Thoughts from the water cooler
For those readers in my neck of the woods (BIG XII Country), this football season has undoubtedly been a treat. Well maybe not for fans of the Baylor Bears or A&M Aggies, but certainly for Sooner and Longhorn fans as OU, 
Texas & Texas Tech are now in a three way tie for the BIG XII South title as we head into the final few weeks of the NCAA regular season.
I actually took a break from my regular Saturday night routine to watch the OU Sooners murder throttle the living daylights out of Texas Tech. As if watching one beat down wasn’t enough for the weekend I caught just enough of the Old School butt kicking those cursed Baltimore Ravens put on the Philadelphia Eagles. I’m not even a fan of either franchise but boy did I have to turn away as the "game" was simply waaay too embarrassing to watch.
Making it into work Monday morning, a few co-workers and myself settled in around the coffee pot and recapped the football weekend (water cooler chit-chat). At some point we turned from talking about the games and our respective favorite team’s 
performances (GO STEELERS!) to coaches. We were talking about who we each thought were some of the better coaches in the NFL and why.
As much as I hate to give props about the Patriots, Bill Belichick happened to be one of the coaches that comes to mind. Where Belichick misses the mark in having a warm and fuzzy personality,which doesn’t translate to WINS anyway; just ask Marty "P0st Season" Shottenheimer, Belichick makes up for in his ability to motivate and relate to his athletes. Jeff Fischer, coach of the Tennessee Titans is another that appeals to me as a solid head coach, a hands on type of coach I suppose; another one of those guys that seems to know how to connect with his players beyond Xs & Os. A few others that come to mind are guys such as former QB for the Seattle Seahawks and now coach of the Washington Redskins, Jim Zorn; and my favorite animatronics come to life, Jon "Chucky", "Child’s Play" Gruden of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I guess the draw to these guys for me is that they all seem to interact with their players well. I’m not talking about them shucking and jiving on the sideline with the players as if their one of the "boys", no, I think these guys have established with the team that they are the boss (Marvin Lewis?), yet they remain approachable. Heck, I’ll even throw in Jack Del Rio coach of Jaguars (though their record would have you thinking otherwise) and their former coach Tom Coughlin, now with the Giants.
Then, I’m reminded of coaches that just seem to be missing something in their coaching arsenal. You’ve got nice guys like Norv Turner of San Diego and Wade "Figure head" Phillips of the Da, of the Dall… the Dallas C-C-Cowboys. These guys seem nice enough, but just seem to have an overall disconnect between themselves, the team and the game at hand. Just my observation/opinion.
Coaches that really stand out as missing the boat with their teams though are coaches such as Mike Holmgreen of Seattle and Andy Reid of Philadelphia. From my years of watching football, the one thing I’ve noticed about these two in particular is that they coach the game from the book, the playbook that is. Sounds crazy? Here’s what I’m getting at. For those readers that are into the NFL, take time to watch these two for the remainder of the season, and you’ll notice that their noses are constantly buried in their playbooks. Not that knowing your plays or what schemes to run is a bad thing, not at all. It just appears that they carry a very "academic" approach toward the game. I’m often left with the impression that they coach the game like someone playing chess. Sure chess and football share a certain strategical approach, just not certain that it’s the same approach.
Playing chess doesn’t require much personal interaction with your opponent. You’re the "coach" in a game that only requires you to know the capabilities and limitations of your "players" (chess pieces). Your "players" don’t get cold, hot, tired or have anxiety about the next play. They don’t have an emotional attachment to you, they won’t go beyond what they are capable of doing no matter how much you cradle ‘em with love or yell at ‘em to inspire or otherwise motivate them. Your "players" can’t place any trust in you or otherwise confide in you.
I think that sometimes we treat Christianity in the same manner. Maybe your like me and tend to bury your nose in a book, or your favorite blog(s)? 
Perhaps it’s your revered "flavor" of Christianity, Calvinism, Arminianism, Pentecostalism, Baptist, Lutheran,Methodist, what have you. Maybe you get literally wrapped up in Christianity, constantly on the lookout for the latest cool T-Shirt from Kerusso, or whatever the latest "Christian" clothing item is that happens to be "in".
The point is that I don’t believe that Jesus called us out of the world so that we could form little good ‘ole boy clubs, nor to be social hermits, hip, cutting edge or…. (insert your own adjective). And just as He, Jesus Christ interacted with the "sinners" of His time, we shouldn’t and can’t afford to sit on the sidelines trying to play the game from an "academic" and or disconnected perspective.
Mark 16:15
15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.Luke 11:28
28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
Grace and peace be with you.
