For the Win! | Spark Talks Week 1

Even though sports have mostly disappeared, they still have some lessons to teach us, even in the middle of a pandemic. Today we’ll hear from leaders and legends in the NFL who are embracing the grind of 2020 and letting God take themselves and their teams to new places.

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    Hey, everyone, and welcome to Crossroads Church.
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    My name is Hannah Shepherd
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    and I am so glad that you joined us today.
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    Wherever you are on your spiritual journey and adventure,
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    we believe Crossroads is here to equip you.
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    Well, speaking of adventures, we're kind of all on one
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    that we've been opted into, whether we wanted to or not,
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    and that adventure is COVID-19,
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    because like most people, 2020 has felt a little canceled.
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    Well, what if there's a bright side?
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    What if there's some good that could come out of the bad?
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    Today, we're starting a series which we do every year
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    called Spark Talks.
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    But this year's a little bit different.
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    We're going to hear from speakers about
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    how they haven't just been living but thriving during COVID-19.
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    And you might just hear something
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    that sparks something in you and ignites your life.
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    - We've all been forced to pause, reset,
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    and reclaim our futures in light of the chaos of 2020.
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    There's always darkness in adventure
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    when you're not sure where you're going.
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    Join us for Crossroads Weekend Spark Talks
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    and hear from people who will challenge you
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    with new ideas to ignite your life.
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    - Hi, I'm Brian Tome, Senior Pastor at Crossroads.
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    All of us have lives that are disheveled,
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    things that are out of order,
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    or at least we're not getting things we'd like to have,
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    like sports. Can we all say, I want a Final Four?
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    Can we all say, I'm bummed about
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    the changing in schedules with baseball and football
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    and just all across the whole thing.
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    Sports are actually an incredibly important part of our life.
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    It's not just a way for us to detach.
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    Believe it or not, there's actually spiritual truths
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    contained in athleticism.
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    There's athletic metaphors in the New Testament.
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    And when we engaged in athletic pursuits,
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    we're actually engaged in things that mirror
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    the spiritual pursuits of our normal day to day lives.
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    I think we're so inspired by sports, not just because
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    it allows us to get away from our normal, same old, same old,
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    but it also helps us to understand spiritual realities.
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    There's things that take place in athletics
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    that mirror the spiritual realm.
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    Today, we're going to talk to some professional athletes
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    who are at the top of their game
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    and they got to the top of their game,
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    whether it was physical or spiritual,
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    because of certain attitudes and certain disciplines they had.
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    And these attitudes or mindsets are seen in the Bible
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    again and again, things like delaying gratification.
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    I could enjoy something now,
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    but I'm not going to enjoy it now.
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    I'm going to do something else now,
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    because if I delay the gratification,
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    later on I'm going to have more gratification.
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    Other ideas like sacrificing for the team,
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    understanding I'm part of a collective whole unit
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    and we all have to win.
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    If we all don't win, then I don't win.
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    In the book of Galatians 6:9-10 it talks about this when it says:
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    We're just not seeing that kind of selflessness
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    in our culture today and maybe that's why we're not winning.
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    Maybe that's why we're at each other's throats all the time.
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    Maybe that's why we're frustrated
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    and we're just not going forward because every man,
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    every woman for himself
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    and no one's sacrificing for the team,
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    for the culture, for society.
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    If you're a believer and you're aligning yourself with God,
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    this is going to be something you're going to do,
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    you want to grow into.
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    It's something athletes understand.
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    It's something people who are getting closer to God understand.
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    And then also just the good old fashioned hard work,
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    just not having faith, but having your faith in action.
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    The Book of James is all about faith that takes action.
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    It says this:
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    Every professional athlete goes into a competition
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    knowing that they can win,
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    but if all they had was faith, that wouldn't do it.
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    They have faith and an attitude
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    that things are going to go their way,
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    but they've also put in the hours in the weight room.
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    They've also had the chalk talks.
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    They also have their ten thousand hours of reps.
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    You can't self talk yourself to winning.
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    Well, why don't we hear from some professional athletes?
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    Because this isn't theoretical for them.
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    This is something they have lived.
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    This is something that they are living.
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    They can actually teach us something about the spiritual realm,
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    not just life, but they could teach us something about God
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    and how God works with His people.
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    I believe they're going to spark something inside of us today.
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    - Hello, my name is Anthony Munoz
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    and I'm a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 1998.
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    Most of you would probably agree that
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    the last four or five months have been a little difficult
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    with COVID-19 and having to make some adjustments
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    in our routines and being able to do this and not that.
