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Check out navigators church ministries.org. Justin how are you today? My friend doing well. How are you doing good. So season two is the season of random questions. Here is my random question for you. Okay. Who is your favorite athlete of all time? Oh wow. Any sport? Just your favorite athlete of all time.

I'm going to have to say Nolan. Oh no one Ryan Ryan express. Tell me why. Why is he your favorite? So growing up I was a pitcher and he was the example for me. He published a book called Nolan Ryan's pitching Bible and I read that repeatedly a couple of times a year at least and tried to apply this stuff.

Yeah that'd be that'd be mine. How about for you? Uh for me it would have been Barry Larkin or it is very Lark and that would have been he's still around he's yeah. He's calling reds games now. I'm sure you've heard. And why Barry uh you know so Barry was a part of that 1990 world series team. I was 10 years old and I'll never forget his leadership in that season and the seasons post.

So he for me he was an all around player athlete. He was on the field. Incredible. And off the field he seemed to lead the clubhouse. Yeah. That's great. And it's a perfect segue in today's topic. If if you guys are our subscribers and if you're not you should go ahead and hit that subscribe button right now.

Uh we are in weakness. Too on our second Timothy chapter two about the types of disciple makers. Right. And so uh last episode we talked about the posture of an effective disciple maker as the soldier. In this episode we're going to talk about the posture of an effective disciple maker as an athlete.

Okay. As an athlete. And he remind us where we're getting this stuff from. Yes. As a matter of fact why don't I read it for us? Okay. Second Timothy. Uh chapter two I'm going to look at verses two all the way through four. Let's do four. The problem is when I get into this scripture sometimes I just want to keep reading.

So uh uh so Paul writes and the things you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses and trust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ. Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

Similarly anyone who competes as an athlete this is verse five does not receive the Victor's crown except by competing. According to the rules. Let me read verse five one more time. Cause that's really where we're going to focus on today. Similarly anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victors. 

Except by competing according to the rules. Now Justin I know um that you were an athlete are an athlete. I don't want to I don't want to shortchange you in any way. You're getting up there in age. It's a little different these days. This is 41 for me right? Like um what does it mean to be an athlete?

Yeah. Yeah athletes right. They're rare rare breed. Although not as rare in our culture right. We are a very athletic focused culture. Um but athletes are those who. Are committed to a particular game a sport. And one of the unique things about athletes I think is that they're they're willing to practice in order to become successful.

And as this passage says they have to compete according to the rules right? So if you're playing a game or a sport you cannot do things are outside the rules because it won't be allowed. And so you have to learn the. And you have to stay within them. But the other thing that's unique Tony is that uh athletes practice so that their skills can come out.

Yeah. And so it's it's skill acquisition that can then come out in the heat of battle in the game. Right. And so they are working to become something not just to know something. And so that's a really big difference um between like an athlete and an academic for instance Right. Athletes are working so hard to practice and to become something so that the thing that they're becoming can come out when it counts.

Hmm. I you know that makes a lot of sense. I've got my oldest son Connor who of course you know he's he's playing uh JV and varsity football this year. I'm at a football factory which is Centerville Ohio sophomore right. He's a sophomore and he's a sophomore. And so uh one of the things that I've been struck by this year and I think it goes along with what you're saying is that he's now working on the finer details of his sport more so now than ever before.

So that when he's in the game it really can show up. So like the other day we were having and this is going to sound weird but we were having a conversation about his foot work when he's closing in on a running back as a linebacker. Okay. Right. And and not in a million years I think that we would ever be having a conversation about foot work closing on a running back as a linebacker like who thinks about never thought of that.

Yeah exactly. But again to your point he's working on the finer details of his craft so that when he comes in during the game it'll show up in a certain way in your interpretation of the text. Is that kind of what Paul is getting at? Yeah so I think Paul is getting at a couple of things here. Um and partially we see it in this text and partially we see it in some of his other.

Uh letters to the churches. But uh the one thing is just that the idea of pursuing uh holiness or staying within the rules right. An athlete is committed to following the rules and doing things the right way. Kind of like that that story with Connor like he is committed to figuring out how do I get my foot work right.

So that I can have the outcome that I want. Right. And athletes are willing to practice that. And Paul kind of references this too in first Corinthians nine verse 26 and 27. I'll say those for us. It's um again first Corinthians 9 26 and 27. Paul says therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly.

I do not fight like a man beating the air. No I beat my body and make it my sleep. So that after I've preached to others I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. And so you know one of the things that athletes do just as Paul is suggesting here is we will discipline our bodies to get them to do the things that we need them to do so that we can win the game and get the prize.

