Ryan Hall, Olympic Runner

Josh Hamilton's Story on Rome

If you don't know the story, here is a clip from Jim Rome.

Shaun Alexander

Matt Hasselbeck

Playing for an audience of one.

Must Watch

Clay Dyer, pro bass fisherman

At the end of this great piece, Clay says something profound. The man who was born with no legs and no arms says that whatever he's doing, whether it be eating or anything else, if he knows people are watching him, he wants them to be thinking, "I want what that guy's got."

I don't know if Clay is a believer in Jesus Christ, but that comment sums up what a Christian's life should be about.

My pastor preached a sermon the other day on being content with the circumstances that God has placed you in. He said if we want to share our faith with those around us, we should start by living content with where God has us. People should look at our reactions to normal daily life, see how we are satisfied and content, and think, "I want what that guy's got." From this point on, evangelism is easy. It's giving the answer to..."what that guy's got" that is so appealing.

Athlete, your slump, your bad game, or your bad play can be an opportunity to "be different." When others panic, worry, frustrate, or quit, you will shake it off and continue to compete. Maybe people will think to themselves, "I want what that guy's got."

AZ FCA Summer Sports Camp

The Flagstaff camp is coming soon!
June 29th - July 2nd.

This truly is an experience you will never forget. Every day, it seems I have a parent or player tell me about the life-change that occurred at FCA camp.

Speaker: Darren Carrington, played 8 years in NFL and in 2 Super Bowls. Currently, the high school pastor at the Rock Church in San Diego, CA. Awesome gift to connect with young kids, we are blessed to have him!

Sports:
Boys-Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Wrestling.
Girls-Basketball, Volleyball, and Softball.

Staff Includes:
Vic Shealy, UNLV Football coach
Ray Perkins, Former NFL
Russ Pennel, U of A Men's Basketball (penciled in)
George Arias, Former MLB Infielder
Doug Jones, Former MLB Pitcher
John Petty, Cal. Baptist head wrestling coach
R.C. LaHaye, Grand Canyon Univ. head wrestling coach
Dan Payne, former Northern Arizona Univ. head wrestling coach
Trent May, Grand Canyon Univ. head women's basketball coach
Jill Mahoney, Grand Canyon Univ. women's basketball coach
Mark Lumley, Baylor Univ. softball coach

Plus college athletes: ASU, UofA, NAU, Cal Baptist, Grand Canyon
Plus great high school coaches from around Arizona.

See what you get:
6 on-field practice sessions over 4 days
3 nights stay in NAU dorms
3 evening programs
Speakers
Panel Discussions
Buzz groups
Music
Videos
Games
Huddle groups (lead by college athlete)
All meals included at dining hall
Transportation from Tucson and Phoenix provided
FCA Bible
Camp T-shirt
New relationships
Unforgettable experience!


Students Ages:
7th graders through seniors in High School

Scholarships Available:
Don't let money get in the way of you going to camp. Applications are available for special cases of need for financial assistance. Cost of camp is $395

See more about this camp:
www.azfca.org/camps
bberger@fca.org
602.264.8575

Mark 10:45

In Mark 10:45 Jesus said...

"for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve."



In Mat 25:31-46 Jesus said...

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Did you know?

Jackie Robinson is a hero. I wish I could have seen him play in person.

Did you know that Branch Rickey, the owner that broke the color barrier by signing Jackie, was also one of the original founders of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes back in 1954?



An excerpt from an article in Gale, CENGAGE learning

Before he decided on Robinson, Rickey, a devout Christian, and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, had searched nationwide for the ideal African American man, one talented enough to play on major league teams and well-enough adjusted within himself to withstand the attacks sure to come in the racially prejudiced setting. Rickey had scouted Robinson with the Monarchs and was impressed enough to meet with him for a personal assessment.

Rickey interrogated Robinson extensively for three hours on August 28, 1945. In a dramatization of hotel, restaurant, and game situations, he glared at Robinson, shouting demeaning words and phrases while observing his reactions. At the end he quoted the Biblical passage that advises turning the other cheek. Satisfied that Robinson met the tests of ability, stamina, and tolerance, Rickey exacted a promise of extreme patience and forbearance for three years, then offered him a contract. On October 23, 1945, Rickey made the historic announcement that Jackie Robinson, a black man, would play for the Montreal Royals, the minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Satchel Paige gave a ringing endorsement of Robinson as the best possible selection for "The Noble Experiment."

I love this kid

Fifa's World Player of the Year. Ricardo Kaka.

How do you know you are saved?

My high school football coach used to tell us before film session, "gentlemen, put on your thick skin." He was preparing us to hear the truth about how we performed. He didn't want us to be so offended and hurt by his feedback that we would miss out on the truth of how we needed to get better. Coach had a choice, protect our self-esteem and let us fail to learn from our mistakes, or tell us the truth, wounding our spirit, but enlightening us to the truth so that we would know how we could become better.

Christian, put on your thick skin. Hear the truth of this tough message. Take time to be silent and evaluate your life. There might not be a more important message that I could forward on to you than this.

Do not play this video if you have less than an hour to devote to this. The sermon is 48 min. and you are going to need some time to digest this after viewing it. Do not play this video without first praying that God would prepare your heart and reveal His truth. Do not play this video with "thin skin." Listen.

