Kingdom Coaching

     While considering the upcoming season I like to reflect back on first principles.  As a coach my primary concern is the spiritual health of my team.  I believe the way to accomplish the spiritual health of my team is to integrate ‘Kingdom Coaching’ into my program.

    As Christian coaches we don’t have to go about coaching like the rest of the world.  Many of us can look at a culture that is becoming more and more self-centered and decadent and become discouraged.  We can see coaching in a post-Christian environment as overwhelming or a as challenge.  Michael Hyatt said, “You don’t have to stay stuck in the state you are in. But first, you must own your specific situation and take responsibility for the choices that led to it. Only then can you begin to create a different future.”

     I, as a Kingdom Coach, can make a break with mistakes of the past and look ahead to integrating Christ into every aspect of the program that God has entrusted me with.  God has put us in this spot and at this time to intentionally integrate our programs with Christ. 

    One of the major ills of our day is a dividing up of our world into the secular and sacred.  We have accepted the lie of secularism that it is okay to live a privatized faith.  Many Christians believe that religion is okay for the church house but not okay in the workplace.  We hear phrases from popular culture such as, “Your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth.”  Others say, “Don’t impose your religion on me!”  This type of thinking has saturated the world of sports. 

    One can observe a very pious coach on Sunday morning during worship, but on Monday at the practice field they display anger filled, explicative riddled behavior that looks anything but Christian.  Athletes also fall into this trap.  Many athletes have a hard time knowing what it looks like to honor Christ on the field because they have not seen it modeled by their coaches.  We witness athletes invoke the name of Jesus but have behavior that looks nothing like the teaching of Christ. 

    The answer to this malady is ‘Kingdom Coaching’ or, more broadly, “Kingdom Sports.”  In the Lord’s prayer we pray that, “God’s will be done on earth as in Heaven.”  We are crying out for God’s Kingdom rule to integrate every aspect of life.  We as coaches are tasked with challenging every aspect of our programs to fall under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  This all sounds like good philosophy so what is the practical applications of this?

First of all, we must simply show young men how to be followers of Jesus Christ.
We must develop young men and women that are disciples of Jesus Christ.  We need young men that are COURAGEOUS.  We need men as C.S. Lewis put it, “with chests.”


This begins with the idea of becoming like Jesus Christ - to follow the way of the Master.  This is not just head knowledge about Jesus but is a way of living. 

This is best embodied by a coach that is a follower of Jesus.  Coaches must model what a mature follower of Jesus Christ looks like. 

Paul told the Christians at Corinth, in 1 Corinthians 4:15-16, “For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.  I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”

The best method to learn how to follow Jesus is to imitate someone that is a mature disciple of Christ. 

2) The second aspect of Kingdom coaching is found in the realm of purity and personal holiness.

 With young people today, the flash point of the spiritual battle that we see ourselves in the midst of is in the area of purity. 

I Peter 1: 15-16, “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

As Christians, we are called to live a life of radical purity and holiness.  Many times professional athletes glorify a life of excess and immorality.  Some people, outside the realm of athletics, see athletes in a negative light because of this.

As coaches we must hold our kids to a higher standard of Biblical purity. 

3)  Another aspect in the structure of Kingdom Coaching is building upon a foundation of truth.

All relationships are built upon trust.  Trust is destroyed when truth is compromised.  As coaches, we want to build relationships built upon telling the truth to one another.  We need coaches that speak the truth to their athletes and fellow coaches as well as players that speak the truth in all situations. 

Adrian Rogers once stated, “It is better to tell the truth that heals than the lie the kills.”

We would much rather speak truth to players about their status on the team than mislead them and lead to further damage.  We also want young men that go into society as ones that tell the truth.  Jesus embodied truth in his very being and we are called to be people of truth.

Paul told the Ephesian brethren in Ephesians 4:25, “Therefore having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”

One of the main components of having a healthy team is to build that team on mutual trust and respect. 

4) Finally, ‘Kingdom Coaching’ encourages the ‘dos’ as well as the ‘do nots’.  We want to develop young athletes that will stand up for the defenseless.  So much of what we focus on as Christians is the negatives or the ‘don’t dos’. 

    Coaches want to develop young athletes that stand up for what is right in all situations.  Part of the measure of the character of a person is how they treat those that are less powerful than they.  We want our athletes to have the perfect mix of toughness and tenderness.  We want young people that are tough enough to stand up to the world but not so tough they they become overbearing.  We want to develop the proper mix of both toughness and tenderness. 

Psalm 82:3 states, “Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.”

    We are called to stand up for what is right and to demand justice for those that have been mistreated.  We want to develop courageous young people that will stand up to evil and try to correct that which is wrong.

    As I consider the upcoming season I think it is important to remember what we are all about.  These first principles will come before we ever consider lining up and winning a game.   My prayer this season is that we will bring God’s kingdom rule into our football program.