Are the Blue Jays Done? Dodgers, Josh Allen Pressure & Fantasy Football | Sports Reverends

Dan: Hey, welcome to the Sports Reverends Podcast. My name is Dan. I'm joined with these two buttes, Drew Martin, all the way from Carmen, Manitoba, pastor, lead pastor at Carmen Pentecostal Church. And then we got the coach. His name's Joel Chandran. Not only a coach on the basketball court, but also a coach in the stock market as well. Future CEO of Train to Invest in the Building. And Fellas, why don't we start this? I'm Dan, by the way. I'm pastor of downtown Toronto, church in the city, and also chaplain for Tor chaplain for Toronto Fire as well. Why don't we start here? How are you guys doing? How's the summer? We had a nice little break here. What are some highlights or lowlights of your summer? The Coach: I'll go first. I'll go first. I think one of the highlights was World Cup here in Toronto. that was a ton of fun. The city was buzzing, a lot of different things to see, do, and eat. we had my buddy Todd come out for the week. spent a lot of money with Todd, but that's okay. It was a good time. yeah, and other than that, the the weather has been great the last couple of weeks. So hopefully summer isn't over. Let's put it that way. Drew: Yeah, I've had a good summer, lots of golf, and yeah. We had a good VBS here at in Carmen with lots of kids. The Coach: Nice. Drew: yeah, and I'm hoping summer's not quite over yet either. But it's I'm looking at the forecast and it's dipping below twenty this weekend and not looking like it's The Coach: There you go. Drew: coming back. Dan: Drew Martin. yeah, go for The Coach: and one more highlight, one more highlight. Dan: it. Go for it. The Coach: We got to see Drew preach live in Winnipeg from Winnipeg Dan: That's right. The Coach: to Carmen. It was it was a great time and hopefully the the hot tub situation is sorted out. Dan: Autism will tank. The Coach: Back bismal tank. Dan: And Drew, how far away from you are you making the seniors tour for the PGA? Drew: I'm I'm quite a ways and quite a few years away from being eligible, so Dan: Is that enough time for you to get there? Drew: I don't know. I don't know. we'll see. The Coach: Ha ha ha. Dan: We gotta believe. Gotta believe. Drew: The senior this the Canadian seniors is going on right now and they're putting some pretty low scores up there right now. So we'll see. Dan: Tough. That's that's tough. That's good. Good for Canada and good for the tour. The Coach: We believe. What about your highlights? Dan: Yeah, I think highlight definitely was our buddy Todd, who's a follower of the show, was here. He actually took me to the game versus Germany versus Senegal, and that was a blast. It was quite the experience of of how this whole World Cup is and and and and and the hype and and the pageantry, and everything was great. So that was definitely a highlight. We also had our VBS, I think the same week as your church, Drew. And it was really good. It was a it was a kind of a reset. for us as we've kind of rebooted our kids ministry. So it was it was nice. I think it went well. We had volunteers. We didn't have any government funding, thanks elbows up. And but that's okay. God provided anyway and brought the volunteers and and we've the last few weeks at the church, we've had the most kids at the church we've had in in a long time. So The Coach: Yeah, that's true. Dan: sprinting across the stage has sh scared me half to death and and I was worried about you know kids dying, but that's okay. They were okay. We're setting up more more regulations. Any other do you guys have any low lights? What was your lowest d golfing score, Drew? I mean like you know what I mean by lowest. The Coach: The worst. Drew: You mean best or worst? I I Dan: Your worst. Drew: well I I entered in the the mid amateur for the Manitoba section and I didn't shoot below eighty all week, so that was probably the low light, but Cooper got to caddy for me on day three and I shot the best round of. The Coach: There you go. Dan: Sick. Very cool. The Coach: Ooh, low light would be the amount of WMBA stuff I've read this summer. Like just A, the fact that I'm reading it and and B, how terrible it is. Dan: I love it. I love it. Shout out Sophie setting the standard. yeah, my low light was we have a young adult that's gonna be playing basketball for George Brown College in January. And of course during camp he had to call me out and we played one on one. And you know what? I held my own. You know, we split the games one one and one, which I'm pretty pretty happy about. But yeah, I was laid out probably for a good week feeling broken after I The Coach: Yeah. Dan: I came home, I I didn't even notice but it like my I had a black eye and it was like just how soft and weak I've become has just been my low light of of my basketball career. But I will say I tied one will one and one. So The Coach: Yeah. And this is pre learning how to play basketball at college, so Dan: Well, fellas, let's get into it. I think we got a fun show ahead. coach, why don't you just walk through what's what happens at the sports reverence show and welcome anyone who may be new. The Coach: Yeah, welcome to all you guys who've been faithfully waiting for the pod to drop over the summer. Hope you guys had an relaxing, exciting, and fun summer with your friends and family. we know we did, but on the show we're gonna we