JMAC

You've probably seen this one. This story never gets old, though.



What a movie this will make. It was obvious to me that this kid was someone that everyone was rooting for. As I look back at all great sports movies I've watched through the years, there's always the character or characters that you are dying to see succeed. What is it about these players that makes us root for them?

Here are a few common denominators: determined, unselfish, resilient, underdog, and kind. Rocky, Rudy, Remember the Titans, Miracle, Hoosiers, etc..

As Christians, we should possess character traits that people are drawn to. Love, Humility, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Self-Control, Discipline, Unselfishness, Perseverance, Teachable, Trustworthy, and Positive (not complaining).

Christian Athlete, are people rooting for you or against you? Picture your movie, are you a likable character? I'm not saying that you should live and compete with the motivation of being liked by men, but I do believe if your life resembles Christ, you will "fall into favor," people will like you.

As a 12 year old, Jesus is accidentally left in Jerusalem by His parents. They find the boy 3 days later in the temple in the midst of the teachers "listening to them and asking them questions." In this time it says in Luke 2:52 that Jesus increased in favor with men (and God).

Jesus's ministry didn't begin until he was around 30 years old. This is when people began being offended by who He claimed to be, but when he was just a young man, living out godliness, He was well liked. Your life should not offend people (the truth that you share about Jesus will).

Goodness on the softball field

It is just good. I don't know what else to say.

Ricardo Kaka

Unbelievable skills. Great T-shirt. I gotta believe that the Lord enjoys watching this kid score goals.

Tom Brady Interview

Tom Brady has it all. Right? This is evidence that we are foolish to chase success for the sake of money and fame.

More Dwight Howard

Up-hill Battle

uphill battle


Jesus never said it would be easy. In all of our walks, there are times when we look (with our eyes) at what is happening around us and we get frustrated and discouraged. We ask ourselves if we are making a difference. We need to be reminded that God is using us despite what we see. He doesn't promise that we will see the fruits of our ministry, but God's word says that what we see does not matter. Don't get discouraged, God has promised to renew you every day.

"Therefore we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Dunks

Christian kid that can touch the rim with his noggin!

Howard, indeed, is not a typical teenager. A 6-foot-10 power forward with the game that could make him the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, but with an evangelistic spirit that he hopes will "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world."

The NBA arena, as is his want, will be his pulpit after he declared for the draft on Wednesday.

NBA scouts are believers in his game. But will NBA fans buy his message?

Read more of Darren Rovell's article at ESPN.com by clicking the title below.
On a mission from God

Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas Rangers

Hamilton welcome addition to Rangers
Five-tool center fielder credits faith for renewed success
By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com

The growing feeling in the desert is Hamilton could be on the verge of the kind of player the Devil Rays had envisioned when they made him the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 1999 First-Year Player Draft. That was before Hamilton's perilous plunge beyond personal purgatory, first with injuries and then the death-like grip of an insidious drug addiction that had him on the brink of complete self-destruction.

There was a point where most people felt comfortable saying they would never expect to see Hamilton on a baseball field again. They were wrong. Giving all credit to his family, his support system, and renewed and unswerving faith in God, Hamilton is back in center field where he belongs, and not the gutters of life.

"It's like He's standing beside me, plugged into me," Hamilton said. "I'm not one of those guys who talks about God because it sounds good. It's because He changed my life. One thing I keep in mind first thing in the morning is no matter what I do, the Man upstairs already knows what will happen.

"All I can do is play to the best of my ability and have fun. If I strike out or make an error, I will know in my heart that I at least did my best. That's the way I looked at it last year whether I went 4-for-4 or 0-for-4."

Here's a video interview with Josh:

mlb.com interview with Josh Hamilton

Mike Sweeney, DH, Oakland A's

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Mat 5:16

My friends and I went to a K.C. Royals game one night while we were spending the summer in Kansas City. The game was delayed because a couple groups of stadium lights were out. Players and coaches were just kind of standing around in their dugouts. Some were talking to guys on the other team, some were sitting in chairs facing the crowd watching the fans, others retreated down into the clubhouse to relax, and a few actually walked around and chatted with some of the fans.

My friends and I were enjoying watching the interaction probably as much as we would have enjoyed the game if it were being played. One of my friends pointed out one of the Royals players and said, "That dudes a Christian." I asked him how he knew that, and he told me, "Just look at him."

We focused in on this one player for the remainder of the delay. He took some time to chat with fans and he took a trip to the other dugout to talk with some of their guys. He wasn't doing anything that would make him obvious as a Christian. He smiled a lot and he seemed genuinely interested in everyone that he was chatting with, whether it was a little boy in the stands, a teammate, or a player from the opposing team. There was definitely something different about this guy as we compared him to the other players. It made me think: if someone was watching me, would they guess that I was a Christian?

Later that summer my friend showed me an FCA: Sharing the Victory Magazine and pointed out Mike Sweeney from the K.C. Royals. That's our dude, he was a Christian.

As I read Jesus's sermon in Mathew chapter 5 and I hear, "let your light shine before men..." I always think of Mike Sweeney of the Royals. He stood out. He was shining before men.

Video of Mike Sweeney's last game in Kansas City.
Video interview with Sweeney at A's spring training camp.