The Coach's Playbook

A coach’s playbook is one of the most important tools for a team to be successful and one that drives them to victory. Coaches spend painstaking hours developing a playbook containing great details. It defines what needs to be done to win the game, breaking the team’s strategy down into actionable plays. It brings focus by defining best practices, operating principals and establishing goals and roles. Every coach has developed some type of playbook that they live by. It defines, refines and aligns the team. It becomes the team’s mission, and they pursue it!

In contrast, let’s look at our spiritual Coach, Jesus Christ, and our Playbook, the Bible. Scripture says that the Bible is “God breathed,” which means inspired by God. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”

The breath of God is also a name for the Holy Spirit. God breathes upon us His Holy Spirit, through Scripture, and we receive divine power and purpose from it.

God brought His Word to us not just for information but for transformation so that we might pursue His mission. The Bible teaches us the character of God and His deep love for us. A love so deep that it drove His Son to the cross to die for our sins.

A coach goes to great lengths in creating a playbook and players spend hours reading and digesting it so that they can make a difference in the game. The coach uses it for training, teaching and correcting the players. We have access to God’s Playbook, the Bible, and are blessed with the indwelling Holy Spirit to understand and interpret it so that we can make a difference in the game of life. God uses His Word to teach, rebuke, correct and train us in righteousness so that we are equipped for every good work that He has orchestrated in our lives.

Our role, like the athletes following the coach’s playbook, is to get into God’s Word so that God’s Word gets into us! His Word defines, refines and aligns us as Christ-followers. It points us to our mission--to be disciples and disciple-makers. Let’s pursue it with passion!

Take time today and every day to set your agenda aside and step into God’s presence and align to His agenda. Spend time with Him, in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship and in worship.