Original Entry:
October 18, 2011
McMinnville, OR
From the East I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off
land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What
I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do. Isaiah
46:11
The other day I was
talking to a football coach about his team.
He happens to coach a team that he has an issue he has never seen before. He has an experienced staff that understands
the X’s and O’s of football but his coaches hate the kids. Pre-practice coaches meetings are filled with
malicious comments about individual players.
Rarely do they build their players but wonder why the athletes continue
to fail in the gridiron.
Last week controversial
football icon, Al Davis, passed away. As
the Raiders one time coach, general manager, and owner, Davis was known best
for his phrase, “Just win baby”. I was shocked to hear head coach Hugh Jackson
remembered his mentor with tears, “Al once told me, ‘Believe in your players
more than you believe in your plays.’”
The secret according
to Al Davis is simple. Develop great men and they will make average plays
outstanding. In your vocation do not
look for greatly skilled employees but great employees that can be taught the
skills. Hire the man, not the mission.
Hire the person no t the position.
A friend was recently
let go when we wanted a department change. He was one of the top performers in
the company but was told, “We will show you the door before we will move you
laterally.” He showed them the door instead. Average leaders mistakenly hire
the mission and not the man. Jesus, however, chose the men, and then trained
them for the mission.
This is God’s
way. In Isaiah 46:11 we catch a glimpse of God’s way, “A
man to fulfill my purpose.” God
does not develop a plan and call out random men. No, he looks for the man with “clean hands and a pure heart” to
fulfill His mission.
2 Chronicles 10:9
seals the deal on this notion, “For the eyes of the Lord move to
and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is
completely his.”
Jesus, like the Marines,
is “looking for a few good men.” A few good men are all God needs. Are you one?
