An Ovation of a Different Kind

An Ovation of a Different Kind

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt was forwarded to me by my sister-in law, Cathy Vining, and it was written by Gainesville, GA East Hall assistant boys basketball coach, Gary Gaddy. 

 

Just wanted to share with you an event that took place Friday night in Rabun County, GA. East Hall and Rabun County were locked in a region battle when something unbelievable happened. A Rabun County player was seriously injured when he landed awkwardly. It quickly became apparent that he had suffered a compound leg fracture. As his family gathered around him, so did his coaching staff as well as East Hall Coach Joe Dix. Several minutes went by as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. As the player grew restless and time seemed to creep by, Sterling Bailey, an East Hall basketball player and UGA football recruit, walked over and asked the family if he could pray for the injured player. As he knelt down to pray, both teams came together to surround the player and his family. As the crowd began to see what was happening, the packed gym fell silent, and you could seriously hear a pin drop. Sterling led hundreds in a prayer that could be heard from anywhere in that huge gym. Even the paramedics, who arrived at the beginning of the prayer, stopped in their tracks and joined in. When he finished praying, the entire gym closed it out with a resounding AMEN followed by an ovation that would make you think someone had hit a game winning shot.

 

The injured player s family embraced Sterling and thanked him for his wonderful and Godly gesture. I had the honor of witnessing this amazing event and will never forget it. I am overjoyed to see our athletes doing exactly what God calls them to do.

Sterling Bailey (East Hall High School) is an FCA leader and has participated in several FCA Camps and events while playing football and basketball and will be attending UGA next fall on a football scholarship.  From the FCA website, FCA values Integrity (Proverbs 11:3 demonstrating Christ-like wholeness, privately, and publicly), Serving (John 13:1-17 model Jesus example of serving), Teamwork (Philippians 2:1-4 express our unity in Christ in all our relationships.) and Excellence (Colossians 3:23-24 honor and glorify God in all we do).

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Unusual Sportsmanship

Unusual Sportsmanship

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt I first read about in Sports Illustrated, I heard about it on Christian radio, and recently a friend just sent it to me through email.  The Scripture is in the excerpt.

 

In the fall of 2008, there was an unusual high school football game played in Grapevine, Texas.  The game was between Grapevine Faith Academy and the Gainesville State School.  Faith is a Christian school and Gainesville State School is located within a maximum security correction facility.    Gainesville State School had 14 players, their record was 0-8, they had only scored twice, and they must play every game on the road. Their 14 players are teenagers who had been convicted of crimes ranging from drugs to assault to robbery, and most had families who had disowned them.  They wore outdated, used shoulder pads and helmets. Faith Academy was 7-2 and had 70 players, 11 coaches, and the latest equipment.   

 

Chris Hogan, the head coach at Faith Academy, knew the Gainesville team would have no fans and it would be no contest, so he thought, What if half of our fans and half of our cheerleaders, for one night only, cheered for the other team?  He sent out an email to the faithful asking them to do just that.   Here is the message I want you to send, Hogan wrote. You are just as valuable as any other person on the planet.  

 

Some folks were confused and thought he was nuts. One player said, Coach, why are we doing this? Hogan said, Imagine you do not have a home life, no one to love you, no one pulling for you. Imagine that everyone pretty much had given up on you. Now, imagine what it would feel like and mean to you for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.    

 

The idea took root. On the night of the game, imagine the surprise of those 14 players when they took the field and there was a banner the cheerleaders had made for them to crash through. The visitors stands were full. The cheerleaders were leading cheers for them. The fans were calling them by their names. Isaiah, the quarterback-middle linebacker for Gainesville State School said, I never in my life thought I would hear parents cheering to tackle and hit their kid. Most of the time, when we come out, people are afraid of us. You can see it in their eyes, but these people are yelling for us. They knew our names. 

