T r a i n i n g

I Corinthians 9:24-25

What is the value of the training you do every day in practice? How efficiently could your perform on game day if you didn’t train well? What are the rewards of such training? Today’s scripture addresses these issues for all of life.

In the first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul the Apostle writes at chapter 9 and verses 24 and 25, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

Obviously you couldn’t perform well at all on game day if you didn’t discipline your mind, your body and your emotions. You’ve had to exercise self-control over these things throughout your athletic career with respect to diet, running, weight training, studying video tape and more. Expect it to pay off in today’s competition! Win the crown!

What’s more, exercise discipline in the most important areas of life and you’ll find yourself winning championships that don’t fade in importance, collect dust on the shelf or diminish in value.

* This is a devotion I received via e-mail from Roger Lipe from Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  It is an excerpt from “Heart of a Champion – A Year-long devotional for the people of sport.” It is available from www.crosstrainingpublishing.com or various on-line book sellers.

For the last 8 months, I have been visiting a lot of the MMA training facilities here in Vegas on a regular basis.  Over this time I have gotten to know several fighters, coaches/instructors, and facility staff members.  This has led to some great relationships and eventually the opportunity to partner with Randy Couture’s XTREME COUTURE Training Center and the THROWDOWN Training Center, providing them with our MMA Chaplain services.  Through those partnerships, I am able to spend significant time at each of those gyms interacting with the fighters and staff, making myself available to them.  It has been great!

Well, I had a meeting today and starting next week I will have same opportunity at Wanderlei Silva’s WAND FIGHT TEAM training facility!  I am very much looking forward to this.  Just a few months ago, I spent a week training at WAND and had a great time.  I bumped into several fighters that I was familiar with through working at the TUFF-N-UFF events. 

Here is some info for those of you who train here in town.  I am currently spending Monday afternoons at XTREME COUTURE and Friday mornings at THROWDOWN.  Starting next week, I will be spending Friday afternoons at WAND.  These are the times and places I will be available face to face.  However, I am always available by phone at 702-494-8106.  Please don’t hesitate to call if you need help or know someone else who does.  I am also available by e-mail at josh@fightchurch.com for prayer requests, questions, comments, etc.      

Fight the Good Fight!

One thing that I have learned over the years is that life can be tough.  I haven’t had a bad life and have many things to be thankful for, but, just like anyone else, I have had some tough times.  I have had some times where I really had to dig deep and push forward.  For the most part, I am generally a positive person and stay optimistic.  It really takes a lot to get me down. 

If you have known me for very long you have probably heard me tell this story, but for those who haven’t i will tell it again.  Besides, I love it…  Back when I first started youth pastoring in Fort Wayne, IN, a street preacher from Chicago came to visit our church.  He was crazy in the best way.  One day I was standing at the front of the church sactuary and this guy comes running full sprint towards me from the back.  Then about halfway, he slows to a jog, then starts walking, then, a few steps away, he drops to his knees, crawls a bit, and then lays down right at my feet with his arm stretched out pointing at me!

He doesn’t move.  Then, all of a sudden, he jumps up and says, “that’s what you gotta do!  You find out what direction God wants you to go and then you run as hard as you can for as long as you can.  When you can’t run anymore, you jog.  When you can’t jog anymore, you walk.  When you can’t walk anymore, you crawl.  When you can’t crawl anymore, you lay down and pass out pointing in the right direction so when you wake up, you can get up run again!”

Some would say that it is better to pace yourself and this is probably a horrible example to include on a sports related website.  However, the point I want to make is that we must keep on keepin’ on.  Whether you are in a race or in a fight.  Whether we are talking about a relationship, sickness, a spiritual journey.  We must press on!  

In 2 Timothy the Apostle Paul says,

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

This is a guy who ran into some hard times and went trhough some incredible struggles, but he says that he kept on going and that is what we must do.

No matter what happens… keep on keepin’ on!

I wanted to post something encouraging, but I wasn’t sure what to write.  So, I did what a lot of guys do and I asked my wife.  Of course, she knew the answer.  She said to write about something personal.  Right away, I knew exactly what to write about.

Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to talk with many fighters.  In the course of these conversations, it has become clear that one of the difficulties of this lifestyle is finding balance.  It seems that many fighters struggle with juggling work, family, training, etc.  The more time, thought, effort, and passion you give to one of these areas, the less you have to give to another.  Unfortunately, it is hard to have one area increase without another suffering.  There is just no way around it.

Although I am not a fighter, I can relate.  I find myself in the exact same struggle trying to balance work, family, ministry, etc.  It becomes hard to be all you need to be in all of the areas you are needed.  The more areas, the more difficult… being a fighter, a fighter, a friend, a father, a husband and so on. 

Balance is important in MMA as well.  As the sport continues to develop, the need for a fighter’s skills to be balanced continues to increase.  The term “well-rounded” is often used to describe a fighter whose skills are well balanced.  Fighters who excel in certain disciplines and lack in others eventually find those weak areas being exploited.  I have seen so many fighters who are amazing on their feet, get taken down and dominated on the ground.  I have also seen many fighters who want so badly to take the fight to the ground, only to find the ground after being knocked out by a superior striker!

There is also a balance needed at the very core of who we are as people.   I have known people throughout my life that were great people and had a lot going for them in many areas of their lives.  They had either the physical, financial, social, intellectual, vocational or spiritual areas on track.  Some even had 2 or 3 or all but 1 of the areas rockin’.  BUT it only takes one area lacking before everything is out of balance or it feels as if it is. 

I know for myself, I have been doing some self evaluation and deciding which areas of my life have gotten out of balance.  It is our prayer that through FIGHT CHURCH we can help fighters and their families keep their lives balanced!