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    And I've been right there with you,
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    so I've had to step back, reevaluate my routines,
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    how can I make adjustments?
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    How have I been able to make those adjustments?
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    And it takes me back to my athletic years
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    and I think about training.
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    Training, because I needed to be prepared to make those adjustments.
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    I think about the 4 years of high school football that I trained,
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    the 4 years of college football that I trained,
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    the 13 years in the NFL that I trained.
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    It was not easy training those 20 plus years.
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    And we look at life. Life is not easy.
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    Life has not been easy for me.
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    And I'm sure you can say the same thing.
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    It's been tough.
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    But I truly believe that the training I went through
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    in preparation for sports, it's given me the mindset
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    to be able to prepare and make adjustments.
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    I look at my spiritual life.
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    We have to study God's Word and move into Bible studies,
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    not only in topics of things that we're going through,
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    but let's get out of our comfort zone
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    and learn things that we might not be going through.
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    But let's train and be prepared.
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    I look at what God allowed me to study with my wife
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    and other couples prior to COVID-19:
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    Trusting God by Jerry Bridges.
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    Oh my goodness, what a great book.
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    Not only have I read it two or three times
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    with my wife and I alone,
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    but we've gone through Bible studies with it.
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    Or Put on the Armor by Chuck Lawless.
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    I've been reading all that and all of a sudden
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    I'm faced with all this adversity and all these readjustments.
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    So spiritually, we have to be able to train,
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    continue to train regardless good times, bad times
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    to be ready for those adjustments.
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    With our relationships, we have to be willing to train
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    and lay it out on the line,
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    just like I did in the weight room.
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    I've got to be able to to converse with my wife.
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    Forty two years we've been married.
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    I've learned how to talk through the different things,
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    we've been praying together in the morning, Bible studies.
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    Training, preparation with your spouse,
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    with your siblings, with your family, with your friends.
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    Train and be prepared in your relationships.
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    Lastly, when I think about training,
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    I think about physical training.
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    I'm old, but I think I can still get in the weight room
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    and in the exercise room and still do a pretty good job.
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    Maybe not as long as I used to,
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    maybe not as many pounds lifting, but I can still get it done.
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    It's something that I've continue to do.
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    As I talked about high school, college, and pros,
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    training has allowed me to keep a clear mind,
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    to stay physically fit
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    and to have confidence that I can make those adjustments in life.
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    Same thing when you find adversity, injury.
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    You might not be able to train your left shoulder
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    if it's hurt, but train the rest of your body.
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    If you're going through some adversity in your life,
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    heal yourself up in that area, but continue to train.
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    Counseling, studying the Word, Bible studies,
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    and get well in that one area.
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    And that's what I would encourage you to do,
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    continue to look at ways you can train to be prepared
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    so when those times come, you can make the adjustments.
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    Thank you and God bless you.
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    - I'm back here with Anthony Munoz, a legend in football,
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    arguably the greatest offensive lineman of all time,
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    and where I am here in Cincinnati, just a legend.
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    This training, I'm really hit hard by this because
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    we can't try our way to a deeper walk with God.
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    Personally, in the midst of this COVID-19 thing,
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    my training regimens are off.
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    So do you have anything for us as far as
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    how to start new rhythms, how to start new training,
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    how to start new things?
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    - I think it's just being creative.
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    I think it's, you know, really there's a lot of times
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    I'm sure you think outside the box.
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    I think that has to be the case with training.
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    And one thing I learned in training,
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    I don't have to have a full workout room
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    with all kinds of weights, is body weight, dumbbells.
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    - So you had a shoulder injury.
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    Have you ever had like a pinky injury?
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    Has that ever happened to you?
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    - Well, why would you ask?
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    - Oh, my gosh.
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    - I mean, like, seriously.
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    (indiscernible)
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    - I know. I know. People say mine's gross.
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    I say, "You should see Anthony's." Oh, my gosh.
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    - It's close, it's close.
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    - It doesn't hurt, so that's good.
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    - Well, the physical stuff,
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    the training stuff physically seems to be straightforward.
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    But we're I'm challenged by what you said
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    is the training in marriage,
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    having a workout that you're doing in your marriage
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    or your relationships.
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    Do you look at every sector of your life
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    and do you see something you want to train
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    in every area of your life?
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    - I do. I try to.
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    Now physical training, my training with my spouse
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    are probably the two easiest for me
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    to really focus and get after it.
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    I'm sure a lot of you probably agree,
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    the spiritual part is the toughest being consistent.
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    - Let's say somebody would say to themselves,
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    "I'm not a very disciplined person."
