Written by Bob Schindler
What I like about the show, The Biggest Loser, is watching people achieve what they have never achieved before but have longed for some time to accomplish. It just stirs my heart as I watch their struggle and joy.
I think there is something to learn from the show about developing people. To unpack those insights, let me ask “What makes these people able to do on the show what they couldn’t do on their own?”
Remember, there is nothing magical about the equation for losing weight:
Decrease caloric intake + increase caloric output = weight loss
I would guess that each person on the show understood this equation for the most part. They may not have understood the caloric content of what they were eating but they at least understood the principle.
If that is so, “Why did they achieve during the show what they couldn’t do on their own?” Or another way of asking the question – “What did the show provide for them that they couldn’t get themselves?”
Basic Premise
While there may be many more than the list below, I point to following concepts as keys to the participants successful weight loss:
– Clear formula for weight loss: outlined above and discussed/reinforced often/meals
– Community of development: they were on teams working together on that formula.
– Qualified Coaches : participants were given individual as well as group attention that extended beyond but impacted their approach to weight loss.
– Accountability to the team: individual progress impacted the whole team.
– Focused atmosphere: they were removed from the everyday distractions and together for a specific purpose.
Having listed them, it is the combination of these elements that is the key not just the individual components. In fact, some of the participants may have even experimented with some of these ideas individually without the corresponding success they found on The Biggest Loser.
Relevance To You
With those thoughts in mind, think about your own efforts or your efforts to help others grow spiritually. Like many who want to lose weight, I often find people who -
– want to grow spiritually but who have never really experienced what they long for.
– are trying to help them grow spiritually, like sports ministers and their coaches and players, but who have little or frustrating impact from their efforts.
One solution to this frustration may be to take a lesson from The Biggest Loser and try to build this same kind of development atmosphere
1) the community of development
2) accountability to the team for progress
3) focused environment
4) qualified coaches
working within God’s formula for development.
Our Commitment
At Cede Sports, we work to help local churches construct such an environment. We create tools to support that environment, including the following video. Join our church directory at no cost where you will have access to many free resources to help equip and train you in furthering your Sports Ministry for the Gospel. Preview these by watching this video explaining our devotional resources and then use this link to join our directory to access all our free resources!
The results – God is using such environments to help sports ministers, coaches, and players achieve what they have always longed to achieve but have never quite got there. Here is one sports minister’s recent experience:
“We have a renewed excitement and energy. We have a renewed passion for pursuing something that’s so much bigger than just sports. We’ve re-designed our programs with the idea of integrating sports and ministry in mind rather than trying to inject ministry into sport which is what we were guilty of doing before. As a result, participants are enjoying a better experience, families are being served better, and volunteers are serving with a higher calling in mind which gives them a lot of significance.”
If we can help you and your church, please contact us. We exist to serve the local church.