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Monday, November 28, 2005

Overachievement for the Church?

Maybe I'm just in an overly sports fan mood (after all my Steelers just brought the score to 7-10 against the Colts, my Pistons are clearly the best in the NBA and my Texas Rangers haven't lost a game in over two months), but I read this quote on David Friedman's blog:

"Any coach, whether it's high school, college, pro, whatever it is, any coach's job is to try to maximize the potential and the ability that a player has. I don't really understand the word overachiever. I don't really know what that means. To me, what everybody is trying to do is do their best. If somebody is doing their best, I don't see why that really should be regarded as something that they shouldn't be able to achieve. Frankly, that's what they should be able to achieve. It's the ones that don't, to a degree, nobody is ever perfect, so in a way everybody is an underachiever, even some of the highest achievers. Every quarterback has thrown an interception. Every running back has fumbled. Every receiver has dropped a pass. So, it's never going to be perfect. But I really think that’s a misnomer. I think what a coach tries to do is maximize the performance of his players within the team context. That's really what it's about. Anytime you have an offensive line, again, the context there is also of the entire unit. One guy could block great, but if it’s not coordinated and consistent with the other guys, then you’re not going to have any production and it isn’t going to be any good. All five guys have to function as a unit and function as one. That's where your production of that unit comes from."--Bill Belichick

Team sports provide some great correlations to life. The Church is a composition of sinners who collectively can accomplish so much more than individually. It's not overachievement, we're supposed to be more together than we are alone.

9 Comments:

  • At 3:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    As a former coach I did not like the phrase giving your "110%". It is impossible to give more than 100% or as you say even 100%. I told my players to give their best. Each day your best effort will be different depending on many factors. The best coaches seem to bring out the best in each player by encouraging and promoting a positive atmosphere. The leaders in the church aren't a whole lot different than a coach in my opinion. An example that always stands out is Duke's coach Mike (however you spell his last name). Not perfect, but seems to get the most out of his players.

     
  • At 5:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    that is probably the first thing you've said about sports that i understood.

     
  • At 9:46 AM, Blogger lo said…

    duuuuuude... i love sports.

    bummer about the colts/steelers game. i was pulling HARD for pittsburgh but it looks like the colts are the team to beat. (hey-- better them than the patriots- another year of that and i was going to chuck all over my tennis shoes.)

    and yeah, these last two months they might have been the best the rangers have had all season. :)

     
  • At 10:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    are you kidding me lo, pulling for the steelers. i dont like the colts at all, but the steelers? seriously. the bengals are the only team that could give the colts a run for their money. i have a good feeling we will be seeing the colts in the playoffs. the poor steelers. they dont even have a chance for a post season run.

     
  • At 2:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    oh yeah. i totally agree with the though about the church being a compilation. it is so true and evident in today's church.

     
  • At 4:25 PM, Blogger danny2 said…

    uh, that would be the bengals who have already lost to the steelers once and will again this sunday.

    that bengals?

    c'mon man. let's be honest. the colts defense from weeks 1-5 and week 11 was a different defense than the one you faced in cincy. cincy has no heart and pittsburgh will expose them as frauds.

    i have to applaud your loyalty though. you are acting just like chad johnson...all talk with little to back it up!

    sounds like you could afford to listen to your sister more.

    love you bro.

    danny

     
  • At 4:26 PM, Blogger danny2 said…

    todd,

    even we duke fans can't spell his name. that's why we simply call him "coach k."

     
  • At 11:21 PM, Blogger David said…

    If pastors and spiritual leaders are like coachs, let's hope we never have an Isaiah Thomas in the house. And if you ever make us run suicides, you can count yourself Mariuccied.

     
  • At 8:56 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    colts all the way danny.

     

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