The Miracle and Mystery of the Incarnation

Written by Bob Schindler, Executive Director of CEDE Partners – an Initiative of CEDE Sports

The Word Became Flesh

“The Word became flesh.” You are familiar with these words, but when was the last time you stopped to ponder the depth of their claims?Christmas is the season when we become more aware of the Incarnation, but it can also be a time that illustrates how cavalier our approach to that Incarnation is. We throw around phrases like:- Fully God, fully man- The Godhead- Trinity- Three in onewithout much reflection on their mystery. The result? We lose the sense of wonder and awe that should surround this amazing reality.

Mystery and Wonder

Recently, I have been studying and thinking about the early church’s grappling with the Incarnation and the Godhead. These folks had no background or language to describe what they had just seen and were now experiencing. They worked hard, at great cost, for several centuries to come up with that language to accurately and faithfully describe this miracle. Most of us, like me, are not aware of this challenge, this struggle. We end up with an attitude toward these words that feels like we are using precious gems as paper weights – we have lost the special nature of their character.However, through my study God has restored some of this wonder at this mystery. As I have wrestled with the concepts the early church did such as- What is the difference between the Son being housed in flesh and the Word becoming flesh?- What is the difference between mixture and union?- What is the difference between substance and essence?- What is the difference between being and person?- And most importantly, what are the implications of these answers on our salvation?

God's Plan, His One Begotten Son

One thing has become abundantly clear. Jesus Christ had to be all God and all man. Anything less corrupts the salvation we claim. If he is mostly God but not all man, then his death isn’t human enough to pay the debt each of us owes to God. If he is mostly man and not all God, then his death and resurrection are sufficient enough to spread that payment to whoever believes in him for life. Only someone who is fully God and fully man could say and deliver on such a claim as "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51)

One final thing. As I have grappled with these concepts not only in the light of the first century but also the whole story of the Gospel, I have become more deeply convinced than ever that this was God’s plan from the beginning. He told about it throughout the story and then brought it to pass with the virgin birth through a humble teenage girl in Nazareth. For truly only God, this wonderful three-in-one God, the Godhead, could pull of such a miracle, move in and accomplish such a mystery.I write today so that you also might ponder this miracle and mystery anew and watch God move you to greater wonder this season.Merry Christmas.

Christmas is Disturbing

A few years ago I read a though provoking article by C.J. Mahaney. That blog is no longer available but here is the excerpt that really stuck out to me. I hope it challenges your thinking this Christmas season."Why aren’t people disturbed by Christmas? One reason is our tendency to sanitize the birth narratives. We romanticize the story of Mary and Joseph rather than deal with the painful dilemma they faced when the Lord chose Mary to be the virgin who would conceive her child by the power of the Holy Spirit. We beautify the birth scene, not coming to terms with the stench of the stable, the poverty of the parents, the hostility of Herod. Don’t miss my point. There is something truly comforting and warming about the Christmas story, but it comes from understanding the reality, not from denying it.Most of us also have not come to terms with the baby in the manger. We sing, “Glory to the newborn King.” But do we truly recognize that the baby lying in the manger is appointed by God to be the King, to be either the Savior or Judge of all people? He is a most threatening person.Malachi foresaw his coming and said, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.” As long as we can keep him in the manger, and feel the sentimental feelings we have for babies, Jesus doesn’t disturb us. But once we understand that his coming means for every one of us either salvation or condemnation, he disturbs us deeply.What should be just as disturbing is the awful work Christ had to do to accomplish the salvation of his people. Yet his very name, Jesus, testifies to us of that work."

Who is the Gospel for?