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    I hear a lot of people say that.
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    How would you see someone get started in any area?
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    - Well, when I talk, I talk about choices.
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    There's things that we have to do
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    that we might not want to do or feel like doing,
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    but we know in order to be excellent or to get it,
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    we have to do them.
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    And that's -- I know it sounds easy, but it is tough.
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    And the one thing I share is when I got here,
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    I moved here from Southern California.
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    Running was a big part of my regimen.
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    If I felt like being excellent and I woke up
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    and it was 35 degrees, I feel cold, I feel tired,
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    or I'm going to choose to be excellent
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    I'm going to put --
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    we didn't have all that nice cold weather stuff
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    back when I was playing.
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    - Back in my day we had cotton.
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    Back in my day we had a scarf that my mother wove for me
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    out of weeds in the backyard.
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    - So it's funny you mention.
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    I would take a towel and put elastic in it
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    and that would be my face--
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    But I would go out and I would not cut any of my running out
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    because it was too cold.
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    So that's what I share with people.
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    I mean, that's the only way I know
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    is that I could have felt like getting out of my environment,
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    single parent home, not having a whole lot,
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    or I could have I chose to get out of that environment.
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    - Is there any area of your life that you find
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    specifically difficult to train in?
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    That you just feel like it's hard for me
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    to get traction on this one?
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    It's not like falling off a log.
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    - Easy one: self talk.
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    People think you accomplish this, you're doing this,
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    you must be so confident. You must be --
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    My self talk, I mean, and I ask for forgiveness all the time.
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    It is not the best self talk.
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    I mean, I tear myself down.
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    I -- I don't feel -- and it is just one of those things.
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    I don't know if -- I'm still trying to figure out,
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    is that the way I motivate myself?
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    But it's not good. It's not good.
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    I mean it's -- that -- it's easy for me to say,
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    I -- my self talk to myself is just the worst.
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    I really at my age, I need to really work on that.
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    - Do you have a training regimen to overcome that?
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    - I try. I mean, it's something that I work on and --
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    - Try how?
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    - Well, I mean, I have a whole sheet of self-esteem scripture's.
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    - OK.
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    - And it's like, why-- why can't -- I mean --
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    - That's great.
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    - So you look at that.
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    - You look at that and internalize it?
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    - Yeah, I look at them and I mean the fact that
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    we're God's children and I mean created in His image.
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    I mean, just, you know, all the scriptures of --
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    - There's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
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    - Yeah. And that -- and it just --
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    I can tell you that that is one area
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    that I am so inconsistent in
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    and I need really to work on.
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    - Thanks for your vulnerability.
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    I mean, I feel that.
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    I was a literal orphan. I'm adopted. I was --
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    And part of the orphan mentality is
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    you're only as good as your last accomplishment.
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    You're afraid someone is going to reject you.
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    You -- no one gives you, you've got to go, go, go, go, go.
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    And it -- Yeah, I'm -- I'm --
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    I'm regularly feeling awful about myself
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    or feeling I don't measure up to somebody
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    and it doesn't end for me.
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    I'm just -- I'm the same way with you, Anthony.
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    It doesn't end with me.
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    Crossroads could be going great.
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    but I hear about somebody who's doing something better
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    or something I haven't thought of,
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    and I immediately feel like, "I'm a loser. What is my problem?"
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    Any moments I can just be put in a tailspin
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    because I feel like I don't measure up.
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    And yeah, that's why I'm asking.
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    If you've got tips for that, I'll take more.
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    I think the scriptures are good.
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    - Yeah, I -- I can't -- I can say probably honestly
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    that it's not -- I don't look at somebody like,
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    you know, he's faster, stronger
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    and I don't feel like I measure up because I'm not that.
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    It's just an internal thing with myself.
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    - Yes.
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    - It's just a constant battle.
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    I mean, you know, it's kind of like, you know,
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    it's not like, "Well, he accomplished this, I didn't.
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    It's almost like I didn't do it for myself, you know,
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    it's just it's really hard to explain.
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    - Well, it may be hard to explain,
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    because I have a feeling this is a very common thing
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    with with people right now.
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    I think this is a normal thing.
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    It's just -- it's like a curse that we live under.
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    I don't know if it's our culture
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    or if it's our humanity, but just great, great insights.
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    Hey, Anthony, thanks for being with us today.
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    I mean, having a Hall of Fame,
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    arguably the greatest offensive lineman ever.
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    And actually where I am right now in Cincinnati,
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    one of the most respected, most honored people in our city.
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    It's really an honor to be with you today.
