Charger Nation: Game #2

Charger Nation: Game #2

Charger Nation,

            Game #2 is upon us.  Last week I wrote to you about what a tough opponent North Florida Christian would be and this week I triple everything I said.  Stockbridge is ranked #3, #5, or #1 depending on which AAAAA poll you look at.  They are coming off a huge when where they beat the #2 ranked team in the entire state of Alabama.   When I was watching film of their defense this week I was eager to hunt for personnel holes and formations I could use to get them misaligned.  There aren’t any!  These guys don’t have any holes and are the fastest team I have ever seen on film defensively.  They are a team of stars full of D1 athletes just like North Florida Christian was but they are bigger and more impressive stars. 

          

           There will be no easy play for us tonight.  There will be no easy yard and there will be no time on defense where we can lose our focus.  This is the best team ELCA has ever played.  So why play?  I am making it sound like little hope correct?  Here is why you play:  There is never a big time accomplishment without a big time obstacle.  You will never have a big time win without playing a big time opponent.   You will never do the impossible without trying to conquer the impossible.  If you live your life in fear of losing or failure you will live never become all God has created you to be.  Great challenges bring great pressure.  Great pressure is what molds and shapes us if we use it constructively. 

            

           I coach a bunch of boys I believe in.  They believe in themselves.  They may be smaller and they may not be as fast but it’s hard to put a measure on their heart, their desire and their will to win.  We are talented too.  I wouldn’t even begin to write about how I believe we can win if I knew it was impossible.  But it’s not with this group I coach.  They are not intimidated and they are excited about this opportunity tonight.  If the time was ever right for ELCA to knock off one of the big boys it is right now!  It is tonight!  Each player tonight must be perfect and do their job with great precision for us to win but if I ever had a team that could pull off that feat, it is this one.  Did I say I believe in this group?!

            

          When I play games like this and am watching film and game planning I always feel like I have to come up with some perfect play and formation for us to win.  I am sure Coach Dallas feels the same was as the defensive coordinator.   We frantically work and work and work trying to come up with the perfect gameplan.  However, each morning this week as I came to the Lord and prayer I kept finding myself writing the following: “I am weak but the Lord is Strong.  I can’t but the Lord can.  He is my Hope, my Strength, my Confidence, and my Trust.  Not my will Lord, but yours be done.”  The Lord was convicting me of approaching the game in my own strength, with my own intuition, and in my own power.  I was convicted to not put the trust in the plays I was drawing up or the formations I was drawing up but to place my Hope and my Trust in Jesus Christ.  This does not mean I do not have to work hard, but as I work hard put my Hope and Trust in Christ.  It’s for his glory I work, not my own!

            

            This game tonight is fun and exciting.  But it is going to come and go.  If we win it will easily be the biggest win we ever had here at ELCA.  But whether we win or lose, we will just have to get right back to the grind next week for the next opponent.  The joy of the victory will be short lived.  The pain of the defeat will be distinct but quick.  My joy, my Hope, my Confidence, my Trust, and my Strength cannot be wrapped up in a game that will come and go.  We will have good games and bad games, good years and bad years, happy times and frustrating times.  But these ebbs and flows can never define me as a man.  I will be steadfast in success and failure because the Lord is my Hope and my Rock.  My foundation will not be built on upon the whimsical experiences in this world.  My Hope and My Trust are in Jesus Christ and he always prevails!

            

            I have no fear and I have no trepidation tonight.  I run to this game with great confidence and eagerness and it is not because of confidence in myself.  The biggest battle I will ever face is the one over sin and death and that was one I could not overcome by my own effort or strength.  But through is great love for me and for you, Jesus Christ became sin and death for us and defeated them both for all of those who accept him as their Lord and Savior.  I have no fear over what challenges life might bring because I know I serve a God who will always see me through the good and bad times in this world. 

            

           Therefore, we run to this game with great confidence and excitement tonight.  We could not have had a better week of practice.  Everything seems right.  The time seems right but I know and trust in this simple truth:  “The horse is made ready for battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.”  Proverbs 21:31

Wholly for Christ!