Written by Bob Schindler, Executive Director of CEDE Partners – an Initiative of CEDE SportsMy answer to that question today is different than it would have been 20 years ago.At that time, we were in the midst of planting a church that had as one of its desires to see half of the growth in the church coming from the conversion of non-believers. (We were young and naive, not realizing at the time what an radical desire that was.) In the face of that desire, we were intentional and relational in our approach to outreach. While we didn’t say it explicitly, we said by our actions – “The gospel is for non-believers.” – in answer to the question.This implicit answer impacted us in ways we didn’t realize then but do more now. For instance, when I read Romans 1:16 – “For I am not of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” I only saw this verse in the context of evangelism. That means the salvation that the verse speaks of related only to the salvation from one’s sin that unbelievers experience when they believe. I actually read the verse without realizing it like this – “it (the gospel) is the power of God that brings salvation to every one who believed (past tense).” I even memorized this verse to help compel me to share the gospel with those non-believers for that salvation.At the same time in that church, we were committed to the discipleship of those who had believed in that gospel – both new and long-term believers. We tried to be just as intentional in our approach to that discipleship as we were in our outreach. In that discipleship, we emphasized small groups, interaction with the Scripture, authenticity, serving, worship, as well as other “spiritual disciplines.” However, I don’t think I saw the gospel as a central component of that discipleship. While I didn’t say it explicitly, again by my actions, my answer to the question was – “The gospel isn’t for believers; just for non-believers.”Today I see things very differently. It began as I looked more closely at the Scriptures, specifically those that spoke of the gospel. Going back to Romans 1:16, I noticed the tense of the verb “believes” is not past but present. In looking more closely at the verse, I realized Paul was saying the power of God is experienced as a person presently believes in the gospel – not as a one time past event but a present ongoing belief. This was a radical revelation.I began to understand that the salvation Paul is speaking of here in Romans 1:16 is not just a salvation from my sins in the past but an ongoing salvation from my sins in the present, something all of us as believers need – DESPARATELY. I saw that the way we experience the power of God for that salvation is through the gospel.Paul reiterates this idea in 1Corinthians 15:1,2 – “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Paul is writing to his friends and fellow believers in Corinth. At the end of the letter, he concludes by saying, “Now, brothers.” I noticed he clearly addresses believers not non-believers. He then says, “I want to remind you of the gospel.” Paul saw that remembering the gospel was essential to believers.Why? Paul further explains – “By this gospel you are saved.” The ESV says “By this gospel you are being saved.” The verb, saved, is present. Once again pointing to the present impact of the gospel in a believer’s life.Paul goes on to say this present salvation is experienced “if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.” This present salvation isn’t just a given. It is experienced as we believe presently in the gospel. That is why Paul wants to remind them of this gospel. Their present salvation was at stake. Not their future salvation from the penalty of sin but their present salvation from the power of sin.Otherwise, Paul says, we believe in vain. The vanity or emptiness of our belief that Paul is speaking of here is not that we lose our eternal salvation but that we aren’t experiencing the present effect God designed for the gospel to have in believers’ lives.So I saw, and hope you see, the gospel is not just for nonbelievers. It is something for believers. Author Jerry Bridges speaks about this idea when he says; “I preach the gospel to myself every day.” I would even go further as to say I want to preach the gospel to myself throughout the day - for as I believe that gospel, the power of God flows into my life to save me in all the ways I need saving.Who is the Gospel for? It is for you and me and all others who need the power of God in their lives today.

The Secret to Reaching People for Christ

It's interesting, the posts I write regarding evangelism are often the lowest viewed posts on the blog.  So, I'm hoping the title of this post has piqued your interest.

So, what is the secret to reaching people for Christ? 

Prayer.

I know I probably just lost 80% of my readers but for you faithful 20%, I will continue.  Let me first clarify what I mean by 'secret.'  It's a secret not because it isn't known but because it's not practiced. Perhaps 'forgotten truth' would have been a better phrase to use than 'secret'.  Methodologies, events, and technology all are more exciting when it comes to evangelism and that's where we tend to focus on energy.  But, through it all, prayer has always been the bedrock of reaching people.Beyond the pragmatics of prayer in reaching people, we have to remember it's Scriptural!"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:1-4)Prayer is not magic.  It doesn't guarantee results.  What it does guarantee though is that you will be changed for doing it. If you habitually prayer for someone and their salvation, it will change you.  You will pursue this person more, you will love them more, and you will rejoice in every step of faith they take.  And God just may use it."Until the gate of hell is shut upon a man, we must not cease to pray for him. And if we see him hugging the very doorposts of damnation, we must go to the mercy seat and beseech the arm of grace to pluck him from his dangerous position. While there is life there is hope, and although the soul is almost smothered with despair, we must not despair for it, but rather arouse ourselves to awaken the Almighty arm." (Charles Spurgeon)

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?

How to be a Good Sports Minister

Simple Idea, Profound Impact

I came across this quote recently from Tim Keller about preaching:

"A man who is not deeply involved in personal shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care will be a bad preacher."

What a humbling quote. It makes sense though, doesn't it? How are you going to be able to connect and communicate to your congregation if you're isolated and disconnected from them? How are you going to able to lead them as they grow spiritually if you're not personally involved in shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care?

The same is true for sports ministers. A healthy sports minister would be involved in shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care. Perhaps you don't use those terms though so this may be confusing, allow me to clarify:

1) Mentoring and training coaches and volunteers would be shepherding.

2) Sports ministers need to be personally involved in evangelism, particularly through sports. Are you currently engaged in this? What non-believers are you praying for? How often are you rubbing shoulders with non-believers?

