Failure is Proof You’re in the Game

A result of my intentionally trying new things this year is the unintentional having to deal with more failure than I'm used to and because of that, I’m learning that it takes a particular mindset to fail repeatedly and not view yourself as a failure. It’s also caused me to look at the Apostle Peter with a new appreciation.

Peter was the kind of guy who would build the plane while he was flying it. You know...act now...think later. He also suffered from foot-in-mouth disease. Here are just a few examples:

• When Jesus was walking on water, it was Peter who said, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” (Matt. 14:28). Peter walked on water with Jesus, became fearful of the waves, and sank.
  • Fail
• When Jesus was being arrested, it was Peter who defended Him by cutting off a soldier’s ear. Jesus gently rebuked Peter, telling him to put his sword away and restoring the man’s ear.
  • Fail
• When Jesus told His disciples that they would all fall away after His crucifixion, Peter vowed He would not only stand by His side, but He would even die for Him. One rooster crow later, Peter had denied his Lord.
  • Fail

I believe there are two interconnected reasons why Peter was able to fail repeatedly and not view himself as a failure.

First, he had tremendous faith. One thing that set him apart from the other disciples was that he was the first one of them to acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah, the Chosen One sent by God. Jesus affirmed him in his confession and Peter knew he was loved. Peter didn’t just have faith in Who Jesus was, though. He also had faith in what Jesus said. Jesus promised Peter that He would use him to build His Church. It didn’t matter that Peter had failed before because Jesus’ promises were true and could be trusted.

Second, and here’s the connection. Peter’s faith led to obedience. He may not have done things perfectly, but he was out of the boat, trusting Jesus and learning to trust Him more. After His resurrection, Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep, and that’s exactly what Peter did. His failure taught him to trust that Jesus was with Him and would not let him down.

For lots of good reasons, God wired us to avoid pain and seek comfort. It’s how our ancestors sought shelter and stayed safe from the brutal elements and dangerous animals. However, God also calls us to a life of faith in Him, which requires us to step out of our comfort zones when He tells us. 

The problem for many of us is that we care too much about our own egos or what others might think of us if we fail. So we stay in the practice room, where we can feel like we’re part of the team without ever stepping onto the field.

The practice room has its purpose, but Jesus wants us in the game. He gives us the training and then says: “Go!” This is what enables us to fail, knowing Jesus is with us. What’s more, we're not defined by our failures. We're defined by who Jesus says we are, and we can trust Him in the work He calls us to do.

So what is Jesus calling you to do in faith? Will you join me out on His field?
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Weston Bryant coaches ministers to lead through faith and is the founder of Commission Leadership and is on the CSRM staff where he leads the Life Coaching Department. A long-time local church Sports Minister, Bryant now serves sports ministers in his role as a life coach. Bryant contributes a quarterly blog for CSRM designed to care for the Sports Minister's soul and empower them to step boldly into the work God has prepared for them. For more free discipleship resources, follow him on Facebook. Bryant can be contacted at: wbryant1218@gmail.com.

Do cheaters never prosper? That is the question we set out to answer a few weeks ago. We have determined Theologically that it is sinful. We have determined Philosophically that all cheating should be judged and treated the same. We have even looked at how we should handle cheaters in our ministry. But the fact is that the Houston Astros are still the 2017 World Series Champions, and so it appears that Cheaters do prosper, but today we see if  that is actually the case.

“Being able to watch a Houston team that you believed was one of the best teams in the world, that run that they had gone on. You're gonna see this year if they're the truth — if they're really gonna go out there and do what they do, and if they do, then nobody can really say anything. I think they do have really good players but the things they did do in the past is gonna taint what they did.” - Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper’s word provide us with a unique view within professional baseball at the moment. Perhaps the Astro’s deserved the title in 2017, and that although they cheated, if they win it again this year cleanly, then it doesn’t matter if they cheated in 2017. While it sounds like a dream world scenario, we have seen this play out in other sports. The New England Patriots have had multiple cheating scandals, but the amount of times they have dominated football without cheating has in many ways given them a pass in the athletic community.

Baseball culture is a bit different though. Baseball players and fans have a different view on rules and punishment, for better or worse. Players have self-governed the game for centuries with many unwritten rules and agreed upon punishments. The most glaring example of this is the comment sections of MLB or other Baseball pages when the topic of steroids come into play.

