Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

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Be Forever Reaching Out

"Perhaps it is a good thing that you haven?t seen all your dreams come true. For when you get all you wish for you will be miserable. Alexander the Great conquered the world, died of sheer boredom. To be forever reaching out, to remain unsatisfied, is the key to spiritual progress.? (N.C. Christian Advocate)

Jim Otto Endures Hurt

Jim Otto, who wore the number "OO" for the Raiders pro football team, was arguably the greatest center to ever play the game. For those who don't know football, the offensive center mans the middle of the bone-crunching action, on one play protecting the quarterback from 300 pound defensive linemen and on the next play drilling through them to pave the way for a run. His dedication, intelligence and leadership helped transform the Raiders into one of the most successful football franchises ever. He was selected to an incredible 12 Pro Bowls and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But what amazes me about Jim Otto is not so much his talent, but his willingness to play hurt. You see, the center gets hit every play, and Otto took quite a beating. His freshman year in college, he had surgery on both knees, but rebuilt his knees and played both offense and defense the next year. In his 15 years with the Raiders, he broke his nose 10 times and endured 9 knee surgeries. He played with a hip pointer injury, broken fingers, broken ribs, a broken jaw, neck stingers (stretched or pinched nerves), numerous concussions, kicked-in teeth, one eye swollen shut and even double pneumonia in Super Bowl II. With all those injuries, how many games did he miss? None. That's right. He never missed a game, playing 210 consecutive games. In 1972, he tore five ligaments in his knee during a preseason game. He could have gone on injured reserve. Instead, he played so well that he made the pro bowl! Why did he keep playing even while he was hurt? In my opinion, it's because Jim Otto loves football. Although he's had a total of 37 football related surgeries; even though in his retirement he lives with two artificial knees and two artificial shoulders, enduring continuous pain, he holds no bitterness toward the sport and says he'd do it all again. Why? Because Jim Otto loves football. (Three ways to go with this illustration, depending on what you want to illustrate): Persecution: What does this have to do with the Christian life? Some people give up spiritually after so many failures. After Otto signed up with the Raiders, the newly formed team lost 19 straight games. Nineteen straight failures. How humiliating. But he didn't quit. Nor did he give up because of the suffering. One thing that helped Jim Otto was that he knew football was a rough sport and that his body would be beaten. Speaking of his painful retirement, he says, "I don't blame anybody. Every time you put on a helmet, you know ...you were going to get hurt. We knew the score." In the same way, Jesus warned his disciples that they would be persecuted (John 16:1-4). Peter told us not to be surprised by suffering for the faith (I Peter 4:12,13). Church: I'm amazed at how many people I talk to who say they don't go to church any more because someone hurt them or they didn't get anything out of the service - "Nobody sat with me." "The pastor didn't come when I needed him." "Some of the people were hypocrites." Yet, God's Word says to "not forsake the assembling of yourselves together." (Hebrews 10:24,24) If we truly love God, we'll bounce back from the criticism and either learn to live with the parts of the service that bore us or search for a church that's more alive. Jim Otto didn't let hurts keep him from participating in the sport he loved. He played hurt. If we love God, we won't allow hurts to keep us from worshiping Him. Endurance and Goals: Jim Otto endured inexpressible suffering because of his love for football. His last couple of seasons were especially painful. But his wife Sally says that she never told him to retire, because "I knew what his goal was, to win a Super Bowl." As Christians, we have a prize to shoot for far superior to any Super Bowl ring. Our heavenly reward will endure forever. As the Apostle Paul put it, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, be we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such as way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." (I Corinthians 9:24-27) Written by Steve Miller, Copyright 2002. Sources: 1. (Newsday, Special Report: Life After Football (1-14-97, pp. A64) 2. index.htmlindex.html..\index.html..\index.html ; 3. http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/78.html ; 4. http://sports.insidebayarea.com/top50.asp?story=Leigh_Steinberg 5. http://sports.insidebayarea.com/top50.asp?story=Joe_Otto 6. Double-O was football's limping gladiator By Dave Newhouse 7. OTTO PLAYED IN PAIN THAT WON'T QUIT, By Bob Kravitz, The Coffin Corner, Volume X, 1988, From The Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 23, 1984 8. Booklist review