 

Faith won the game, and after the game the teams gathered at the 50-yard line to pray. That is when Isaiah, the teenage convict-quarterback surprised everybody and asked if he could pray and he prayed, Lord, I do not know what just happened so I do not know how or who to say thank you to, but I never knew there were so many people in the world who cared about us.

 

On the way back to the bus, under guard, each one of the players was handed a burger,  fries, a coke, candy, a Bible, and an encouraging letter from the players from Faith Academy .   What an incredible act of Christian witness and kindness and goodness that was. Proverbs 11:17 says, Your own soul is nourished when you are kind.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Truth Hurts-The Truth Heals

The Truth Hurts-The Truth Heals

The short excerpt is by Tom Cnossen, and the Scripture is John 8:31-32 . . . Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

On Monday I am going to the doctor because my wife made an appointment for me.  Not that there is anything wrong that I know of, they just say that men of my age should have regular physicals.  If you know me, you would know that I do not like doctors.  No, I like doctors, at least most of them, but I hate going to doctors.  I always have.

I finally realized that my issue with doctors is truth.  I, like so many other human beings, am a classic denier of truth.  I do not want to know, so I avoid it – at least in the physical realm.  I think I am OK.  It is not until I am confronted with reality – you know a pain here and there, that big gut you see sticking out on those pictures, the gray hair, the missing teeth – all this stuff – well it finally makes me think, Tom you better face up to it – you need help.

I see people on Facebook living in denial.  They think they can keep up destructive addictions and it will not effect them.  They go on and on this way and when one of theirs dies a tragic death they say, He is in a better place, or we will see him someday. Really?  We like to think that we can just live our lives the way we want and in the end the Lord is going to let everybody into heaven no matter what we believed and no matter how we lived out our lives.

This does not give me much comfort.  If that is true, think of all the evil men and women you will have the privilege of spending eternity with:  Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Sadaam Hussien – you name it and they will be there if this philosophy is true. The Bible tells me the truth : If anyone s name was not found in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.   It says: Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts , the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.   Heaven is a place where truth reigns forever. No one will be there who does not come to God by the truth (Jesus) and lives by the truth (God s Word). 

This morning my wife and I discussed our work.  I am a pastor and missionary.  I am responsible for telling people the truth.  I am kind of like a doctor in that way I guess (now I know why so many avoid me). I am responsible for telling people the truth:  You are a sinner, in this state you will go to Hell,  and you need Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  Those are the hard honest facts.  I am responsible that I present this truth in love and that my bedside manner reflects the great mercy of God, but I am not responsible for what people do with it.  The truth can only heal when it is applied by the person who needs it.  If a man was drowning and I threw him a life ring, he would have to grab it and hang on to it.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

A Life Well Lived

A Life Well Lived

 

The short excerpt is by Francis Chan in his book Crazy Love, and the Scripture is 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

 

Brooke Bronkowski was a beautiful 14 year old girl who was in love with Jesus.  When she was in junior high, she started a Bible study on her campus.  She spent her babysitting money on Bibles so she could give them out to her unsaved friends.  Youth pastors who heard about this brought her boxes of Bibles to give away.

 

Brooke wrote the following when she was 12, and it will give you an idea of the kind of girl that she was.

 

I will tell others about Christ.  I will go on adventures and change the world.  I will be bold and not change who I really am.  I will be on of those people who live to be history makers at a young age.  I will do everything God tells me to do.  I will follow the footsteps of God.  I will do my best!

 

During her freshman year in high school, Brooke was in a car accident while driving to the movies.  Her life on earth ended when she was just 14, but her impact did not.  Nearly 1500 people attended Brooke s memorial service.  People from her public high school read poems she had written about her love for God.  Everyone spoke of her example and her joy.

 

I shared the gospel and invited those who wanted to know Jesus to come up and give their lives to Him.  There must have been at least 200 students on their knees at the front of the church praying for salvation.  Ushers gave a Bible to each of them.  They were Bibles that Brooke had kept in her garage, hoping to give out to all of her unsaved friends.  In one day, Brooke led more people to the Lord than most ever will.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining