October 12, 2023

Last week, I asked you the question, “Are you a CLIMBER?” Let’s look at Matt. 5:1-2 in the Message again, “When Jesus saw His ministry drawing huge crowds He climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to Him, the committed, climbed with Him. Arriving at a quiet place, He sat down and taught His climbing champions.” The world has its own definition of “climbing the ladder of success,” which includes stepping on others to get to the top, putting money as our first priority, and many times living a life of selfishness. But God’s way is different. A “climber” in God’s sense is someone who successfully applies the principles of the Word to make it to the top and fulfill their God - given dreams. 

I shared with you this acrostic, that we are going to revisit again:  

• C – COMMITTED - They don’t give up, no matter what.
• L – LEARNERS - They stay teachable and willing to learn. 
• I – INTEGRITY - They don’t deal in shortcuts and compromises.
• M – MISSION - They have a purpose, and they know where they are going.
• B – BOLDNESS - They’re not afraid to take a stand for what they believe.
• E – ENTHUSIASM - They give life everything they’ve got. 
• R – RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD - They know that all they have and all they are comes from Him. 
• S – SERVANTS - They know that the way up is the way down. They live to give. 

Let’s look at the Learners section. “Climbers” are leaders who stay teachable and willing to learn. We have a power phrase here at COTR that says, “We are life-long learners.” We know that if we are going to continue to grow and get better as a church, we have to be humble and curious. We must be open to new processes, systems, and methods of doing things. We have to continue to put in the effort to get better.

 It doesn’t matter how successful we are or how many years we have been in the game, we always have weak spots and places we need to grow. Many people think that just because they have experience they know what they are doing, but it’s really only the experience we have learned from that matters.

Bill Belichick, 6-time winning Super Bowl coach of the New England Patriots found out early on that if he was going to be successful, he would have to remain teachable. In 1978 he had an entry level job with the Denver Broncos breaking down film. But he determined he was going to make the most of it. Jeff Legwold wrote in an article for ESPN, “Belichick made it clear from his first day he was going to soak it all in: every piece of information, every moment, every conversation, with an ever-present notepad in hand and an unwavering eye on the future.” One of the cornerbacks for the Broncos, Louis Wright said, “Every time I saw Bill Belichick that year he was writing something down in a notebook I always saw in his hands. And I mean every time. He was always taking notes, writing, always writing. That man wasted no time.” Belichick was a student of everything. He took this mindset into every coaching job he took on and as a result became one of the greatest coaches ever.

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Get Wisdom. Though it cost you all you have, get understanding.” Make learning a central part of your life. Don’t go one day without learning something and you’ll begin to “climb” to new levels!

Book Recommendation: The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam

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God is For You!
Pastor Blunt