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Give me a basketball, a gym, and a group of players and I’ll tell you what you’ll have: a mess!

Give me a football, a field, and a group of players, and I’ll tell you, again, what you’ll have: another mess!

Someone who leads a group of athletes is expected to have a more advanced knowledge of the sport than those they are leading, right?
I have a good friend who is a coach, and she does a great job. She knows basketball like the back of her hand, and she knows how to teach it to the players she’s entrusted with. In order to believe that, all you have to do is go and watch her team play while she coaches and you’ll quickly realize that she knows what she’s doing. She knows the sport, and she knows it well. The result is simple: Changed lives by a person whose knowledge is being imparted to them.

Do you have a coach in your walk with Christ? The truth is, God never intended for believers to be “free agents,” wandering through life on their own without any spiritual instruction. All throughout the Word we are told of teachers, preachers, pastors, etc. that God has specifically called out to teach the Word, and we need them desperately!
In my own life I have several spiritual coaches, and I’m thankful for them. I’ve been blessed to know many great men of God throughout my lifetime. I have some great women of God in my life, too, that have made tremendous impacts on me. 
We need to be coached – we need to be mentored.

We need discipleship. Jesus told us to be part of it as he spoke his last words: Go and make disciples.

I would challenge you to spend some time figuring out who your primary coach on your walk with God is. Treasure that person. Pray for that person. And spend as much time with that person as you can, soaking up every bit of teaching and wisdom from them as possible.
But also realize this: you may be someone else’s coach. Someone else may be looking at you for spiritual wisdom and leadership. Whether you choose or not, you are leading others in their search for or walk with God. How well do you know the subject matter? Are you growing in Him – or just floating?
I couldn’t coach a basketball team if you paid me, and I’m thankful for folks like my friend who can. I have been called to lead, though. Join me today in recommitting ourselves to a fresh passion of growing in Him so we can better lead them, would ya?

That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

Copyright © 2022 by Blake Martin @https://pastorblakeman.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/good-coaching/ No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.