Kickin' It for Jesus

Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus

This time of the year soccer is on my mind. One big reason is that I am extremely involved in the Northwest Soccer Camp, a camp that we run for our community. In one week we will have dozens of 8-13 boys and girls stomping around on the grass working on headers, square passes and penalty kicks. But we hope that this is not just another soccer camp. So we add a twist.

We emphasize character training. Why? Good soccer players don't necessarily make good citizens or good employees or good husbands & wives. But if we can use soccer as a vehicle to challenge kids to be good people, then we are on to something.

So this year we are appealing to the innate desire within kids to be a success, at least at something, even if it is not soccer. So we will be challenging them with "The 3 Keys to a Successful Attitude." Each day we will drive home one key idea. And then we will reinforce it at the end of the day by have a professional player from the Columbus Crew share how they have learned that lesson as well.

Kids certainly have much to learn, and their path from naivete to wisdom requires much direction. We hope that this camp will be one of those experiences which helps shape them for their future. But according to Jesus, we adults have something to learn from these children. Maybe its their simplicity, or their trust, or honest questioning. So during this camp an interesting event will take place. We will be mentoring, coaching and directing the kids... and simultaneously we will be learning a lesson from them on "how to enter the kingdom of heaven."