3) Whenever a behavioral issue comes up in your sports ministry, how do you handle it? Do you dismiss it quickly? Do you avoid it? Do you leave it alone and hope it works itself out? This is what most sports ministers do. If you're doing any of those three, you're missing an excellent opportunity for gospel ministry. You're avoiding what "pastoral care" looks like for a sports minister.

This may be a simple truth but the impact it can have is indeed profound.

Is Competition Good or Bad for Us?

The Big Question

At Cede Sports, we talk a lot about the brokenness of sports. As you read what we say, you might get the message that we thinkcompetition is bad. We don't.However some do. Here is an example from a blog previously posted by Joshua Becker entitled "How Competition Made Me Less Successful":

“I have, unfortunately, viewed most of my life through the lens of competition. I could blame it on…but most likely, competition is just the default position of my heart....and to be fair, it’s not all bad. Viewing life as competition has motivated me to work harder at school, work, and personal growth. It has prompted discipline and perseverance….Viewing life only as competition has terrible drawbacks. It pursues success for only the self. It breeds jealousy and envy. It withholds encouragement. It mistreats others on its way to the finish line. A world divided into winners and losers is one that misses the opportunity to show grace....Our world needs people who compete less and encourage more.”

A Different Way to Look at This

While I agree with much of his sentiment, I find exception to his use of words. For instance, I would change his statements to the following:

“I have, unfortunately, viewed most of my life through the lens of fallen competition. I could blame it on…But most likely, competition is just the default position of my heart.”

“Viewing life only as fallen competition has terrible drawbacks. It pursues success for only the self. It breeds jealousy and envy. It withholds encouragement. It mistreats others on its way to the finish line. A world divided into winners and losers is one that misses the opportunity to show grace.”

These I agree with. Fallen competition - that strives against others to more fully establish my glory - IS TRULY the default of everyone's heart. The drawbacks ARE EXACTLY as he says.

• In fallen competition, the pursuit of success is only for self.
• Fallen competition does breed jealousy and envy.
• Fallen competition does mistreat others on its way to the finish line.
• Fallen competition does assume that success in another’s life equals one less opportunity for success in mine.

Our Solution

But the answer isn’t getting rid of competition and replacing it with encouragement. The answer is to redeem the competition, to take it back to the way God intended.If we see the solution to this problem as merely a switch from competition to encouragement, we oversimplify this redemption. In the process, we could also miss the beauty and depth to this redemption. Competition came before the fall not after. Original and, therefore, redeemed competition is about striving together to more fully express in others and us the image of God within us.Certainly, redeemed competition includes encouragement, but it involves so much more. This same writer describes this redeemed competition as follows:

"It becomes about the challenge, the experience, the unity of a common goal, and the opportunity to help someone else cross the finish line with you….As a result, the entire route is filled with encouragement from bystanders and competitors completely committed to running well and helping other racers finish strong."

The Application

Do you hear what he is saying? This competition is not just about encouragement.  It is also about "the challenge...the common goal...running well." All this striving not for our glory but to spur others to more fully express their God given glory. This heart of competition is lost if all I do is switch “compete to encourage” as the author does.

 "Our world needs people who compete less and encourage more."

At Cede Sports, we would say "our world needs people who compete in a fallen way less and compete in a redeemed way more."This is not just semantics. The beauty of the heart of competition, this striving together, is at stake. If all I do is focus on encouragement, this heart could just so easily be lost as it has so tragically been marred in fallen competition.Competition doesn’t need to be eliminated. It needs to be redeemed. 

The Power of Story

Let me paint you a picture..

"Motorcycles are dangerous."I believe that propositional statement to be true.  You may believe it or not.  If you do, you can believe it to be true without that belief really connecting with you.However, if I said “I had a motorcycle wreck on June 22, 2013. I was riding with two of my friends about 20 minutes from my house when I rounded a curve. It was an unfamiliar road and I didn’t quite make the curve, ending up on the shoulder. I thought I would just ride it out and just ease back on to the road. However, something caught my front wheel, flipped the bike, and sent me about 30 feet into the air, with me doing a somersault in the process. I landed on my left side in between the road and a metal fence.  In the process of flying off my bike, I broke my left ankle and right thumb. On the fall, I banged my left elbow, taking eleven stitches to heal up. I went back to the accident scene two weeks later and saw the fence and the road – each about 3-5 feet from where I ended up in this sort of ditch. As I looked at that grass “cradle” where I landed, I started to weep. I got a real glimpse of how close I came to hitting either the fence of the road – neither of which would have been good. I wept over what could have been and out of gratitude for God’s protection.”Then you would understand why my belief connects with that truth that motorcycles are dangerous. My story connects me to it. If you cared about me, that story would connect you with it as well.

