Lesson Learned - Half Time

This past month of ministry for me has been an amazing time! I had the opportunity to be a part of the management team at one of the Operation Christmas Child processing centers in Charlotte, NC.

From mid-November to mid-December we processed just under 2 million of the 8.1 million shoe-box gifts that are on their way to needy children around the world, some of whom may only get one gift in their entire lifetime…process that one for a second!

It was an incredible experience to work side by side with people from all across the country, as well as some internationals. One day on my line we had a group from the Middle East who came to be a part of the miracle of Operation Christmas Child, and it was so cool for me to meet them and hear their stories.

Two of them were from Jordan, three from Egypt and three from Bethlehem, how cool is that? They had all been recipients of shoe box gifts when they were younger and now that they were in their early 20’s they wanted to give back. Each one of them had not only received a gift but had each received the greatest gift of all…Jesus Christ!

Every day was a new adventure for me and my team as we interfaced with thousands of people every day that had come to serve and give back because of what God had done for them.

In a lot of ways I kept going back to my coaching background as I worked every day with my team and the people God brought to us.

You see, before I became a Youth Pastor I was a school teacher and a coach, and in many ways I’ve always viewed my youth ministry career as kind of a continuation of my coaching mindset, and I guess it never really has gotten out of my system.

One of the days as we were about halfway through our processing season, I noticed that our team was getting a little tired, and without even thinking about it I put on “coaches hat” and delivered a story of one of the most amazingly effective halftime speeches I had ever seen.

The speech I’m referring to took place half way through a basketball game that my team was playing in name only, their bodies and spirits had failed to show up, and my coaches and I were getting more and more irked at their lack of effort as the first half minutes ticked away.

The team we were playing was one that we had beaten twice earlier in the season, and was one that we were clearly better than. As the buzzer rang, I was ticked, my coaches were ticked and every fan in the building was ticked.

As we walked into the locker room I was headed off by one of my players, who in essence said to me and the other coaches, “don’t worry coach, I’ll take care of this half time speech, you and the other coach’s just stay out here.”

I looked at the rest of my team and we all nodded our heads in agreement, and said “ok, do your thing.”

What happened next was truly an amazing feat, as for the next 15 minutes or so all we could hear was the passion filled voice of one the most passionate players I ever had the opportunity to coach. You see he wasn’t the best basketball player in the world, in fact he couldn’t shoot to save his life, but his outlook on defense was one of a football player, to say the least he was intense!

The reason he approached basketball with a football players mentality was because that’s exactly who he was, a football player, and a very very good one at that. He was the school’s star running back, and I kept him on the basketball team for one reason (so I thought) and that was to play defense, but after that halftime speech, I automatically knew the other reason I kept him on…Inspiration!

The essence of his speech was “leave it all on the floor, don’t take anything for granted, one day you’ll look back on this moment and you will be filled with regrets. What if I had played harder? What if I didn’t just go through the motions?…Leave it all on the floor, NO REGRETS!”

Well, halftime was over, we went back out there to play the second half and wow what a difference I saw in my players. They played with a passion and a desire that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and leading the pack was none other than the player who had delivered the half time speech. He was leading by example.

That player went on to play division one football and eventually was drafted into the NFL, but I will always remember his half time passion, and 2^nd half example of No Regrets.

Half Time has always been one of my favorite times as a coach, because I love to inspire and challenge others towards making changes and getting back out there to accomplish great things.

So, as I stood there with my OCC Team and sensed that we were tired, and being tempted with just going through the motions, I was reminded of this story and I shared it with them. I wish you could have seen their faces as I challenged them to live with no regrets because what we were doing was going to change the lives of children around the world for eternity!

As I thought about coaching and inspiration and challenging others a few thoughts came to my mind that make it not only easier to inspire but make it believable.

Some of the best speeches in history have come from people who have delivered them from a deep seated belief that the ones they are challenging actually have a chance to accomplish great things and win!

What happens though when you’re the coach and the first half is over, you’re in the locker room and your team is not only losing, you’re getting destroyed?

What happens when you have to deliver the speech that will hopefully reset the course for the second half, but you know deep down in your gut that your team doesn’t have a chance, what do you do then? Have you ever been in a similar place?

Well, I know I have and as I stood there with my OCC team with only about 3 days of processing to go I was reminded of another story and another illustration of what makes a good speech an effective one…Truthfulness!

