I couldn’t believe my eyes, but there it was on the front page of the local newspaper. One of my high school coaches was coming to the town where I was pastoring to accept a coaching position at the local high school. As soon as I could, I went over and visited and we recounted old times. When I graduated from high school our local football team made it all the way to quarter finals in the class 3A division. A fairly good feat in the football minded state of Texas. Coach Jim was on that coaching staff, as the offensive line coach. We had a lot of catching up to do. He did come visit our church, but never joined.
Anyway, as football season got under way I went to see the Jr. varsity play, one the young men from our church was on the team. They played on Thursday afternoon, and I was there early. No reserved seating and I wanted a good seat. As I was walking through the gate, Coach Jim spotted me and invited me to sit on the sidelines with him. You have to understand, Coach Jim’s invitations were more like the commands of a drill instructor in the Marine Corp. You didn’t turn them down.
As the game progressed one of the young men on our team did something the Jr. varsity coach didn’t like. He came charging down the side line like a Bradley Tank in full battle array, with fire in his eyes, yelling instructions to the young man in very colorful, but unrepeatable language. As play resumed, he come walking back, still scowling and casting evil glances in the direction of the team in general and the offender in particular. Walking past Coach Jim was not something he should have done and although it was good natured ribbing, he got the verbal jab just the same, “If you coach’em during the week, you wouldn’t have to yell at them on Thursday afternoon.”
The offended coach made some off handed remark as he resumed his position on the sidelines. I looked at Coach Jim and he had a twinkle in his eye. “I love to get under their skin,” he explained. We had a good laugh. My point is this, as pastors, parents, or leaders of anykind, I wonder how much time we spend yelling at people, rather than “coaching” them. The closest thing to coaching we have is “exhortation.” We are encouraged to do that often, in fact daily. So, the next time you are tempted to yell at one of your "plebs", think, “Have I coached them sufficiently in this matter?” Sometimes it seems like fun to yell, but it is more profitable to coach.
Papa Don