Dealing With Set-Backs
Chris Adsit, Associate National Director of Discipleship, Military Ministry

Johnny Kerr, former NBA center and coach, said his biggest coaching test came when he was at the helm of the expansion Chicago Bulls. They had lost seven in a row, so he decided he'd give his guys a psychological pep talk before the game with the Celtics.

Kerr said, "I told Bob Boozer to go out and pretend he was the best scorer in basketball. I told Jerry Sloan to pretend he was the best defensive guard. I told Guy Rodgers to pretend he could run an offense better than any other guard, and I told Erwin Mueller to pretend he was the best rebounding, shot-blocking, scoring center in the game. We lost the game by 17. I was pacing around the locker room afterward, and Mueller walked up, put his arm around me and said, 'Don't worry about it, coach. Just pretend we won.'"

Few things bug athletes and coaches more than losing, yet it's a universal experience. We've all developed ways of dealing with our athletic set-backs, but unless the athletes we are discipling learn how to handle defeat with eternity in mind, they'll never reach their potential as athletes or as Christians.

The day a person invites Christ to into his life, God commences a highly-specific training program to make him like Jesus. Romans 8:28,29 says: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren."

The goals we set for ourselves will be met or abandoned as we move through life, always to be replaced by other goals. But there is one high and holy goal that God has for us that will be Numero Uno on our personal agenda until the day we die: "Become like Jesus." Every other goal we have, God subordinates to this one.

As we pursue our temporal goals, we must never set ourselves up as little gods, pronouncing absolutes with regard to our life experiences. "I fouled out--that's bad!." "I got cut--that's bad!" "My teacher flunked me--that's bad!" "I'm injured--that's bad!" If a person belongs to Jesus Christ, and if Romans 8:28,29 is true, God--the only legitimate absolutes-pronouncer I know of--is saying, "No, each of those things is GOOD. They may not be pleasant at the moment, but I'm going to USE those experiences to make you more like My Son. And the benefits you receive from realizing THIS goal will last forever!"

Might not your disciple's level of athletic intensity decrease as he pursues this foundational goal? It had better not--or else he has missed the fact that God intends to use "ALL THINGS" to make us like Jesus. Even our athletics. God will milk our sporting careers for all they're worth to develop things like courage, determination, discipline, patience, endurance, faithfulness, honesty and the like, as we do all things "heartily, as unto the Lord." But when things don't turn out as we'd intended, we can rest in the calm assurance that God will sovereignly manufacture GOOD from the set-back.

Fred Dixon and I were competing in the National Decathlon Championships way back in 1975. I was a new-comer, and eventually finished seventh in the meet, but Fred and Bruce Jenner were the USA's top decathletes, and both were on world-record pace by the sixth event--the discus. Fred was about the best discus thrower of all of us there that day, and in his desire to capitalize on his strength, he put a little too much effort into his three throws, and spun himself out of the seven-foot ring each time. That meant zero points for that event. Fred was through for the day--and the year.

Because of his defeat in this meet, he could not represent the USA in the Pan American Games. A year of training, hoping, planning and praying evaporated on that third foul.

I walked over to Fred and just shook his hand. I couldn't speak, but Fred simply smiled and said, "Well, Chris, this didn't take God by surprise. He's in control, so we'll just trust Him to work it out for the best."

For years Fred's response has been a challenge and inspiration to Christian athletes who have heard this story. It epitomizes the attitude of cooperation with God in His agenda to make us like Christ.

And by the way, we decathletes petitioned the AAU, who put Fred on the Pan Am Games team despite his defeat, and Fred went on to win the Silver Medal there. God knew what He was doing all along!