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    It humbles me to hear those words
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    and it's great being with you always.
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    - You know, I used to play football and I was going to go pro,
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    but then I decided to become a pastor instead.
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    No, I could barely get out of varsity.
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    Yeah. Hey, one thing I do know for sure I'm not lying about
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    is God is faithful.
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    And one of the commitments I've made and many of us have made
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    is whenever God increases something for us financially,
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    whether it's our paycheck or whatever else,
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    He will get a set percentage back.
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    We're a tithing church, many of us tithe.
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    10 percent, goes back to God, goes back to our church,
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    or many of us are beyond 10 percent,
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    or some of us are working our way to 10 percent.
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    But we want to be faithful.
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    And whether you have a job right now
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    or you don't have a job right now,
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    I hope we can all remember that God is faithful
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    to do for me things I couldn't do for ourselves.
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    So we're going to recognize that right now.
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    For those of us who are going to be givers,
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    you can go to Crossroads.net/give
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    or you can text Crossroads to 313131.
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    Next up, we get to hear from an NFL running back.
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    We got to spend some time together
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    and I ended up teaching him a few of my moves.
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    - What's up, everybody? My name is Boston Scott.
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    I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
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    and I play for the Philadelphia Eagles.
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    I'm a running back.
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    2020 has definitely been an interesting year, to say the least.
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    And I know there's been a lot of ups and downs,
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    has been frustrations, there's been a lot of circumstances.
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    But I hope that by sharing my story,
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    I'm able to encourage you a little bit
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    about how God has changed my mindset and my perspective.
  • 00:16:53
    And I hope that it encourages and motivates you.
  • 00:16:57
    My mom made sure that I was in the church,
  • 00:17:00
    in the church is just how we say it down in the south.
  • 00:17:02
    During that time I had a great understanding
  • 00:17:05
    of Jesus being my Savior.
  • 00:17:08
    Great idea, but not so much Jesus being my Lord.
  • 00:17:12
    And so playing football,
  • 00:17:14
    I started playing football in seventh and eighth grade
  • 00:17:16
    and my identity was in football.
  • 00:17:18
    It dictated my actions, it dictated my mood.
  • 00:17:20
    If I was doing well, I would feel good.
  • 00:17:23
    If I wasn't doing well, I'd be down in the dumps.
  • 00:17:26
    And what I was trying to do was I was trying
  • 00:17:29
    to fill the hole in my heart with with football
  • 00:17:32
    when it was a Jesus sized hole.
  • 00:17:33
    And so whenever I hit rock bottom, I was feeling empty,
  • 00:17:37
    I was feeling a lost, I was feeling frustrated.
  • 00:17:40
    I realized that nothing that this world has to offer
  • 00:17:42
    can fulfill me in the way that that God can.
  • 00:17:44
    And so I made the decision to commit my life to Christ
  • 00:17:47
    at 16 years old.
  • 00:17:49
    From there, my mindset kind of shifted.
  • 00:17:52
    It kind of shifted because I knew that
  • 00:17:54
    nothing could pluck me from His hand.
  • 00:17:56
    It was all about faith, you know,
  • 00:17:58
    and in a world full of inconsistency,
  • 00:18:01
    He was the only consistent.
  • 00:18:03
    And so now I started to view these circumstances
  • 00:18:07
    and these frustrations as opportunities to grow,
  • 00:18:13
    opportunities to share His love.
  • 00:18:15
    And so fast forward, I went to Louisiana Tech University
  • 00:18:19
    in ole Ruston, Louisiana.
  • 00:18:22
    From there I walked on and I had the opportunity
  • 00:18:24
    to play for four years
  • 00:18:26
    and I ended up earning my scholarship.
  • 00:18:29
    And I became one of the only ones in my class to get drafted.
  • 00:18:34
    I got drafted by the New Orleans Saints.
  • 00:18:36
    I get to New Orleans and your boy hits another obstacle.
  • 00:18:42
    I get assigned to the practice squad.
  • 00:18:47
    It's pretty frustrating, you know, because you believe
  • 00:18:49
    that the coaches don't believe in you,
  • 00:18:51
    the organization doesn't believe in you.
  • 00:18:53
    You're a hometown guy and in Louisiana
  • 00:18:56
    and you're on the practice squad.
  • 00:18:58
    I mean, what going on, man?
  • 00:18:59
    At least show your boy some hometown love.
  • 00:19:03
    Give you a boy shot.
  • 00:19:04
    It didn't happen.