Here is a stat that was posted recently on a MLB fan page: “Barry Bonds drew a walk 1,086 times from 2001 until his retirement in 2007, and in those six seasons he only swung and missed 686 times.” This is an incredible feat, but when you look at the comments all you see is the words “steroids”, “juiced”, or even pictures of syringes. Even though the stat presented is not one that steroids would impact, people see “Barry Bonds,” and steroids are the immediate response. Why is this? He arguably was headed to a hall of fame level career before the steroid use, but  now he is only remembered for cheating.

In Paul’s day, Athletic competition was just as much, if not more, a part of the cultural fabric of the world. All throughout the Roman empire, Stadia’s were constructed to hold races, fights, and other entertainment. And like today, each cities construction had different features or additions. In Olympia, one of these additions was a “hall of shame” that greeted participants as they entered the field of play. This hall was full of busts and names of athletes who were caught cheating. The names and offenses were cut so deep into the stone, that they can still be read today. They are forever labeled a cheater. It is highly likely that in Paul’s travels he may have seen a race or two in this stadium or at least passed by. And this hallway is what gave him the imagery needed to portray the message he had for the Corinthian church clearly, in I Corinthians 9.

“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” - I Corinthians 9:24-27

Paul lays out proper athletics in this section very plainly. If you do these three things, you remain a qualified competitor:
1. Play to Win
2. Exercise Self Control
3. Exercise Self Discipline

Barry Bonds is forever linked to steroids, because he sacrificed his Self-discipline and Self-Control by taking PEDs, in order to retire with the crown of Career and Single Season Home Run King. While it appears that his cheating brought prosperity, he was disqualified in the long run. He will never make the Hall of Fame in his lifetime, and His legacy is forever tied to steroids, not records. But there is another side to the steroid story that needs addressed.

Jason Giambi, a twenty year veteran of Major League Baseball, is a story like non other. He, like Bonds, was a known steroid user, but when he is brought up among fans today, you see a different reaction than you do with other steroid users. This is because in 2005, Giambi openly and apologetically admitted to the use of PEDs. He then went on to play another 10 years in Major League Baseball, and although no longer a Hall of Fame prospect, he was a leader in the clubhouse and a fan favorite everywhere he went. Although the first half of Giambi’s career is one that was not self-disciplined or self-controlled, he did not let that continue to define him.

This is the reality that Bryce Harper was talking about at the beginning of this post. The Astro’s, like Giambi, have the opportunity to change their legacy still. They can go out and finish their careers qualified if they practice what Paul lays out for us in I Corinthians.

"Everybody is always looking for an advantage. It’s no different than the PEDs. There's always going to be things going in this game when you're talking about people making a lot of money and wanting to win. I sleep at night great. I don't have to worry about it. The biggest thing that came out of it is I created a whole new set of fans who first gave me a second chance, but also I don't know how many parents I run into that say, 'Hey, thank you so much for coming forward where I can tell my children if they make a mistake to tell the truth.’ I think that's the biggest thing that came out of that, and I think that's what helped me be embraced for the second time around. It was because of that situation.” - Jason Giambi

For us in Sports Ministry, there are a few important lessons we need to learn out of the 2017 World Series, Bonds, and Giambi.

1. It is important for our leagues and teams to be redemptive in nature. Athletics is a great way to show people redemption in action. Whether its recovering from a bad play to being the hero, or recovering your career from a scandalous act. Cheating does not have to define a player or program.  The God we serve is “kind and ready to forgive, rich in faithful love to all who call” on Him (Psalm 86:5). That is what we need to be showing.
2. It is important for our leagues to be prioritizing the “crown that will never fade away.” When Jesus is the focus of our decisions, we will be able to maintain Self Control and Self Discipline, while still maintaining our competitive spirit alive. When the crown that fades away becomes the priority, we will lose sight of what truly matters.
3. Regardless of the how the outcome may look now. Cheating never prospers. Records are broken, Championships are won and lost, but the legacy you leave is what will define you. Will you be remembered as someone that remained qualified in all things, or not?