usually have quick hitters, which we're we're changing to a bit of more PTI style. So we'll run through those. And then we got the real talk, which is our favorite part of the show. we're talking about the chosen. So excited for that. And so Dan, why don't you just up with the first one? Dan: All right, let's go. So the LA Dodgers are blank. Start with Drew. The Coach: I'll I'll yeah, sorry, Drew, yeah. Drew: the LA Dodgers are unbeatable. They are very good and they only got better at the trade deadline with Tarek Skubel going there. they have two sets of starting five starting pictures that could be top of the league. as long as they are healthy come playoff time, they will be unbeatable. The Coach: Yeah, I think three Pete. They're just they're I don't know, like it feels Dan: The LA Dodgers are three peats. The Coach: yeah, like it just feels like this is a video game and again, unbeatable is the right word. And I I think what was a few weeks ago it was like, the Dodgers are underperforming and they're they're fine. They're fine. Dan: My word was inevitable. I think they The Coach: Ooh. Dan: are definitely on their way. And it's setting it up for the the big lockout that's gonna happen. I'm not necessarily blaming them. I think they played within the rules or and and and all of that as well. But it's because of them, that's what it's heading that's where it's heading. It's because of the rules in place, that's where it's heading. And I think your guys are right. They're looking pretty good to to three people. When you can tell Shohei, you're not pitching for the rest of the the The season, we'll you're you're fine. you know, you're setting in a good place. So all right, next one. The Coach: True. Drew: The Blue Jays panic level is low, medium, or season over. The Coach: Ooh, I thought this was interesting you used the word panic. They're one game out of the wild card. I think the panic level is is low. They've been they've been rocking. you know, they've Vladdy's decided to hit the ball a little bit, which is nice. And I I think I think my heart of hearts hopes they squeak into the wild card. Dan: Yeah, I think the panic is medium with all the injuries and then having the the night Dylan Sees had yesterday. He's our are supposed to be our bread and butter and our our safety net and and the velocity wasn't there and it was it was a nasty, nasty five five runs given up. So it's a little bit closer to medium, I think. I think it's it's getting down. I think it's under twenty games left and And they gotta be able to put some wins together and and keep keep keep it alive here. So I think it's at it's not as easy as it looks. Th there's like five teams there that are a game off, so Drew: Yeah, I don't I don't think there's any panic level right now. I think the Blue Jays Dan: Ooh. The Coach: Mm-hmm. Drew: front office is sort of phoned in this season, so maybe we can go with season over. if they get to the wild card, that's a bonus, but I think they're really setting their team up for the years to come. I I actually like the moves they made at the deadline. they basically just got a younger version of Gaussman at the at the deadline with Soriano. I think he's gonna be good and yeah, I I like Akamoto. It's been good this year. It's been better than Bachet for sure. but Dan: Mm. Drew: yeah, this season with how good the AL East is, it's I I think the season. The Coach: Fair enough, fair enough. Josh Allen is under the most pressure in the NFL, yay or nay. Drew: I think for sure he's under the most pressure. it's it's between it's between him and Lamar Jackson, I think. every year we sort of say it. but I think yeah, Josh Allen needs to go out there and and prove that he is the best I think he's the best quarterback in football and he needs to prove that. Dan: Yeah, I was gonna say Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and putting Joe Burrow in there too. They're all under that pressure. I I put them kind of on the equal level and they gotta prove it. They gotta prove it and take a next step. Who's gonna take the next step? And I think all three teams are really set up to give themselves a shot. I don't think they they really addressed a lot of their weaknesses from from last season to this season. So we'll see. We'll see. The Coach: Yeah, I will agree with that Josh Allen is not only under the most pressure in the NFL, but the most pressure for me because he's my fantasy quarterback and I need to perform, need to run deep. but yeah, Buffalo has been kinda on the cusp for half a decade plus now. And you got it can only be a bridesmaid so often before you get blown up and team gets redirected to something else, right? So He's got to pull the rabbit out of the hat. He's got to make sure that this is the year that Buffalo not only gets to the final game, but wins the final game. a lot of different factors coming up against him. But yeah, I think I agree with you guys. Not only is it Lamar, but Joe Burrow as well. But at least Lamar's got a rank. Dan: Well, yeah. Okay. we had Andrew Enns win our league last year. I was just looking at that, right? Andrew Enns The Coach: Yeah. Dan: won our league and then coach, you came second. I think I finished third. And Drew, you gotta pick it up, all right? You're you gotta turn it around. Drew: Yeah, I'm I'm notoriously bad at fantasy football. So yeah. Dan: I didn't know The Coach: That's fair. Dan: that. I thought you were always good. Drew: No, always bad. Dan: But this year I think your team's looking okay. You've sure you got some you got some Drew: It's not. It's really not. Dan: pieces. I'm trying to give you some hope here, okay? Come on. The Coach: He's a realist, we all know this. Dan: The NFL team ready to make the biggest leap this year is The Coach: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That whole division sucks. That whole division is terrible. But I think Baker Mayfield is playing for a contract. And I think he's gonna go guns, guns out, lights out. I think he's gonna have a good year. And so yeah, the Bucks back in the playoffs, maybe. Leading leading that division. Drew: Yeah, I'm I'm sorta thinking along the same lines. I I'm gonna take the Jags. The Coach: Mm. Drew: for the same reason they're sort of in a bad division. I was gonna go Broncos, but they I think they kind of overachieved last year, but I I do like the way Sean Payton is running that team. But Jaguars, I think Trevor Lawrence is finally gonna have the breakout year we've all been waiting for. And not just because he's my fantasy quarterback in The Coach: Yeah. Drew: three out of five of my leagues, so I'm gonna need him to step up. Dan: Guys, this is set up for one team and one team only. The delusion The Coach: my gosh. Dan: every offseason is a little more unrealistic. But this year, the delusion I think is realistic. It is the Dallas Cowboys. They're going to have a defense that's going to be a top half of the league, and their offense is top notch. They're going to be they're going to be nasty this year. And we're going to see the I I think the biggest fall off is actually going to be the. The Eagles this year. There's so much hype around the Eagles. Jalen Hurts with without AJ Brown and and and this The Coach: Yeah. Dan: we'll we'll see how he does. We'll see how he does. I know they picked up the rookie Makai Lemon and stuff like that, but I don't think he's as great as everyone says he is. But that could be a bias. Drew: my turn. Tua Tugavalua in Atlanta will be a comeback story or a failed experiment? Dan: I think without a question or a doubt, failed experiment. It's have you guys seen him in training camp? He The Coach: Yeah. Dan: not only he looks now, he also looks chunky on top of it. All right, like, The Coach: Yeah. Dan: come on, man. This is like you gotta be able to run, you gotta be able to avoid getting hit to a and now you're in Atlanta and it's gonna be a it's gonna be a tough one. I hope he just dumped passes to Bijan every other play kind of thing and and just The Coach: Yeah, well. Dan: just stay. I really want him to stay healthy, but I just I don't think it's gonna work. The Coach: I mean, James Harden in Houston got a little chunky, had the ladies, Atlanta, pretty much the same thing. So Tuba, bruh. I I mean, I'm he's got a contract, made some money. I don't think we're gonna be seeing any sort of redemption movie being made by Disney in twenty years by now. this is gonna be a failed experiment. He's gonna bounce around the league. And yeah. It's it's not a good look for Atlanta. Drew: It sort of feels like a Marcus Mariota type story The Coach: Mm. Drew: where everywhere he goes there's sort of a flash in the pan and and then it which is sad because I think Atlanta has a very good team other than quarterback. Like they haven't they have offensive weapons, they've got The Coach: Yeah. Drew: a pretty good defense and yeah, th I just don't think their quarterback play is up up to par even with Michael Penix. I I I don't think anyone in there is gonna do very well. yeah, it's gonna be a failed experiment, but I am cheering for the comeback story. The Coach: That's nice of you. did you guys see that Pennock said he's just not ready? Dan: I didn't. The Coach: And that's okay. I Drew: Yeah. The Coach: thought I saw a clip where you just said he's not where he's not where he wants to be. That's where they're starting to us. So that's kind of weird. Dan: Maybe health wise, I don't know. The Coach: maybe. I don't know. I didn't, I was just like, well, you guys are done. Anyways, regardless. All right, all right. Week one coming up. I clearly thought it was the wrong football season starting we're talking about. So I wore my soccer jersey. But week one coming up. What is the game that you cannot miss? Drew, what's your what why don't you start us off? Drew: Well, I think there's a lot of good games starting off the year, but I think I'll go to Monday night Broncos and Chiefs. I think that will be a good showdown of the AFC West. I think that's the best division in football right now. And I'm excited to see if the Chiefs are back to dominant or if the Broncos are gonna be the new kings of that division. Dan: It is funny how the feel is there the Mahomes, the counting out of Mahomes is just like so sky high right now. I'm just a little surprised by that by media. But The Coach: Yeah. Dan: I think the Thursday nighter down under in Australia in Melbourne, San The Coach: Yeah. Dan: Fran versus LA is gonna be the clash of the Titans out there. That's gonna be a lot of fun. So I'm excited for Thursday night. Drew: Is Donald that The Coach: That was Drew: early? Or is he Dan: Donald is not officially not r playing week one, Thursday The Coach: Yeah. Dan: night. The Coach: That was my game of the