  • 00:19:05
    Again, I was able to view this as an opportunity
  • 00:19:09
    to work on my craft, to get some work in
  • 00:19:11
    against one of the most stingy run defenses
  • 00:19:14
    in the league at the time.
  • 00:19:16
    And then 2020 -- later that year, Philly comes knocking.
  • 00:19:21
    Philly comes knocking on the door, finally my time,
  • 00:19:25
    finally my time to shine.
  • 00:19:27
    So I get out there, I get my opportunity and I'm able
  • 00:19:29
    to contribute to the team and everything's going well.
  • 00:19:32
    You know? And now fast forward to where I am today,
  • 00:19:35
    I'm sitting in a pretty good situation, you know,
  • 00:19:38
    going into probably one of my biggest years
  • 00:19:40
    in my NFL career, 2020 come knocking on the door.
  • 00:19:45
    "How you doing?" Not good.
  • 00:19:49
    And so, you know, it's been frustrating at times,
  • 00:19:55
    but I've been able to focus on these times as opportunities.
  • 00:20:02
    My father had a stroke back in 2018 and it's hard.
  • 00:20:08
    It's not easy going through what he did
  • 00:20:11
    and then also the process of getting better,
  • 00:20:14
    the process of returning to normalcy, you know?
  • 00:20:18
    And with everything shutting down,
  • 00:20:19
    he's not able to have access to some of the therapy
  • 00:20:22
    that he was able to have access to before COVID happened.
  • 00:20:26
    And so now I'm doing speech therapy with my pops.
  • 00:20:29
    2020 has definitely been crazy.
  • 00:20:31
    I don't know about ya'll,
  • 00:20:32
    but your boy is ready to get back on the field
  • 00:20:34
    and I'm choosing to have hope.
  • 00:20:37
    I'm not going to view my circumstances as obstacles.
  • 00:20:40
    I'm going to view these as opportunities to grow
  • 00:20:44
    and become who God is call for me to be.
  • 00:20:47
    And I hope that you do the same thing too.
  • 00:21:00
    - You know, very few people reach the upper echelons
  • 00:21:03
    of the National Football League,
  • 00:21:06
    let alone win a Super Bowl as a player and a coach,
  • 00:21:10
    let alone get to talk to such a person.
  • 00:21:13
    Well, today, we're talking about legends.
  • 00:21:16
    Legends like Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, Tony Dungy,
  • 00:21:21
    and our guests today,
  • 00:21:23
    current head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Doug Pederson.
  • 00:21:27
    Doug spent the majority of his professional career
  • 00:21:29
    playing with the Green Bay Packers, winning Super Bowl XXXI.
  • 00:22:03
    Anybody who beats the New England Patriots is a friend of mine.
  • 00:22:07
    He has plenty to teach us about perseverance, hard work,
  • 00:22:09
    and what it takes to get the best out of others.
  • 00:22:12
    I'm beyond excited to welcome Coach Doug Pederson.
  • 00:22:15
    Welcome to The Aggressive Life, Coach.
  • 00:22:17
    -Hey, Brian, thank you so much for having me on.
  • 00:22:19
    That's -- that's a lot of energy right there for that intro.
  • 00:22:21
    I do appreciate it.
  • 00:22:23
    - How are you doing with the whole COVID stuff,
  • 00:22:25
    and as a relational guy,
  • 00:22:28
    probably having to be a lot less relational?
  • 00:22:30
    - Yeah, you are.
  • 00:22:31
    And that's the part that has been probably
  • 00:22:33
    the hardest to get used to, you know, because
  • 00:22:36
    we missed an entire off season with our players
  • 00:22:39
    being in our building, being in our facility.
  • 00:22:41
    We did a lot of these, you know, Zoom or Microsoft teams meetings.
  • 00:22:45
    You know, that's the part I miss.
  • 00:22:46
    I miss being around the players this spring and my coaches.
  • 00:22:49
    And I think that's where you start --
  • 00:22:51
    that's where you really begin laying the foundation
  • 00:22:54
    for your football team and you start building
  • 00:22:56
    and cultivating those relationships in the spring.
  • 00:22:59
    And we missed all of that.
  • 00:23:00
    But I'm going to tell you something.
  • 00:23:01
    My hat goes off to to my staff and our trainers
  • 00:23:05
    and our sports nutrition people and sports science people,
  • 00:23:11
    and sports performance people.
  • 00:23:14
    What a great job they did,
  • 00:23:16
    continuing to cultivate and build relationships,
  • 00:23:18
    even though we were doing it like this, you know,
  • 00:23:21
    through a computer screen.
