FCA LAX 1

Image by Keith Johnston, from Pixabay

A couple of days ago I entered into a new initiative for Resplendent Daughter Ministries, and I'm very pumped about it.

About four months ago, a Christian brother invited me to work in his ministry, FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) as a Character Coach.  At first, I had the "Sarah reaction".  I laughed, (like Sarah did when she was told she would have her first child, at 90 years old!) There are so many reasons why jumping into this is "illogical': too little time for current projects; I'm not much of a sports person by nature; know nothing about lacrosse; etc., etc.  But, I figured he asked me for some reason; so, I prayed about it.

In our couples Bible study group, led by my husband, we've been working through this study called, "Experiencing God".  One of the things I've learned is that God does not call those who are fully equipped for the task.  Instead, He calls you and THEN He equips you, as you walk with Him in faith.  It's just the reverse of how the rest of the world operates.  (Sort of like how He gives eternal life.  But, I'll get to that later.)

So, feeling very ill-equipped, but trying to be faithful, I agreed to do this thing.  God, help me!

This past Tuesday, I got to meet around 45 lovely, lovely young lacrosse ladies, as they came off the field from practice.  So well-mannered and kind, they actually listened to my remarks and some of them hung around afterwards for more.
Here's how this character coaching thing works:  the FCA character coach gets to attend as many games and practices as his or her schedule will allow.  And, then, once a week, he/she spends time speaking with the team to help build character in the lives of the young people.  That little talk lasts 5-10 minutes, tops, and then you can invite the team to stay for an additional 5-10 minutes for an optional group conversation, where matters of the Christian faith are discussed.  Several choose to stay, hallelujah!  :)

There's this app that FCA uses where the team can opt in to the app and we can communicate back and forth in it.  I gave the girls the opportunity to scan themselves in via a QR code, and 19 took advantage of that.  I hope to hear from some of them before next week, when I'll see them again.

I shared with them that I'd post in the app bullet points from the remarks I make each time, and this blog post is my feeble attempt to do that.  I'll post the link from this blog post into the app.

Our first conversation in the mandatory meeting concerned what character is, and one of the girls gave the best answer: "what you are when no one is looking".  So true!  You can pretend to be one thing among other people, but God knows you inside and out, who you are when you don't think anyone else sees.  We also talked about the importance of character to a team.  I asked if a girl can have poor character and be a great lacrosse player, and again, one of those fabulous young ladies had a great answer:  "You might be a great lacrosse player, but not a good team member."  Wow.  They already amaze me, and we've only gotten together once.

In the optional session, I shared about the importance of relationship to the formation of character.
1.  The non-Christian world looks at eternal life (salvation, Heaven) and character-building the same: a person works and works and labors and strains and agonizes to earn the right to go to Heaven, and in so doing builds his or her own character.
2.  The Christian realizes there is nothing a person can do to earn eternal life, because God's standard for getting into Heaven is perfection, and who can achieve THAT?!  Answer: no one.  The Christian realizes the only way to Heaven is to accept what Jesus has already done: achieved salvation and freely given it to anyone who asks for it.  As one of the young ladies said, "Acceptance".  Our role is to believe, turn from our formerly sinful way of life and accept what Jesus has already done.  Period.  But, where does character development fit in?
3.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, that begins a relationship with Him.  His Holy Spirit comes to live within us and begins to develop our character within us, to transform us through our circumstances, human relationships, life events.  The way we respond to those (our choices), impact and develop our character.  Again, totally opposite from how the non-Christian world does it.

Here was the key verse from our conversation this week, the verse my friend Donna shared with us in the huge Baptist Girls Sunday School class back in the last century (lol).  I can still see her up there, teaching us this truth.   These verses capture it all  - - - salvation (becoming a Christian) and character development (sanctification).  Words in { } are mine.

...that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness {work, work work!} from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,a the righteousness from God on the basis of faith {believe, turn away from sin, accept}.

10I want to know Christ {relationship} and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead {eternal life/salvation}.

Philippians 2:8b-11

6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you {salvation} will carry it on to completion {sanctification} until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

Looking forward to seeing the team next week!