“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.” - Isaiah 40:8
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It will be interesting to see how the story of the 2017 Astro’s plays out, especially with this delay in the 2020 MLB Season. Will we see disqualified athletes continue on in their ways or will we see players repent and seek redemption? Will we see a league ready to condemn or a league ready to condemn? A decade from now, will the comment section on posts about the Houston Astros be full of trash cans, or stories of careers and lives reborn?

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This is part 7 of a new series titled “Do Cheaters Never Prosper? - A Biblical Response” written by our Director of Digital Resource Development Andrew Fouts

Normally behind the cameras and control boards of CSRM Resources, Andrew Fouts currently serves as the Director of Digital Resource Development for CSRM and works as an inner-city missionary through them within Northeastern Ohio. A licensed Pastor, Teacher, Coach and Administrator, Andrew has been developing and leading Christmanship centered programming for churches, schools, and teams over the past 6 years.

“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it? I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.” - Jeremiah 17:9-10

Last week we started to look at how we can apply the theological and philosophical ideas we have seen on this topic of cheating from a biblical standpoint. We started by evaluating ourselves first. We saw that we all are capable of cheating at any moment, but also that there is also a way out of the temptation as well. Today though, we are going to look at the other side of this, and how we are supposed to react when we see people cheating others, or when we have been cheated ourselves.
1.      Understand that you will encounter cheating and cheaters, in any and all situations.
Just like it is important to recognize this in ourselves, we need to recognize this in our ministry as well. “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” Deceit is in everyone, and that means that where there are human hearts, there is potential for deceit. Just because you’re running a league in a church building, does not mean that human desires cease to exist. We need to understand this, not to be paranoid, but to be prepared, because this is another opportunity for ministry.   We need to apply the gospel to our own hearts.  We will get into this more shortly.

2. “I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart” - Jeremiah 17:10
God is the Judge and not us. This is important for us to remember in all circumstances, but especially within the context of a ministry. We don’t know the heart of the athletes we play with, coach, or invite into our leagues and open gyms. God is the only one that knows the intentions, and so we cannot allow the emotions of being cheated get in the way of ministering to the people God has gifted us with.

3. Your community is watching your reaction.
This is an opportunity for us to proclaim the gospel by how we live out our faith. We know that cheating is nothing more than our sinful human hearts being human hearts, and so when we need to deal with this issue in that manner. If discipleship is our goal, then we need to come at this topic of cheating with the same goal. We need to show forgiveness, offer chances for repentance, provide accountability, and allow God to take care of their hearts.

4. God already has given us a framework to deal with this as leaders.
“Then I said, “Now listen, leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?” - Micah 3:1
Unlike Jeremiah, we don’t know much about the life of the prophet Micah. We know he prophesied around the same time as Isaiah, that he lived in the southern regions of Judah, and that he most likely was looked at as being a common nobody, especially compared to the great Isaiah. However, God used him to communicate to Jerusalem about a growing problem: INJUSTICE.
“Woe to those who dream up wickedness and prepare evil plans on their beds! At morning light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. They covet fields and seize them; they also take houses. They deprive a man of his home, a person of his inheritance.” - Micah 2:1-2

Injustice was rampant throughout the kingdom of Judah, and God had had enough. He sends Micah to deliver a “lawsuit” to the people of Judah for violating His Covenant with them. For five chapters, God lays out all the corruption, deceit, and sin that the people had committed against Him. Then in chapter 6, God lays out the terms. The people have committed so much sin and they were so corrupt that God tells them that they can’t afford to make payment.
“Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the child of my body for my own sin?” - Micah 6:7

This is a feeling we all have had at one point or another. We have been hurt so deeply, that there is nothing the other person can do that can make up for it. It is a natural response and understandable, but it’s important for us to remember that God doesn’t end negotiations there.

“Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
God was willing to take a deal. If the people of Judah would simply do three things, God would forget everything else. 1. Act Justly. 2. Love Faithfulness. 3. Walk Humbly with God. These three things are much harder than they sound, especially in a world or system full of corruption, but they are also the keys to fixing the corruption, and a good example for us on how to deal with it in our ministries as well.