  • 00:23:22
    And, you know, it's just something I just can't wait
  • 00:23:26
    to get back into the building,
  • 00:23:27
    can't wait to get back around the players.
  • 00:23:28
    And, you know, it's something that we'll learn from
  • 00:23:32
    as we move forward, even even after, you know,
  • 00:23:35
    after these next few months pass.
  • 00:23:37
    - Everyone wants to be led and led well, don't they?
  • 00:23:40
    Whether you're a high school athlete, professional athlete.
  • 00:23:43
    I find my kids, I keep thinking I'm done leading them.
  • 00:23:46
    I keep thinking I'm done parenting them.
  • 00:23:48
    But no, it never ends, man, they want dad on his game.
  • 00:23:52
    - Right. Being around my players and my guys,
  • 00:23:55
    they want to see authentic, real, transparent guys.
  • 00:24:01
    It's the same way with parenting, with --
  • 00:24:04
    I have three boy,s and my wife and I,
  • 00:24:06
    they want to see the authenticity,
  • 00:24:08
    they want to see transparency.
  • 00:24:10
    They want to see that were real.
  • 00:24:12
    And, you know, even though as dads sometimes
  • 00:24:15
    we try to walk around and we have the the supermen mentality,
  • 00:24:20
    like we can do everything
  • 00:24:21
    and we will do anything and everything for our kids.
  • 00:24:24
    It's OK to to say, "Hey, let's let's figure this out together.
  • 00:24:27
    I don't have all the answers."
  • 00:24:28
    And that's what these players really want.
  • 00:24:30
    - Another thing that's interesting about your reputation
  • 00:24:34
    is I remember before I knew you
  • 00:24:38
    and just watching pregame for that the Super Bowl victory
  • 00:24:42
    that you had as a coach and reading stuff beforehand,
  • 00:24:45
    there was quite a bit of buzz around the faith component
  • 00:24:51
    in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room.
  • 00:24:55
    Is that something that's normative for other NFL teams
  • 00:24:58
    or is there something unique that's happening
  • 00:25:01
    with you and the Eagles?
  • 00:25:03
    - You know, it's hard to speak for other teams,
  • 00:25:05
    but I would say for me and for the Eagles,
  • 00:25:09
    it's how I want to lead the football team.
  • 00:25:11
    You know, I think my faith is first and foremost.
  • 00:25:15
    I wouldn't be sitting here today, obviously, you know,
  • 00:25:20
    without my relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • 00:25:23
    And I, you know, I'm not ashamed to say that.
  • 00:25:26
    And I even said that on the podium after the Super Bowl,
  • 00:25:29
    that, you know, that all of the success is because of Him.
  • 00:25:33
    And I continue to lead my team based on, you know,
  • 00:25:37
    my relationship with Christ
  • 00:25:39
    and how He instructs me on a daily basis.
  • 00:25:41
    - In leading an organization where obviously
  • 00:25:44
    not everybody in the locker room is a person of faith
  • 00:25:47
    or has interest in it, are there things
  • 00:25:48
    that you do as a leader of faith,
  • 00:25:51
    that you think people in the boardroom
  • 00:25:53
    or in their own businesses could do with with people
  • 00:25:56
    who report to them that don't share their faith?
  • 00:25:58
    Any secrets you've learned?
  • 00:25:59
    - I do a coaches Bible study that, you know,
  • 00:26:02
    just invite the coaches if they want to come in
  • 00:26:06
    on a Friday morning, you know, during the season
  • 00:26:09
    and spend 30 minutes in the Word, you know, great.
  • 00:26:12
    I encourage the players.
  • 00:26:14
    The players have Bible studies during the week.
  • 00:26:17
    And you're absolutely right, and everybody's different,
  • 00:26:20
    everybody's level of faith is different.
  • 00:26:25
    Not everybody is a believer.
  • 00:26:26
    But for me, it's taking what I've read that day
  • 00:26:31
    and being able to sort of intertwine that
  • 00:26:34
    into my message to the team.
  • 00:26:36
    - COVID-19, it's upended much of our world.
  • 00:26:40
    It's upended our sports.
  • 00:26:41
    My gosh, how good was it when you could actually
  • 00:26:45
    go to a stadium and you could scream and drink beer?
  • 00:26:49
    And it's mind blowing that us as leaders
  • 00:26:51
    have had to learn new skills
  • 00:26:53
    that we never thought that we would learn.
  • 00:26:55
    I haven't been in the room, in a room with our staff,
  • 00:26:59
    all our staff in a room for, what, four months now?