week. A because I'm a Forty Niners fan. B it's cool to have a game in Melbourne. But I will I will say this. I will find something else. I think Green Bay and the Vikings could also be a fun one to watch. Opening up a week one with a big division like that, is always fun. Gets the gets the crowd going, gets the the juices flowing. And I know many a chicken wing will be eaten this week one on Sundays and into Monday nights. Dan: You know, we have our sports driver in Survivor League. I think this week one is actually pretty tough. If you aren't there's not that many, I think for sure games. So it could be a lot of L people eliminated week one. So we're I think we have almost 20 people signed up already. You're all more than welcome to sign up. Link will be in the YouTube description. The Coach: So because I love NFL's football so much, but have no time, I decided to take a risk with my survivor pick. And I picked the Cowboys because I'm like pretty sure they're gonna lose week one. So Dan: Jackson Dart Cam Scataboo is gonna take him down. Drew: I think there are some for sure games in there, but The Coach: Yeah, I think so too. Dan: There is I know there are some, but not many. There's a Yeah, that's a good one. That's Drew: Lions over Saints is a pretty pretty easy lot. The Coach: Ha ha ha. Dan: that's a good one. I think that's the one I took. The Coach: Yeah. Dan: Because I always do this. I always try to say, I'm gonna pick a good pick and I'm gonna take the Texans to win. And they always drop the ball for me in like two weeks into my Survivor League. So I'm gonna s we're The Coach: I I think last year we got ripped up the first week. Dan: I'm gonna like play it so safe this year as as as much as I can. Drew: But I will say this, week one there is always a big upset. And but that's Dan: True. Drew: the only one that looks like it would be an upset. Right? Like every other game looks like, this could go like these are good games. The Coach: Yeah. Close, yeah. Either way. Yeah. Dan: Totally. Totally. Totally. So. All right, fellas. That's lots of fun. Love talking sports with you guys. If you guys have any comments of how we were wrong or how we were right, let us know. And we'll love to talk more sports as the year goes on. It's the twenty-six, twenty-seven season, boys. It's fun. We're having fun. Coach But well before we go to the real talk, why don't you handle some business and The Coach: All right, handling some business. All right. for those of you who don't know, one of the main sponsors of the show is Train to Invest. we are a company who looks to cut out the middleman and teach you how to trade in the stock market. Whether you're saving for your kids' retirement, maybe a wedding, or maybe you're purchasing a little boat for retirement, maybe hitting the hitting the hitting the shores and going fishing. Whatever it is, we are here to help you achieve your financial goals and future by learning a skill set that doesn't need a little black box to give you the answers. So if you are looking for answers on what is a RESP or TFSA or how exactly management expense ratios are killing your portfolio, check us out at www.train the number two invest dot com. That's trained to invest dot com. Download our free ebook and get in contact with us so we can see how you can benefit from what we're teaching. Dan: Awesome. Awesome. Me and Coach are gonna be at a golf tournament, Drew. The Coach: Yeah. Dan: On September 14th, we are not golfing. Thank the Lord. We are The Coach: Uh-huh. Dan: being sponsoring the whole with Train to Invest. And I found my t shirt that says Train to Invest on it. I was stressed out about that because Coach was getting on my case. But hope The Coach: Just a little bit. Dan: hopefully we can make some sales and and and have some fun on the golf course. There's a nice course in what's it called there? It's a different it's not Deerhurst, it's Right near Deerhurst, Ontario. Somewhere out there. Yeah, it'll it'll The Coach: It's on the tip of my tongue. It's on the tip of my tongue. Dan: come to kind of get to me. Fellas, it's time for some real talk. It's the best part of the show. It's the most meaningful part of the show. even though we love sports, we love our faith even more. And sports has played a huge role for us. And today our our our subject is called Chosen, our title's called Chosen, and and we've just had millions of people have their fantasy drafts as they prepare for the football season. As it debuts tonight, we're gonna release, we're recording on Tuesday night, but this releases on Wednesday afternoon, 12 o'clock every week. And the NFL season starting on a Wednesday is wild, and everyone's gonna have their teams ready. They've had their projections for each player, so looking at the waiver wires, and and they wanted hopefully they got who they wanted in their draft. You know, there's something powerful about being chosen. You know, most of us actually spend our lives trying to be chosen. More than what we could really ever admit, you know, like chosen for a team or for a job or for an opportunity, chosen by the person we love, chosen by the people whose approval matters to us. And we're overlooked enough times that something begins to happen. If you're overlooked enough times, something begins to happen inside of us. You know, we cut we become hesitant and we make ourselves smaller. We stop