And that's what Connor's doing right. As he he has something that he's practicing and working on so that he can be successful in the game. Um and so yeah that's what I think about in terms of that second Timothy but the other thing it reminds me of and this kind of takes me back to when we were ministering in Asia um is Buddhists uh as part of the Buddhist faith.

One of the things that they'll ask each other regularly is what is your practice? And you know we don't ask that as disciples are Christians. And if we did I'm not sure we would have something to answer. Right. We'd be like uh but athletes have something to answer. If we were to ask Connor Connor what are you practicing?

He would tell us that. Right. He would talk about his foot work. Yeah. And when I was pitching in high school and and working on on my game and my craft of pitching I always had things I'm like yeah I'm working on this pitch. I'm working on getting this one to move a certain way. I'm looking at it on getting it to that spot on the inside corner.

You know whatever it was. I had things that I was practicing and that's what athletes. Right. Yeah. It reminds me a lot uh as we talk about this and I think about. The path to becoming an athlete the path to becoming an effective disciple maker. Uh what what I'm reminded of is the probably one of the practices that I'm working on now that is the hardest for me which is scripture memorization.

Right. And you and I have talked about this a lot um because you're constantly challenging me as a as a good coach or or the disciple maker would write like how's the scripture memory going. And and the truth is is that. I'm going seasons where some seasons I'm like I'm really practicing well. And as a result they're there they're available.

But man the minute I stopped practicing the minute I stop uh going over my notes or going over the scripture or do I have an app that I use sometimes the minute I stopped doing those things it's it's shocking to me how fast the scripture will fly away out of my head. Yeah well it reminds me though that you know athletes work on their weaknesses.

 Right right. You cannot you're not going to be a successful athlete if you just say well I'm really good at this but that's all I'm going to do in this game. Right. I'm sure Connor has strengths in football. Sure. And if he said you know yeah I'm really good at these other things. And I you know this closing on running backs that's just not my thing.

Um you know he's not going to be successful very long right. The coach is going to say Hey if you're not willing to work on that then we're going to find somebody who is. Right. And athletes will work on their weaknesses. And I think in the same way successful disciple makers will identify what are their weaknesses right?

So just as you mentioned scripture memory for me you know for a decade or more now it's been relational skills trying to work on those and become better at those um and more effective as I'm relating to people in the different phases of relationship. I mean if I hadn't done that and if I don't continue in that then I'm not going to be effective in my disciples.

Yeah I think that makes a really good point that there are there are no shortcuts to being a complete disciple maker. Just like there are no shortcut. To being an athlete. And I don't know if you've ever sometimes Instagram's tries to sell me things. Okay. I'm sure. I'm sure it's true for all of us. Right.

The algorithms watching us and all the things. And it's like um you know I'm always looking at workouts and I'm trying to be my body in this submission. And like Paul said right. And and so every once in a while I'll get this like Hey take this pill and lose 20 pounds. It sounds so easy 50 pounds or whatever right.

Like you know or or uh you know on the really good marketing they'll even put the little disclaimer you may lose too much weight too fast. Oh yeah. That would be horrible. Right? Like but but the the reality is in anyone who's ever bought those products and not me necessarily but maybe me let's just say right.

Um there there are no shortcuts. To any place worth going right right there. And in disciple-making you're not going to be able to program or curriculum your way to being a complete disciple maker. Like you know you and I both talked to pastors all the time in one of the things that they say was well I'm just not very good at it.

And and the response is always the same. You're not going to get good at it unless you do it right. Unless you practice. We say it all the time. It takes reps right? Baseball's a game of reps. Football's a game of reps. Being an athlete is about getting the reps and the best athletes. Aren't always the best physically gifted.

Sometimes they are but they're always. The the one who's out there getting the most reps and they're willing to do it. Right. They're willing to go through that phase of not being good so that they can be good. Right. And the other part is you know it's skill development as we mentioned. And so you know it's much easier to know something than to become so.

Right. And so it's and high level athletes the Olympics just happened not long ago. And when you look at athletes at that level or any professional level their goal is to be so good and to develop those skills so far that they don't have to think about it. It just happens automatically. Right. The right thing comes out at the right time.

And you know that's where I'm still I'm still trying to get there as a disciple maker. Right. I have weaknesses that I'm working on. I have things that I need to get better at in disciple-making and honestly that's one of the things I love about disciple-making. Is it continues to challenge and to invite me to become more skilled at it.

And again it's not it's not me doing the work you know the Spirit's still doing the work but I want to bring everything I have and everything I am. And I want to surrender that and bring my best to the table so that I can be an instrument through which God easily moves somewhere. Yeah I'm reminded of uh Paul uses this language all the time.

