re the goalie, you need to defend your position, stay at home, play your position!”

Win It

He then goes on to explain that “Win it!” means, “Play with all your might, in every encounter!” The illustration here would be a soccer ball is in the open field where two opposing players go towards the ball and the coach shouts, “Win it!” The player on either side debate whether they should go all out after the ball or passively surrender it to the opposing player. It’s the “Win it!” vs. “Surrender it!” mentality.

In his closing remarks on both of these slogans, he uses scripture to point out the way God challenges us in the field of life from 1 Corinthians 9:24 -run in such a way as to win the prize. In Ecclesiastes 9:10 - whatever she put her hand to, she’s to “do it with all her might!”

I have been challenged by these two principles as a woman and in sports ministry. How often do I wander away from my assigned post? How often do I surrender versus win it?  Will I “Play my position and Win it?” How can I help others in these principles?