  • 00:27:03
    I tell you what, there is vision drift
  • 00:27:05
    when a leader can't get with his folks.
  • 00:27:07
    We're doing the Zoom calls and all that stuff,
  • 00:27:08
    but it's just -- it's just tough.
  • 00:27:11
    How are you leading during the COVID-19?
  • 00:27:13
    How are you -- How are you -- How have you adapted?
  • 00:27:17
    - At first I really didn't know.
  • 00:27:45
    I mean, you know, you learn how to do things
  • 00:27:48
    and be creative, whether it's, you know, having
  • 00:27:53
    virtual workouts from our strength and conditioning staff,
  • 00:27:56
    to have virtual workouts with our players
  • 00:27:58
    and be able to put them in pods.
  • 00:28:00
    And they're all over the country, but yet
  • 00:28:02
    they can still workout virtually,
  • 00:28:04
    bringing in guest speakers to speak to the team.
  • 00:28:07
    We're not making excuses. We're going to embrace it.
  • 00:28:10
    And whatever direction we go in the future,
  • 00:28:14
    we're going to embrace that as a football team
  • 00:28:16
    and as an organization.
  • 00:28:17
    And I think the biggest thing is what it's taught me,
  • 00:28:23
    not only as a coach, but as a leader,
  • 00:28:25
    even the leader of my family, is that it's OK to --
  • 00:28:30
    it's OK to take a step back from life sometimes
  • 00:28:33
    and just kind of hit the pause button
  • 00:28:35
    and just take a deep breath,
  • 00:28:37
    just kind of kind of exhale just a little bit
  • 00:28:40
    and slow down from the fast paced lifestyle
  • 00:28:44
    that we all seem to live.
  • 00:28:47
    = All right. So, Doug, this has been a great time.
  • 00:28:50
    Is there is there any anything else you want to talk about
  • 00:28:53
    that we haven't asked you about
  • 00:28:54
    or anything you want to you want to push that we haven't mentioned?
  • 00:28:58
    This is your time to help people connect
  • 00:29:01
    with whatever you want them to connect with?
  • 00:29:02
    - Well, obviously there is a book, Fearless.
  • 00:29:08
    It's a book I wrote after the Super Bowl.
  • 00:29:11
    It just talks about -- it just talks about
  • 00:29:14
    how an underdog becomes a champion.
  • 00:29:16
    And really, even though you're on top
  • 00:29:43
    that's kind of how I tick, I guess, each and every day.
  • 00:29:44
    - I don't think that message of fearlessness we can hear too much.
  • 00:29:48
    I mean, America is not the land of the free
  • 00:29:50
    or the land of the fear.
  • 00:29:52
    We have more anxieties and stresses and fears,
  • 00:29:56
    more seatbelts, helmets, insurance policies,
  • 00:30:00
    more meds consumed than any culture in the history of the world.
  • 00:30:04
    And I'm not against helmets and safety helmets
  • 00:30:08
    and insurance policies. I have them all.
  • 00:30:10
    I'm not against meds.
  • 00:30:11
    I'm just saying if we take a look at our culture, man,
  • 00:30:14
    we are emotionally sapped as far as creativity,
  • 00:30:20
    because we're just -- we're just crushed with fear.
  • 00:30:22
    And I think it is also part of why COVID-19
  • 00:30:25
    just plays right into where we are,
  • 00:30:26
    we're looking for things to fear. It's not good.
  • 00:30:28
    So any time someone's got a book to help us
  • 00:30:30
    get our hands around that, that's great news.
  • 00:30:33
    - Yep, you're absolutely right.
  • 00:30:34
    And, you know, I just -- I feel for so many people
  • 00:30:39
    who have lost their jobs or have lost loved ones
  • 00:30:42
    through through this pandemic.
  • 00:30:44
    And, you know, but as as we say as a football team
  • 00:30:48
    and we have a phrase that we use a lot
  • 00:30:50
    and it sort of the mantra for
  • 00:30:53
    the 2020 Philadelphia Eagles is stronger together.
  • 00:30:58
    And if we stay united, stay connected, stay grounded,
  • 00:31:01
    stay stronger, we're going to get through anything.
  • 00:31:04
    And our country, our country will get through this as well.
  • 00:31:08
    And, you know, I'm just encouraged by that
  • 00:31:12
    and I wake up every day, you know, seeing where I can make a difference,
  • 00:31:17
    whether it be in our our community or with our team.
  • 00:31:20
    And I truly believe that if we continue to stay strong,
  • 00:31:24
    that we'll get through this.
  • 00:31:25
    We'll get through this together.
