I remember receiving my first trophy.  I was on the debate squad in high school and we lost in the quarterfinal round.  That was good for a 4th place finish.  The speech tournament personnel handed the trophy to me.  What a thrill it was to see that nice smooth wood and shiny metal.  At that point, I figured this trophy would be in my possession forever.

The trophy spent a lot of time on my desk in my bedroom.  When I entered college the trophy was placed in a drawer.  When I got married the trophy went into a box.  When we moved to attend seminary the box got placed in the closet.  When we moved to our first church the box was placed in the garage.  When I moved to a church in Mississippi the box was moved to the attic.  Later when I moved again I left the box in the attic.  The new owners called wondering what to do with a box of trophies and my wife said to throw them out.

After I got over the initial anguish of realizing part of my life now sat in a Natchez trash dump I recognized the greater value of that trophy.  The trophy simply recognizes an accomplishment.  No one can throw out my memory of winning.  The everlasting part of that victory is in my story of winning or my testimony.

As a coach/leader I have a higher calling than to ensure trophies get into the hands of my team.  Instead, I want to help us make testimonies.  The greatest victory in sports ministry is not the championship, but rather a life that has been changed.  Winless teams that lead someone to Christ are champions!

Trophies start out shiny and end up dirty.  The corners get nicked and they collect dust.  Trophies end up in drawers and boxes and closets and attics and dumps.  Trophies are made of metal and wood that melts and burns away.

A testimony of salvation takes a life that is dirty and Christ makes it shiny.

A testimony is always in view for others to see.    

A testimony of following Christ lasts forever.

Here's hoping our team wins more testimonies!  

Go team!