I coached for a number of years at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. And for more than a decade now I have been a part of the U.S.A. National Wrestling Coaching Staff. At the Olympic level, we spend most of our time going over the basics of the sport. It is the fundamentals that win matches.
The importance of this point was "pounded" (literally) into me early on in my career. My first major overseas tournament at the Olympic level drilled this point home. A wrestler does not reach his peak until about the age of thirty. I was a young college wrestler with a promising future. I was invited to wrestle in the prestigious Padoubny Tournament even though I was just twenty years old, a sophomore in college.
This tournament is touted as the toughest Greco Roman wrestling tournament in the world. Many see this tournament as more intense than the Olympics itself. They call this tournament the Unofficial Championships of the world. It is an unofficial world tournament because the Olympics and World Championships each country can only bring one wrestler from each weight class.
The Russians are the best in Greco Roman wrestling. Often times a number 6th ranked Russian wrestler could win the Olympics if his other five team mates were not there. So unlike the Olympics and World Championships, the Padoubny tournament had everybody. Most of the athletes there are in their prime.
The Padoubny tournament, the whole world was invited to compete, and there was no limit to the amount of athletes a country could bring. This tournament is held in Russia each year. The Russians and Eastern block countries bring more than full teams. Every Russian wrestler with any kind of credential is there ready to compete.
The weight classes are loaded. In fact, there had only been one American to ever win the Padoubny tournament in the history of this event. I was just a sophomore in college competing with the very best. I had no other international experience at this level. My very first match I drew the Olympic Champion. He was from the Soviet Union. He came from Mongolian descent. I was sure he was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan himself. With my lack of experience, you can only begin to imagine the thoughts going through my head.
My preparation for this match showed my youth. All I thought about was throwing this great champion. “Maybe I will get lucky,” I thought. In Greco Roman Wrestling the higher and harder you throw someone the more points you get. I dreamed, “Maybe I will throw him and catch him on his back and pin him.” You see I did not go out to wrestle him. I was looking for the easy way out. I was hoping for a whole lot of luck and not counting on skill and toughness. This was a huge mistake. I not only lost, but I was utterly destroyed. I found my feet flying over my head as I crashed onto the mat with my opponent landing on top of me. As I got back up on my feet, I would try to lock up with him again thinking maybe I will throw him this time. I would find myself once again being catapulted through the air. Luck does not win matches, especially when you are wrestling the Olympic Champion.
The truth is, I know I could have competed with him, but on that particular day, I looked for the easy way. Since that day, I have wrestled many World Class athletes and I have found myself with my hand being raised more times than not. Those wins came from not being afraid to enter into the heat of the battle. I stayed focused. I knew my objective and I worked hard. I did not look for the easy way out. I was not looking for a lucky throw. I would work to score as each point presented itself. It took patience and discipline. In 1995, I became the second wrestler in U.S. history to win this tournament.
The key to winning a wrestling match is one point at a time. It is staying focused. It is having a game plan. If an opening to throw your opponent occurs you take advantage of that. Your job is to stay tough and keep focused following the game plan you have practiced thousands of hours in your preparation for this moment.
There is an attractive lure; We want to see big numbers coming to our church. We begin to look for all kinds of ways to draw a crowd. Big events, big programs, and big promotion do not make an effective ministry. The truth is God wants a crowd in Heaven. And we will see a crowd in Heaven as we commit to touching one life at a time. Ministry is not a crowd-focused endeavor. So when you find yourself in a crowd, look for the one that you can touch with the Hand of Jesus.
If we look to the event, program or promotion to build a strong ministry, you will fall down as I did wrestling the Russian. Events, programs and promotion have their place in ministry, just as there is a time to throw in a wrestling match. But if you are looking for the big throw to win you will miss the battle. Large attendance does not automatically equate to an effective ministry. I am not saying to forget the numbers. All healthy living things grow. If your ministry is healthy it will produce new life. It will grow. Hopefully, it will be a glimpse of the crowds we will see in Heaven. However, those numbers must be connected to a face with a name. You must have a strategy to care for these individuals. Healthy, long lasting ministries grow one person at a time.
Who are the people that the Lord has placed in your life?
Love them. Care for them. Eat with them. Pray with them. Share life with them and watch the Lord multiply your ministry. This is our mission.
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