  • 00:31:27
    - Doug, it's been an honor and pleasure, brother.
  • 00:31:29
    I'm really thankful for you.
  • 00:31:30
    I can't wait to see you guys winning.
  • 00:31:31
    And I'm hoping to see a face to face again sometime.
  • 00:31:36
    - Yeah, I appreciate it. Thanks again.
  • 00:31:38
    - All right.
  • 00:31:40
    - Well, we've heard from an NFL running back
  • 00:31:42
    who's coming in to the top of his game,
  • 00:31:44
    the greatest NFL lineman maybe in history in Anthony Munoz.
  • 00:31:48
    A lot of stuff today and a lot of depth today
  • 00:31:51
    if we understand the source of what they're talking about.
  • 00:31:56
    Anthony shared with me a page of some of the quotes
  • 00:31:58
    that he looks at that are inspirational for him.
  • 00:32:00
    He also shared me some of the verses that he looks at
  • 00:32:03
    to deal with his spiritual self-esteem that we talked about.
  • 00:32:05
    Here's one of them.
  • 00:32:07
    It comes from the the from the book of Ephesians
  • 00:32:09
    and it says this:
  • 00:32:41
    You know what this says, it says that
  • 00:32:44
    you're not who you are based on your beliefs,
  • 00:32:48
    you're not who you are based on your moral choices
  • 00:32:52
    this last week.
  • 00:32:53
    Your beliefs, your moral choices are important.
  • 00:32:55
    But the reason why Anthony meditates on this
  • 00:32:58
    and we all need to is because it says that
  • 00:33:01
    the gospel says who you are, Jesus says who you are,
  • 00:33:06
    and it says God had a thought and a vision for your life
  • 00:33:11
    that you're not here by accident.
  • 00:33:12
    You're not here by random amalgamation of proteins,
  • 00:33:15
    that He knitted you and formed you together
  • 00:33:18
    in your mother's womb, that He's got a purpose for you,
  • 00:33:23
    and that He adopts you into His family.
  • 00:33:25
    I'm physically adopted into the Tome family
  • 00:33:29
    because I was orphaned at birth,
  • 00:33:31
    but I was physically adopted into the Tome family
  • 00:33:34
    and God adopts all children into His family.
  • 00:33:39
    You have been adopted in this family
  • 00:33:41
    and you have a purpose on this earth.
  • 00:33:44
    It doesn't matter what you've done,
  • 00:33:45
    it matters what God is doing in you.
  • 00:33:47
    It matters the purpose He has for you.
  • 00:34:26
    I want us to actually worship together.
  • 00:34:27
    elevates our game. Let's do that together right now.
  • 00:43:28
    Hey, did you catch a spark, a little inspired from today?
  • 00:43:31
    I hope so.
  • 00:43:33
    Every good adventure has a guide
  • 00:43:35
    and I hope you're on a spiritual adventure.
  • 00:43:36
    And we want to be able to guide you and connect you with somebody.
  • 00:43:40
    You can go to Crossroads.net/spark.
  • 00:43:43
    You can click on the chat button.
  • 00:43:45
    Someone will interact with you, help you understand
  • 00:43:47
    what's going on and how you might be able to go to a new place.
  • 00:43:50
    While you're at that part of our website,
  • 00:43:52
    you can also click to receive content from YouTube,
  • 00:43:56
    our app and other places.
  • 00:43:57
    We actually have a customized program for you to grow spiritually.
  • 00:44:02
    You'll get connected with a guide who will get you
  • 00:44:03
    the right stuff at the right time
  • 00:44:05
    and just try to make your life different
  • 00:44:07
    and closer to God over 30 days.
  • 00:44:09
    Why don't you try that out? You've got nothing to lose.
  • 00:44:12
    We have even more Spark Talks.
  • 00:44:14
    If you want to be sparked into action,
  • 00:44:16
    you can go to sparktalks.net.
  • 00:44:25
    to connect with people in your community.
  • 00:44:26
    - You know, Crossroads is a church that is about
  • 00:44:28
    more than just a video a week.
  • 00:44:30
    But we actually want to help you take the next step
  • 00:44:33
    in your spiritual adventure from anywhere you are right now.
  • 00:44:36
    I'm Lena and I'd love to get you connected to community.
  • 00:44:38
    And one of the ways to do that is
  • 00:44:40
    if you chat with us on the Crossroads website.
  • 00:44:42
    Just head to Crossroads.net and click on the chat button
  • 00:44:45
    and we'll chat with you soon.

Aug 1, 2020 • 45 mins 6 sec

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