PARADIGM SHIFT

Christlike Athletics Adult Code of Conduct

dmcxiii — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Love. Show love for those you know, and those you don’t.
Joy. Take joy in the achievements of your child, his or her teammates, and their opponents, no matter how small.
Peace. Allow peace to override the “heat of the game”.
Patience. Players and officials will not always make the play or call you think is best…but they probably thought it was the best one at the time, so it’s OK.
Kindness. Not everyone will always do it right – they might need better training, or they might be doing their best.
Goodness. Players don’t always see the “big picture”. Draw them a circle that draws them in.
Faithfulness. Be true to your convictions.
Gentleness. Be fair in talking about others. If it’s not nice, don’t say it.
Self-Control. Do not allow outside influences to affect your actions.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

~ Galatians 5:22-25 ~

Christlike Athletics Weekly Themes

dmcxiii — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0000

THEME	THEME VERSE	THEME STATEMENT
Love	“I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned – but if I have no love, this does me no good.” ~ I Corinthians 13:2-3 ~	“Love is our foundation: Love your teammates, love the competition, love the game.”
Joy	“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” ~ Psalm 16:11 ~	“We play for the joy of the game: Win or lose, we will play hard and have fun.”
Peace	“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” ~ Hebrews 12:11 ~	“We play as one team: We affirm that Together Everyone Achieves More.”
Patience	“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” ~ Proverbs 14:29 ~	“Patience is a virtue: I will be patient with myself and others.”
Kindness	“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” ~ Luke 6:31 ~	“We affirm the Golden Rule: We will show respect to all officials and competitors.”
Goodness	“He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones” ~ Proverbs 2:7-8 ~	“We will play the game the right way: We will always carry ourselves with confidence and integrity.”
Faithfulness	“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” ~ Hebrews 11:1 ~	“Our team is built upon faith and trust: We believe in ourselves and our teammates.”
Gentleness	“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” ~ Ephesians 4:2 ~	“Our strength comes from within: Strength in humility, power in love.”
Self-Control	“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” ~ I Corinthians 9:25 ~	“We play for the Prize: Not for a trophy or a medal but for everlasting life.”

- A part of the CLAY Team Sports Ministry Christlike Athletics Handbook

Let the Fire Burn

dmcxiii — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Fall: Week Eleven
Let the Fire Burn
“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”
- I Thessalonians 5:19 (NIV)

In case you haven’t noticed, it tends to start getting a bit cold outside this time of year. It is important to not only light the fire in the furnace but to also light the fire for Christ within. Paul’s final instructions in his first letter to the Thessalonians church (5:12-28) were to work together to keep moving forward and not to become complacent in the church. Encourage, rejoice, pray, and love were his words of choice. These words are verbs, verbs require action, action requires motivation, and this motivation comes from the Holy Spirit. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18) No matter what is going on, we are called to keep our hearts warm by the fire of the Spirit.

In the book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (but were afraid to ask), Eric Metaxas points out that this internal fire can take shape in two very different and yet two very similar ways. The fire of love and the fire of lust. No, I am not talking ‘birds and bees,’ I am talking about love for Christ and lust of religion. These are two very different perspectives that are quite often lumped into one category – “Christian.” Yes, we are called to be passionate about what we believe; we are called to be passionate about the love story between Jesus Christ and His bride the Church. What we are called to be passionate and zealous – ‘sold out’ if you will – about is our relationship with Jesus Christ; not merely a religion, not a moral code, not a social club, not a particular style of music, not someone’s age, gender, or ethnicity, but the love and mercy of the cross.

“It only takes a little spark to get a fire going; I know the fire is in your heart, so go ahead and show it!” – (Audio Adrenaline – “Start a Fire”) I don’t know about you, but this winter when the wind blows and the clouds get dark, I am going to let the Son shine through it all and warm my frigid heart. The spark can be the easy part; the real challenge comes with the feeding and sustaining of the fire once it is lit. This is where Satan comes in and tries to snuff out your flame. Be like the children who sing: “Won’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine! Won’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine!” Stay grounded in the Word and in prayer. Winter can be tough, lots of sports to get excited about, extra time surfing the increasing dangerous internet, and the over-secularization of holidays that used to be dedicated to family and to the worship and thankfulness of the grace of God.