Coach Gess

Charger Nation -- Game #1

Charger Nation,

            Game #1 is finally here.  We have been looking forward to this game since December 14^th last year when we got beat in the dome.  Just like the team we played in the dome, North Florida Christian is a great opponent.  We are kind of blind to what type of team they are this year because this is the first game for both teams, but we do know the leader of their team is #16, Korey Charles.  Last year he played tailback and safety/cornerback and has committed to play for Mississippi State.  I read somewhere that they have 8-9 kids on the team with division 1 offers but I also don’t really believe that.  We will find out tonight.  Either way, NFC is a perennial power and have been good for a long time.  Coach Queen, our athletic director, played high school football (wide receiver) there so that is where/how we have connected with them.  His QB was Casey Weldon.  Coach Queen says Weldon would have never been so famous had he not made him look good in high school.

            Honestly, these boys have been looking forward to game #1 since last December.  Right when we returned from Christmas break we began a rigorous off-season development program which also required 5:58 AM Crucibles every Wednesday morning.   After May, we headed into our summer workouts and our boys worked their tails off.  I am not going to say this is the most talented team I have coached from top to bottom, but I do believe this is one of the most bought in and focused teams I have ever coached.  There is no challenge they don’t respond to with amazing effort and energy; they are an absolute joy to coach. 

            We have worked extremely hard and we are ready for this game tonight.  There is nothing more we can do and I could not have asked for a better past 8 months of preparation.  So as I sit here this morning with nothing more I can do to prepare and this Bible verse is running through my mind which many of you have heard from me many times: “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:31).  

            The only thing God has given control over in regards to the future is our preparation leading up to an event.  I always tell the boys that “what I do today will determine my success tomorrow.”  The Lord also promises to work for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).  We also learn that as we prepare for the future and work diligently on plans we have created and feel God will bless that God may have a different plan for our life than we expected: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

Last night I was texting back and forth with some young men that I have coached in the past and things are not going for them as they have expected.  They are great kids and have worked their tails off but for some reason life is throwing them a curveball that was not in their plans.  In many ways they feel like failures because how they expected their life to go, things outside of their control have altered their course.  As long as they are entrusting their life to Jesus Christ they can rest assured that God is involved in those curveballs.  They must continue to work hard and pursue excellence while drawing near to God and following his ways and plans for their life.  God often times keeps the door shut we so desperately want opened but he waiting for us and moving us along to the door he has unlocked for us.  We must trust in him and never give up!

When life is not going how we expect and we have feelings of despair I believe we really need to examine our relationship with Jesus Christ.  As the all-knowing Sovereign King of the world, God is always working in the lives of those who he has called according to his purposes and to whom he loves.  What God is always doing with his people is loosening their grip on this world and making them look to him so they desire Christ and not this world.  So when things don’t go my way, even though I have worked my tail off and done everything in my power to be successful, I can trust in Jesus Christ and his perfect plan for my life.  I can trust that the plan and course I had for my life was the wrong one and entrust my ways to the one who knows the future and what is best for me: Jesus Christ. 

So tonight as we head into this game I run to it with confidence.  I believe in the young men and I love the young men I coach.  The players and coaches preparation leading up to this event could not have been any better.  I could not ask for a harder working group of players and coaches.  Everyone likes each other (as best 70 boys can like each other seeing each other day in and day out.)  Everything is right about this team.  So I confidently and excitedly know “the horse is made ready for the day of battle.” 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, is the anxiety we all get about the unknown and uncertainties in life.  I can work my tail off, I can prepare, but I still don’t know what the future holds and this produces anxiety.  But I will rest in the master plan of Jesus Christ.  My plan is to win tonight but God’s plan is perfect.  I plan to have victory tonight but “victory belongs to the Lord.”  What is good in my eyes is winning tonight but “God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”  My point is this, what our minds perceive as good and what we so desperately desire, God’s view of good for me may be a little different.  He gives us what we need and is constantly transforming us.  I can run to this game tonight with no anxiety and extreme confidence because I worship a Sovereign and Almighty God who controls all things and is always working for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.  Win or lose, it is for our benefit: “Victory belongs to the Lord.” 

Win the Day!

Wholly for Christ,

Coach Gess

Charger Nation #1

Charger Nation,

 

            For those of you that are new to our program, every Friday I send out an email that I hope challenges us all in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  I love football but it is not who I am.  Football is not my identity.  Football is not why I exist.  I exist to honor and glorify God and enjoy him.  My calling is not to win championships but rather to build Champions.  A Champion is a person who lives their lives surrendered to Jesus Christ.  I believe we are Champions for Jesus Christ when we give our absolute best to maximize the talent God has give us for his glory and his purposes.  I look and see many worldly champions that are pursuing excellence in their jobs but are doing it for their own glory and fame.  Their lives and the things that are important to God are crumbling around them.  We were not created for own glory and fame but rather to reflect the glory of Jesus Christ.