1.      Act Justly
We set the example. God doesn’t put conditions on when or to whom you should act just with. He tells us to Act Justly. This is why last week is so important. If we are not aptly Justly, then we cannot expect others in our care to. This also means that we need to be fair, in how we handle the “judgements” that we hand out when cheating occurs.

2.      Love Faithfulness
Faithfulness to what? In the context of Micah we see that God wants people to be faithful to the law. But not just be faithful, but to have a love of faithfulness. Within the Hebrew of this verse we see that Love is actually a noun and not the verb. Our desire should be in faithfulness to God and his law. This is a hard one to do, because it is a heart change not just an attitude change. ““The heart is more deceitful than anything else,” but when we focus on being faithful to God and what He wants for us, we will see our desires change as well.

3.      Walk Humbly with God
How do we do this? by understanding that we are just as corrupt as everyone else, and that only God can change our incurable hearts. And when we allow Him to do that, we will be able to minister to this corrupt world.

While I was reading those tweets a few weeks ago and other responses from MLB and its players over the investigation into the 2017 Astros, one tweet in particular caught my eye.

“I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.” - Alex Woods, LA Dodgers, P

This begs a major question, why do we rate different methods of cheating differently? Why are some methods of cheating considered forgivable or even normal, while others are considered so outrageous that they invoke lifetime bans from the Halls of Fame or from the sport altogether?
Let me lay out a few, well known, cheating incidents in MLB from the past 40 years.

• July 24, 1983 - George Brett hits a home run with a bat deemed illegal for having too much pine tar too far up on the bat. He is called out for violating rule Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book. It is later overturned by MLB. George Brett and the infamous bat are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• 1990s - Steroid Era in Baseball. Home Run records are broken numerous times. Players from all across the decade are later indicted and have since then been barred from the Hall of Fame by the BWAA. The Records remain intact.
• July 15, 1994 - The Chicago White Sox accuse Albert Belle of having a corked bat. MLB investigates by locking the bat up for the game to be examined laters. Cleveland Indians personnel attempt to steal and replace the bat but are caught doing so. Albert Belle is suspended 7 games for corking. After a go ahead home run in the 1996 ALDS, the Baltimore Orioles again try and accuse him of a corked bat. It was not.
• June 3, 2004 - Sammy Sosa is ejected, 2 months after hitting his 500th career home run, after his broken bat is found to be corked. Sosa takes responsibility, but claims it was his practice bat and never was meant to be used in game.
• 2017-2019 - Houston Astro’s win a World Series and 2 AL Titles, but are found to have been illegally recording signs and transmitting them to the hitters. Minor fines are issued, draft picks are removed, and personnel are fired. Titles remain intact.

All of these events were made famous simply because someone was caught cheating. Some claim it was unintentional, others clearly showed it was intentional and tried to cover it up. Some were severely punished, others were simply given a slap on the wrist, while others were forgiven. Why? How can we determine which level of cheating is worse?

Honestly, this is a question that can’t be answered fully from an athletic point of view, although for athletes and those involved in athletics, it is something we all somewhat understand. Over the last two weeks however, we looked at theological side to cheating and saw that cheating in all circumstances, is always sinful and an act of idolatry and blasphemy. So this raises bigger questions for us in Sports Ministry. If all cheating is sin, is all cheating the same? If all cheating is the same, should it be responded to the same?
Biblically we can find the answer to these questions.

“Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 5:19

“For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker.” - James 2:10-11

Sin is sin. period. If we deny this aspect, even the it comes to cheating in Athletic competitions, we will lose credibility as ministers of the Gospel. All cheating is the same, and if all cheating is the same, then it needs to be responded to the same. And while it sounds harsh to consider a kid sneaking a couple extra bills in monopoly during family game night to be considered the same as Professional Athlete stealing a championship, it is another opportunity for us in ministry to show those in our care the true message of the gospel.

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” - Matthew 5:43-45
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“Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” - James 2:12-13

We as Christians and Ministers of the Gospel have an awesome advantage, that the rest of the world does not. We are judged by the law of freedom and mercy. We are able to forgive the harshest of offenses, because we have been forgiven the harshest of offenses. All Cheating is Sin, and all cheating is the same and should be responded to the same. But the way we respond is one of Love, Mercy, and Freedom through Christ, not judgement. Next week, we will look more at the methodology of how we actually can practice this.