The Bigger Picture

The powerful connection that comes from telling a story is important to remember as we think about the Gospel.As I have asked people over the years, “What is the Gospel?” I usually get a propositional statement or two like:-       Jesus died for my sins.-       Jesus died for my sins so I could go to heaven.-       Jesus died for my sins so I could be in relationship with him now and then be with him forever.All these statements are propositions. I believe they are true. But, when it comes to describing the Gospel, they are incomplete. They don’t tell the story.In not telling the story, these statements don’t connect with us in a way that The Story of the Gospel can.So let me ask you a couple of questions about the Gospel:-       What do you tell people when you tell them the Gospel?-       What do you train others to tell people when you train them to “share the Gospel”?-       Does what you tell them describe the great Story of the Gospel that God has been telling since CREATION, through the FALL, and REDEMPTION, and ultimately ends up in the CONSUMMATION?You may be telling people the truth, equipping others to tell them the truth, but you may not be telling them or equipping them to tell others the whole Gospel. The result - you may be telling them the truth, but you may not really be connecting with their hearts as you remove those truths from the STORY of the GOSPEL.If you would like some resources to help you both understand and share the Story of the Gospel with others, check out the following:-       The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler-       The Story (Tract)-       The Gospel ProjectRemember – “If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away when needed.  Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Barry LopezHow different would our evangelism be if we thought this way? God has given us the Story of the Gospel. We need to care for it and learn to give it away when needed because there are those in our spheres of contact who need the Story of the Gospel more than food to stay alive.

Three Key Components for Coach Development

We talk with sports ministers about developing coaches about as often as Stephen Curry looks good shooting a jump shot! 

Why?

Maybe that is because the success of sports ministries that have leagues rests on the shoulders of those coaches. They are the “players” in the game of “sports ministry.”  (We don’t consider this vital ministry in any way a game, but, to understand the role of coaches, we use this metaphor.)  Since most sports ministers don’t have the luxury of only having “first-round draft picks” on their team, they know they need to develop these coaches.

This is the other reason so much discussion goes on here.  They are looking for help.  Most of the sports ministers we talk with are frustrated with their efforts to develop coaches.  They don’t think what they are doing is that effective or wrestle with the lack of participation from their coaches.

Step By Step

One of the ways we help alleviate that frustration is to get sports ministers to think about three key components when it comes to developing coaches.  They are:

–       Vision

–       Curriculum

–       Structure

Vision is what you want those coaches to become.  You could encapsulate that vision by asking the question – “What would an ideal coach know, be able to do, and be?” Or “What is the knowledge, skill and character of the ideal coach?”

Curriculum is the content God uses to move your coaches toward this vision.  This material comes in a variety of formats and is what your coaches need to grow from where they are now into these ideal coaches.

Structure is the delivery mechanism for your coaches to interact with this curriculum.  It should include various activities along the thought that you

 Teach to Knowledge           Train to Skill                Mentor to Character

God has used us to help sports ministries develop this vision, curriculum and structure and change the atmosphere of coach development from frustration to fulfillment.

If that is something we can help you with, contact us at info@cedesports.org

Written by Bob Schindler

Back To The Basics

A while ago I was in Dallas meeting with leaders from local churches to discuss the foundation for Sports Ministry in the Local Church.  We talked about the why, the what, and the how of Sports Ministry which I still find so relevant to share with you today.  Our primary leader was Pastor Sameh Maurice from Kasr El Dobara Church in Cairo Egypt, someone I deeply respect and enjoy being around whose church is doing a fantastic work in the Middle East.

God's Character is the Foundation

In answering the why, we began by looking at God’s character.  We were reminded that since God is the author of all things and all things are to reflect his glory, his character is a critical starting place for every discussion of the whys of anything, including Sports Ministry.

As we talked about our God being loving, relational, and incarnational, I was deeply impressed with the incredible grace of our marvelous God so beautifully seen in Christ.  He came to be with us – our Immanuel – who would “never leave or forsake us.”   He also came to be one of us – this “Word became flesh” – and “sympathizes with our weaknesses” as one who has been “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

With us.  One of us.

I thought about the passion Cede Sports has to see Sports Ministries glorify God.  I was deeply impressed that in order to see this passion realized, I sensed God’s urging on the need to herald this incredible incarnation and call Sports Ministries to take up this same incarnational mindset and approach.

I thought about reminding Sports Ministries to take the initiative to be with the people outside the kingdom and not just wait for them to come to them.  I thought about the value of playing with and not against those outsiders if we are going to one of them.

These are two ways to be with them, one of them and reflect the Son’s incarnation.  There are many more.  If you think of any, let me know!  Better yet, write a blog for us about it.

After all, we all need to regularly get BACK TO THE BASICS!