OPERATION R122

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2

A football season is a microcosm of life.  In life there is joy, sadness, striving, failure, success.  Many different events cause many different emotions.  We often find ourselves struggling to continue to put one foot in front of the other.  Life is a battle and a grind.  Of course life is so much more important that a football season but I think a football season can teach young boys how to deal with the many different events and emotions they will feel in life and deal with in life.  Another reason why I love football is I think it is a parallel to the Christians life.  As Christians, God calls us to be transformed people here on this earth.  He tells us to die to our selves and live in Christ (Galatians 2:20).  But this process does not happen over night.  This process goes on our entire lifetime.  It is called Sanctification.  Sanctification is just being consistently transformed in Christ.

I called these boys to put on pads and go to work August 1^st.  Much work had been done before then but the actual repetition of football plays in pads began August 1^st.  Offensively and defensively we have a few things we want to do really well.  The problem always is it takes a long time to get good at doing those few things.  As I write this today, August 14^th, we are much improved from August 1^st.  However, we are nowhere near where I want us to be.  We must continually improve and get better each day.  Everyday is imperative to our success at the end of the season.  What I do today will impact my success tomorrow.  It is important that everyday we are transformed a little bit so that we will become the team we want to become in November and December.  You see and hear me say, “Win the Day,” all the time.  Today matters!  If I am not transformed a little bit today, then there will be no big transformation later when we look back on our season.  **This is why you can’t skip practice!!

This is exactly how our life in Christ works.  He first calls us and we surrender our life to Christ.  I sure do wish that when he calls us we instantly became fully transformed with 0 sin and corruption.  But that isn’t how it works.  God calls us to pursue him daily and put on Jesus Christ.  We are slowly transformed into new creatures in Christ daily.  As we pursue Christ and seek him He reveals to us our corruption and need of Him.  He doesn’t condemn us of our sin to shame us.  Condemn is the wrong word because for those in Christ there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1).  He opens up our eyes to sin and commands us to flee from sin because sin destroys us from being what he created us to be!!  God hates sin because it destroys men—His creation! 

As we surrender our life to Christ, we have Christ but we also have the wretchedness of the flesh and our evil desires lurking around.  We have Christ but are still wrapped and strangled in the cords of sin.  But once Christ calls us he slowly starts to transform us and break the cords and bonds of sin that entangle us.  He empowers us to overcome the sins of the flesh, the pride of life and the schemes of the devil that so easily enslave us.  It’s a battle but he is constantly transforming.  He never gives up on us as He is making us more and more like him: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” 

           

           Chargers I am excited about tonight but I hope what you see tonight is not what you see 14 games from now.  Tonight you will see the first draft of what we hope will become a masterpiece.  We will have a lot of things to clean up and improve upon.  We will have lots of areas that will need transformation.  We will watch film and work diligently to fix all of these areas next week. 

          

            In the same way I look up on my life now at 36.  I can see growth from 23 when I fully surrendered all to Jesus Christ.  However, I see many problem areas where sin plagues me but I look forward to God continuing to transform me to become more and more a man of Jesus Christ.  I hope that what I am today in Christ pales in comparison to what I will become in Christ at 40.  I find great joy in worshiping a God who loves me in spite of my sinfulness and is committed to helping me destroy my sin, which enslaves my soul, and grow in Jesus Christ.   I rejoice in the fact that Jesus Christ does not condemn me and cast me away but instead became condemnation for me on the cross.  I rejoice in that Jesus Christ continually works to transform us by and through his great love for us! 

Win the Day!

Wholly for Christ,

Coach Gess

PATH TO EXCELLENCE

This chart does not just represent a path to win worldly championships.  Most importantly, it is a chart that leads to a path of excellence in Jesus Christ.  The ultimate goal is to win as a Godly man.  If you have the talent and/or your team has the talent and you follow this path, you will win and be successful on this earth.  But winning on this earth is not our end game.  Winning in this life and the life to come is our focus.

Keep Your Eyes on Christ

This graphic represents our walk with Christ on earth.  If we take our eyes off Christ we will be overcome by all the sin and temptations of this world.