Truthworks

“Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days — you would not believe if you were told!” (Habakkuk 1:5, New American Standard)

“I want you to be chaplain for the University of Colorado Football Team,” Coach Bill McCartney said to me one day, in a way that let me know it really wasn’t open for discussion.  

Football coaches are like that. I once heard Tom Landry say, “A coach is a man who makes men do what they don’t want to do, so that they can become everything they always wanted to be.” That’s the way it was with Coach McCartney. He wanted me to be the team chaplain – and that was that.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, “Motivate them?”

“Of course not,” he answered, “that’s my job.”

“Well, then what exactly do you want me to do?” I replied, not really sure what he was thinking.

“I want you to do what you do,” he said, “only quicker!”

So I was a long-winded preacher. One church member even told me, “Pastor, your sermons are like the grace of God – beyond understanding, and without end!”

And even my own son, David, when he was serving as Youth Pastor, went into the men’s bathroom and stuck a post-it note on the air-powered hand dryer. The note read, “Push here for a message from Pastor James.” Bless you, my son.

So Mac wanted me to do what I was good at doing, only quicker. And he had good reasons. When you are speaking to football players on Game Day, you really don’t have a lot of time to preach three-point sermons that end with poems. And, as I discovered my first day, jokes usually do not go over very well, for these guys are not in a laughing mood. They’ve been working up all week long to unleash the full force of their physical fury against their opponents – and you’re standing in front of them clowning around? I don’t think so.

In just a few short weeks I learned that being a stand-up guy and speaking truth straight to their hearts was the only thing these brutes would respect. So that was the approach I took. Evidently it was the right approach; I was a part of the CU football program for ten years.

But the Lord was up to something that neither I, nor Bill McCartney, would have ever imagined. The very fact that He even brought the two of us together was out of the ordinary.

Never were there two more unlikely friends than Bill and me. He was a hard-nosed football coach; a no nonsense disciplinarian; a dyed-in-the-wool, blue-collared Michigan Catholic. And me, I was an ex-con, ex-hippie, non-jock, Bible-toting charismatic, who wrote poetry and looked for animal formations in the clouds.

He a Spartan; me a Thespian. He a warrior; me an orator. He a man of action; me a dreamer. He a leader of men; me a self-conscious, insecure guy still sorting out what it was like growing up without a dad…or a mom.

And the Lord looked down upon the sons of men, and said, “Yes, I think I will use those two guys to do something unbelievable.”

(Excerpt from pg. 41, Released From the Prison My Father Built, by James Ryle. Get Your Copy Today!)

Note: The attached picture is an arial photo of the first Promise Keepers full stadium event at Folsom Field in Boulder Colorado; there were 54,000 men in attendance! It was only the beginning of the Lord doing extraordinary things.

“When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Every man and woman longs for significance. We want to live a good and meaningful life, to find love and fulfillment, and to have children who will do the same. God placed this desire in our hearts; He wanted these things for us before we did!

We also long for acceptance and affirmation from the two most significant people in our lives – mom and dad; but especially from our dads. For some reason his words mysteriously carry far greater weight than mom’s. But we live in a fallen world filled with broken relationships. Many of us go through life without ever being accepted or affirmed in any meaningful way.

However, we are not forsaken. God Himself steps in to provide us the acceptance and affirmation we need, often in surprising ways. And these experiences can become turning points in our lives; that moment when a mature self-awareness leads to decisive action that unleashes the potential of who we truly are. That is what Paul means in the two phrases, “When I was a child,” and “When I became a man.” A turning point has occurred. This is something God wants for each one of us to experience.

The phrase “when I became a man” could literally be translated “when I came into being a man.” Has that happened to you yet? Have you come into being a man, or are you – despite your age – still being a child? That question haunts men well into their senior years. 

“When did I become a man? I really want to know. Sometimes I wonder if I am. Can someone tell me so?

“Was it when I smoked a cigarette out behind the school? Was it when I joined the other guys and acted like a fool? Was it when I took a drink of booze and drove around the town? Was it when I made myself look big by putting others down?

“Was it when I scored the final play that gave our team the win? Was it when I finally got the “A” that made my parents grin? Was it when I had a hot date and we did it all the way? Was that when I became a man? Did it happen on that day?

“Was it when I pledged allegiance to the flag and fought a war? Was it when I came back home and wondered what the fight was for? Did it happen in the Chapel when I walked the wedding aisle? It seemed to for the moment – if we’re judging by my smile.

“Did it happen when my kids looked up one day and called me “Pop?” Or was it when I got the job, and made it to the top?

“So now I am a man; at least that’s what I’m told to say. But if I am, there’s just one thing that still gets in my way. If so, I have to ask it, and the question drives me wild – but, if I’ve become a man, then why do I still act like a child?”

(This post is a compilation excerpt taken from my new book, Released From the Prison My Father Built, ch.5, page 94, and 97)  Get Your Copy Today! 

“They do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

I have a championship ring. Actually, I have two. One is the Big Eight Conference Championship ring (now the Big Twelve). The other is the 1991 National Championship ring. In the collegiate world of football it’s a pretty big deal to win both. So you can imagine the excitement we all felt at Colorado when it happened. And although I was only the Chaplain, I was included when the rings were handed out. They even have my name on them. Wow.

But there’s just one problem. The rings do not fit. And I don’t understand why. I was measured before the rings were made, and was eager to put them on when they arrived. But, no, they were both too small. Dang!

I stood there in my room trying to figure out a way to make them fit me, but nothing I did worked. After spitting on my finger I was able to force the ring over my knuckle. But then my finger swelled up like a hot dog. I was barely able to get the ring off before it was too late.

Do you know what a drag it is to have two Championship rings that you can’t wear? I remember muttering under my breath a half-hearted complaint to the Lord about this. “They’re too small,” I said. And then in one of those moments that you never forget the Lord spoke to my heart, “That’s right. They are too small. I have called you to something bigger than football games and championship rings.”

As a chaplain I watched a football team devote themselves with Spartan-like dedication to a cause that ultimately, on the Grand Stage of life, is short-lived and soon forgotten by all but those who paid the price to win it. My question is this: if these guys would pay so dearly for that which means so little, what in the world is holding us back from giving our all for Christ?

In the words of Paul, “They do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Shouldn’t our dedication exceed theirs to the same degree that our prize excels theirs? Indeed, it should! (pg.45, Released From the Prison My Father Built, James Ryle, 2010).

I trust you are enjoying these excerpts from my new book. To get a copy, click HERE. Also, would you please help me get the word out by letting your friends know about it? Thank you so much!