I'm reminded of what he wrote in second Timothy four. Verse six. He says from already being poured out like a drink offering. And the time for my departure is near. So he's he's kind of calling a shot so to speak. I am verse seven. I fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day. 

And not only to me but also all who have longed for his appearing. And what I love about this idea is that Paul is moving towards a defined victory for him. He's moving towards a defined end zone or defined. Uh play you know he knows what a home run looks like and it is disciple-making especially when we pull back and we look at the context of of Paul writing this letter to his you know I think one of his more obvious disciples in Timothy you know he's writing this to the person who he wants to follow in his footsteps.

Right. And so in a lot of ways it's almost like saying Hey Hey Timothy here's my training manual for you. On how you can follow in my footsteps as I've attempted to follow in Christ. Um yeah I really like that. Right. I'm sitting here thinking Tony about well you know there's probably a lot of people listening that they would never identify themselves as.

Right. So how does this apply to them? And I'm just out of this questions I'm going to put you on the spot but I'll share what I think. And I'd love to hear your thoughts too but um you know I think it's not just athletes that that are doing this. It's just what Paul pulled out and picked. And for whatever reason that seemed to be front of mind for him.

 And we're going to have in the show notes a list of verses where Paul gives kind of athletic striving sort of language that you guys can look at. But really even musicians and artists I mean certainly musicians they do the same sort of practice right? The same sort of repetition disciplining themselves so that they can get the skills that they're going to need to do the things that they're they feel like they're called to do in that realm.

And so whether you're an athlete or whether you would never consider yourself an athlete the things that we're talking about I think it still applies to. Yeah I'm reminded of Malcolm Gladwell's 10000 hour rule right. To become an expert. He is kind of famously even misquoted. He didn't he would later go on to say he didn't really mean it like that but the idea is the same which is Hey if you want to get good at something it requires high repetition.

And I think that Paul poles this example of an athlete cause it's easy to. Yeah because the physical transformation it's much harder to see spiritual transformation because it's not as um it's not as quick right? It's not as defined as like you know watching your muscles go from weak to strong. Right. 

But the truth is that you you spend. A couple of years in scripture and your muscles will go from weak to strong right? You spend a couple of years in prayer and then all of a sudden your prayers will will they'll grow in those strengthen. And not to say that God doesn't value all of what we bring to the table in every season.

But the truth is is you know we're striving towards something. And we have a common ground in mind. Yeah. And you know there's some Christians that might recoil from from this idea of striving. Right. And they might think of well you know God Jesus has done the work for us. We don't need to do the work.

And you know my pushback to that is you know look at some of these verses that we're reading from Paul. You know he very explicitly is communicating striving language about himself and the way that he is ministering and disciplining his own body et cetera et cetera. But the other part is that you know God doesn't have any problem with striving you know as as it relates to the gospel God has a problem with.

Um right. And so it's okay to strive just as long as we know that we're not earning anything with our striving. Yeah. Right. That we're striving because of what Jesus has already done for us and how he's already at work in us. And I love one of my favorite verses uh Tony in all of scripture. So first Corinthians 15 nine.

And 10 Paul says this friend the least of the apostles in the United even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God but listen to this but the grace of God but by the grace of God I am what I am. And his grace to me was not without effect. No I worked harder than all of them.

Yeah not I but the grace of God is with me. So from Paul's perspective he's saying he worked harder than anybody else but then he pulls it back and he says but even that ability to work hard wasn't because of me is because of what God was doing in me. I love the idea that in the Wesleyan tradition that um which I'm a part of is the word for this as sanctification.

Right. It's the process of every day becoming more like Christ by putting down more of what is considered my flesh. And so it feels very in alignment with what Paul's talking about about beating his body into remission and about striving. And it's not striving like you said for earning sake it's striving to embrace the fullness of God's grace and man I'm really thankful for that.

Absolutely. All right Tony how about our takeaway? Let's begin to wrap up this episode. Takeaway action step. The takeaway athletes put into practice athletes put in the practice excuse me to become something athletes put into practice to become something as disciple makers. It's no different. We have to be willing to put in the practice and the action step.

Well Justin and I just want to challenge you. Define your practice. How will you dedicate yourself to it? What does it look like? Maybe take some time write it down write write it down to find your practice get really clear about it. Um it will help you get closer to Christ in different ways as always.

We're super thankful for you and our time together today do us a favor hit that subscribe button wherever you listen to podcasts that way you don't miss next week's episode. As we go into posture number three of the effective disciple maker the farmer. Which neither of us have any experience can be fun.

If we had a farmer maybe we should call him. All right guys. Thank you guys so much. We'll see you next week.