Supreme Importance of Going For It

?You?ve got to get to that stage in your life when going for it is more important than winning or losing.? Tennis Champion Arthur Ashe

Don't Let the Urgent Crowd Out the Important

?Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.? Charles E. Hummel

Four Steps to Achievement

This quote would make an excellent outline for a message: "Four steps to achievement: plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, pursue persistently." - William A. Ward

Asimov on Writing

Popular writer Isaac Asimov wrote over 500 books during his lifetime. Here's what he said about persistence in his field: You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist. -- Isaac Asimov

Otto and a Goal Worth Suffering For

Jim Otto, who wore the number ''OO'' for the Raiders pro football team, was arguably the greatest center to ever play the game. For those who don't know football, the offensive center mans the middle of the bone-crunching action, on one play protecting the quarterback from 300 pound defensive linemen and on the next play drilling through them to pave the way for a run. His dedication, intelligence and leadership helped transform the Raiders into one of the most successful football franchises ever. He was selected to an incredible 12 Pro Bowls and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But what amazes me about Jim Otto is not so much his talent, but his willingness to play hurt. You see, the center gets hit every play, and Otto took quite a beating. His freshman year in college, he had surgery on both knees, but rebuilt his knees and played both offense and defense the next year. In his 15 years with the Raiders, he broke his nose 10 times and endured 9 knee surgeries. He played with a hip pointer injury, broken fingers, broken ribs, a broken jaw, neck stingers (stretched or pinched nerves), numerous concussions, kicked-in teeth, one eye swollen shut and even double pneumonia in Super Bowl II. With all those injuries, how many games did he miss? None. That's right. He never missed a game, playing 210 consecutive games. In 1972, he tore five ligaments in his knee during a preseason game. He could have gone on injured reserve. Instead, he played so well that he made the pro bowl! Why did he keep playing even while he was hurt? The answer's pretty simple. You see, Jim Otto loved football. He grew up in poverty. One summer he lived with his family in a chicken coop until they moved into a house with two other families. Not being very good at academics, football was Jim's ticket to college and out of poverty. In his own words, "football saved me." And no matter what the price, he'd always be grateful. Although he's had a total of 37 football related surgeries; even though in his retirement he lives with two artificial knees and two artificial shoulders, enduring continuous pain, he holds no bitterness toward the sport and says he'd do it all again. Why? Because football saved him and Jim Otto loves football. Jim Otto endured inexpressible suffering because of his love for football. His last couple of seasons were especially painful. But his wife Sally says that she never told him to retire, because ''I knew what his goal was, to win a Super Bowl.'' You see, to Otto all that suffering paled in the light of the potential glory of that Super Bowl Ring. He wouldn't think of compromising by retiring just because he was hurt. He had a goal that had captured his imagination and he wasn't about to quit. As Christians, we have a prize to shoot for far superior to any Super Bowl ring. Our heavenly reward will endure forever. As the Apostle Paul put it, ''Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, be we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such as way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.'' (I Corinthians 9:24-27) Written by Steve Miller, Copyright 2002. Sources: 1. (Newsday, Special Report: Life After Football (1-14-97, pp. A64) 2. index.htmlindex.html..\index.html..\index.html ; 3. http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/78.html ; 4. http://sports.insidebayarea.com/top50.asp?story=Leigh_Steinberg 5. http://sports.insidebayarea.com/top50.asp?story=Joe_Otto 6. Double-O was football's limping gladiator By Dave Newhouse 7. OTTO PLAYED IN PAIN THAT WON'T QUIT, By Bob Kravitz, The Coffin Corner, Volume X, 1988, From The Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 23, 1984 8. Booklist review 9. The Pain of Glory, by Jim Otto and Dave Newhouse, Sports Publishing, Inc., 2000.

Supreme Importance of Going For It

?You?ve got to get to that stage in your life when going for it is more important than winning or losing.? Tennis Champion Arthur Ashe

Don't Let the Urgent Crowd Out the Important

?Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.? Charles E. Hummel

Hoffer on Vague Fear of Wasting Time

Eric Hoffer, the American longshoreman philosopher, who shrewdly observed that ?the feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we ar wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world.? (from Halftime p. 80) (From the File of Barry St. Clair)

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