Revelation 3:15 tells us that God does not like lukewarm; He prefers us to be either hot or cold. So this winter, are you going to be hot with the fire of the Holy Spirit? Or are you going to be cold with a heart of stone. Hot or cold, it’s your choice.

Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted

dmcxiii — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Fall: Week Ten
Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted:
Beatitudes VIII – (Matthew 5:3-10)
“Blesses are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
- Matthew 5:10 (NIV)

~ coming soon ~

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

dmcxiii — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Fall: Week Nine
Blessed Are the Peacemakers:
Beatitudes VII – (Matthew 5:3-10)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
- Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

~ coming soon ~

Trick or Treat?

dmcxiii — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:00:38 +0000

Trick: Approximately 80% of adults in the U.S. pass out candy each year, while over 90% of American kids go “trick or treating.”

Treat: The practice of “trick or treating” exploded in the U.S. during the post WWII years, but its origins are rooted in Medieval and even ancient traditions.

Trick: The name “Halloween” comes from “All Hallows’ Eve” which signified the night before the Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day.

Treat: All Saints’ Day was moved to November 1st in 835 AD. Its original spring-time date is still celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Trick: Halloween dates back to 5 BC with the pagan Celtic harvest celebration called Samhain.

Treat: Samhain also served as a festival to the dead, which can be seen today in many different cultural contexts: Halloween (USA, Canada, Europe), All Saints’ Day (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist), El Dia de los Muertos (Mexico, Latin America), etc.

Trick: The most popular Halloween costume in 2009 was Michael Jackson.

Treat: The tradition of wearing costumes originated with the ancient Celtics, who were afraid of ghosts and spirits, hence the tradition of hiding their humanity.

Fear Not

dmcxiii — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Fall: Week Eight
Fear Not:
Halloween

~ coming soon ~

Blessed Are the Pure In Heart

dmcxiii — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Fall: Week Seven
Blessed Are the Pure In Heart:
Beatitudes VI – (Matthew 5:3-10)
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will seek God.”
- Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

~ coming soon ~

Blessed Are the Merciful

dmcxiii — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Fall: Week Six
Blessed Are the Merciful:
Beatitudes V – (Matthew 5:3-10)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
- Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

~ coming soon ~

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

dmcxiii — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:00:54 +0000

Fall: Week Five

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness:

Beatitudes IV – (Matthew 5:3-10)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

- Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

The words hunger and thirst have lost a lot of their meaning over the years. In the land of dollar menus and water fountains, we do not know what it is like to be truly hungry or truly thirsty. How blessed are we today to be able to stop for a drink at a water fountain while out running in a park? That’s not how it was back when Jesus used this metaphor. To be hungry meant that you were starving, having gone days without a decent meal. To be thirsty meant that that you were literally dying of thirst; it is mostly desert out in that part of the world.

When you take this verse in its original context, the meaning changes a bit. The people who are blessed here are those who are longing and yearning for complete righteousness. They cannot be filled with just a bite of righteousness, but need the full meal. Their hunger cannot be satisfied by a mere snack of justice; their thirst cannot be quenched by a mere sip of honesty, but only be total and absolute goodness.

Absolute goodness cannot be found in this world. No one is completely righteous. This hunger and thirst for righteousness will never be fully satisfied by this world. The only way to be fulfilled is to be filled with the bread of life and the living water of Jesus. – “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) Please read all of John chapter six to see this whole story:

Jesus starts out by feeding five-thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Then comes the scene of Jesus walking on the water. Now after the crowd at Tiberias realized that Jesus and his disciples were gone, they went looking for him. They found him at Capernaum and start to inquire about the previous day’s events. This is where Jesus separates his true followers from those who are just coming along for the ride by claiming that he was the bread of life and that the only way to eternal life is through him.

Ask yourself if this is how you live. Are you yearning for complete and total righteousness? Do you find yourself left unsatisfied by all the things of this world? The only comfort is found in Christ, the bread of life.