Back to basics

John Wooden is one of the most beloved basketball coaches in NCAA history. He had a record string of national championships that stands to this day. Vince Lombardi is one of the most honored NFL coaches to ever walk the sidelines. These two guys had many things in common in the way they handled their players and instructed their performances on the field of competition. One of the most noteable was this: they began every year with the basics.

For Lombardi, that literally meant starting the first practices of each season by holding a ball aloft and saying, "This, gentlemen, is a football."

Wooden, according to stories, would take it even further, teaching his guys how to tie their shoes correctly and how to put on their socks before each game so as not to get blisters. They left nothing to chance and, along the way, managed to produce champion after champion.

Ridgeview is going back to basics this year. We are putting a stronger emphasis on the little things that matter most in our Christian growth: prayer, Bible reading and study, and sharing our stories of faith with one another.

I am praying this will be a year that we go further than we ever have and give more than we have ever given--all for the cause of Christ. Will you join me in praying "the basics" for 2010 at RCC? Will you commit to pray for your staff and each other? Will you commit to read the Bible every single day without fail? And will you offer to share your story of your personal journey with at least one person each month? (It's not a rhetorical question, people. I'm wanting to hear from you as we begin 2010)