We were playing a team that was ranked #3 in the country according to USA Today. All five of their starters had already committed to division one programs after graduation. Their center was 7 foot 3, their forwards were both 6 foot 8, their shooting guard was 6 foot 6 and there 6 foot 4 point guard was already one of the best in the country and was heading off to UCLA. These guys were good, they knew it, we knew it and so did everyone else.

The game started off with a backwards two handed dunk off an alley oop and the crowd went wild! I knew we were in for a long night, but as any coach would do I tried to be positive and look for insights that we could use to get an edge and hopefully learn something to make us better.

The first half seemed to drag by as we watched dunk after dunk, three pointer after three pointer and block after block. Finally the buzzer rang and as I looked up at the score board I saw that we were down by 29 points!

Now what do you say to a team that is getting demolished by a seriously overmatched team? How do you try to salvage something positive from that kind of experience? I must be honest, as I walked into the locker room I didn’t have a clue what I was going to say. I mean David and Goliath or Joshua and the battle of Jericho or Jesus walking on the water would have been good stories I guess, as each of them couldn’t have happened without God’s miraculous power and that’s exactly what we needed at that moment.

I’m not saying that God couldn’t do it, because He certainly has the power to make them stumble and our team fly, but as I walked in to face my team I just didn’t sense that they needed some pie in the sky pep talk, they needed truth!

These guys were good, so good that they all were going to go on to play big time ball in college and later in the NBA. They were the next level, so a reality check was in order for this half time speech, and as I entered the locker room my assistant coach grabbed my arm and said “hey coach did you know these guys beat the defending state champs last night…by 29 points?” I stopped in my tracks and said “really? 29 points huh?...thanks.”

I had my challenge.

As I faced my players I tried to be open and honest and reality filled, I didn’t pull any punches, and I didn’t candy coat anything, we were getting beat and beat badly!

There were things we could do to improve, and possibly cut the score and make it close. Then I shared the little nugget that was shared with me on the way in. I said, “by the way guys, they played the state champs last night and beat them by 29 points…what do say we go out there and play our hearts out, leaving it all on the floor and try to not lose by 29? If we do that we’ll have bragging rights, how’s that sound?”

The locker room erupted; we had our 2^nd half marching orders.

The rest of the game went pretty much like the first half did, and with about 10 seconds to go we were down by 31 points, and as the ball was inbounded to our point guard he dribbled up to the 3 point line and let one fly at the buzzer…as the ball floated through the air I thought, “how cool this would be if it went in”…well, sure enough as the buzzer rang the 3 pointer went in and wouldn’t you know it we lost by 28 points.

The place erupted, and you would’ve thought we won the national championship or something. The other team looked at us like we were crazy, but little did they know that because we had a uniquely crafted goal after half time, even though we lost by the score board, we actually won in our minds.

That was a great memory, but as I stood with my OCC team, and shared that example I was able to add a twist that I’ve always loved to add whenever I’ve shared that story.

The twist is this…when it comes to challenging and inspiring others to live for God when times are tough, or stand for their faith when their beliefs are challenged. There is no need to “tweak” the talk or develop some “win within the loss” kind of mentality. I love the fact that in Christ we are more than conquerors, and that He has already won the battle.

I don’t need to concoct anything when it comes to living for God; He is all powerful, and alive and well!

I’ll continue to seek to inspire others with half time speeches, sermons or whatever venue God gives, but I’m so glad that when it comes to God, His power and plan speak for themselves, no clever adjustments needed!

Lesson Learned

Brent Carl - Samaritan's Purse
Regional Manager - Mid-Atlantic States
Brent is a 20 year youth ministry veteran who loves to teach, preach, train and engage with students and those who work with them. He loves to encourage students that God has a plan and they are a part of it!

Brent writes three different series of articles on youth ministry, and leadership development.

• Lesson Learned" - Is a series of articles for Youth Leaders that chronicles some things he has learned as a veteran Youth Pastor that will encourage them as they continue to help students navigate through the confusing messages they get hit with every day.
• "YMinsights" - A series of articles taken from his international trips that focus on spiritual insights and challenges that cause us to pause and praise God for His goodness."
• "Leadership Reflections" - A series of articles that help the reader take a look at how God has shaped them through their experiences to be the best leader they can be.

If you would like more information on Brent and His role with Samaritan's Purse please contact him at bcarl@samaritan.org visit his blog at www.leadershipreflections.org or check out what Samaritan's Purse is all about at www.samaritanspurse.org
Brent and his wife Bonnie, and 2 children live near Baltimore, MD.