taking risks. We start assuming that what we carry doesn't matter. I was gonna ask you guys a question. Have you ever been picked last for any kind of sports or even a game or anything like that? The Coach: From kindergarten Dan: Be honest. The Coach: to grade eighth, every single sport, every single time. Dan: Nice. Very, very honest right there. Good. Drew, have you ever been picked last? Drew: I I don't wanna sound cocky, but no. I don't think Dan: Ha ha ha. Drew: I have. Dan: I was I was The Coach: Yeah. Dan: thinking about it. I was like, I've never been picked last before either. But then I remembered. So a bunch of of guys got together to play hockey and this is on ice where hockey's played. And the first time they were they were a few years younger than me. So the first time when they're making teams and and and all that, they they assumed I was gonna be decent. You know, I'm little bit older, you know, and and it looked like I knew what I was doing. So I wasn't picked last, I was like mid-range. Then after the first time we played then the the next day comes by, I was definitely pick last from all these kids that are younger than me where they're skating circles around me. they all played like triple A hockey. So they're using me basically as a pylon. And my biggest highlight though was they they you're supposed to hit the the bars, right? So they banked a a shot off my shin and hit a bar and counted as a goal for me. So I was happy about that. And but that was that was time to pick last. It was like I think it was the first time. I was ever picked last which I didn't like at all. You know, in scripture Jesus says, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit. That's John 15, 16. You know, Jesus was looking at his followers and says, I chose you. Not because you had the best stats or you didn't have any weaknesses, not because you're the obvious first round pick. I chose you, I chose ordinary people, imperfect people, overlooked people. And then he gives us a purpose Greater than ourselves. No, here's the challenging part. Some of us love being chosen, but we actually resist being sent. We love hearing that God has a plan for us, but we hesitate when the plan requires courage. And we say we're chosen, but we live like we're waiting for permission. You know, we say we follow Jesus, but when the crowd moves in another direction, we become quiet and cautious and afraid. So maybe the question simply isn't. I am am I chosen? I think the the question we need to ask ourselves is, am I living like someone who has been chosen? Well, that's our intro. Let's pass it over to Drew to kick us off for some questions. Drew: Yeah, our our first question is are you living chosen or are you still auditioning? It it it is possible to believe that God loves you while still living desperate for everyone else's approval. You know, you adjust your personality depending on the room, you question your value when someone overlooks you, you allow likes, opportunities, titles, and other people's opinions to determine whether you feel significant. But if Jesus has already chosen you, why are you still Auditioning for people who were never meant to define you. Knowing that you are chosen should not make you arrogant, but it should make you feel secure. You don't have to prove that you belong. You don't have to become someone else to be valuable. You don't have to let rejection rewrite what God has already said about you. So our question for ourselves and the people listening: where in your life are you still allowing the approval or rejection of others? pe of other people to determine how you see yourself. The Coach: Yeah, that's a that's a very vulnerable question. And I think an easy example I can give you guys is at work. You think, hey, I gotta hit this meeting, I gotta showcase whatever I'm talking about, I gotta get approval from not only people in in my department but other departments. And one of the things that often gets talked about at, you know, higher levels of of of Of management is what is your perception across the business? And and that that drive to do better, to be better, can kind of sink in and be like, okay, so-and-so doesn't know me yet. I gotta make sure they know me, or this person has a bad perception, gotta flip that around. And in reality, it's like, yes, your work is important. Yes. producing excellent and high-quality work and doing those things are very important. But a paycheck doesn't Make or break who you are as a person. It's just it's means to an end. And if you focus on you know following what God has planned for you and following the precepts of the Bible, those things will be taken care of. Like your bills will be taken care of, your promotion, all this stuff, your value and who you are is not tied to the nine to five you work. Because That's not where God wants you to derive your value. And He chose you. Not just to be, for example, I'm I'm a manager at Bison. He didn't choose me to be a manager at Bison. He chose me to be a child of God. And that's so much more valuable, so much more in depth, and so much more life-encompassing than just what I do to generate funds. So Even if you're not giving that promotion or if you fear feel like you've been disabused at work, it it it's okay because God has already written something out for you. He's already chosen you. And if the creator of everything has said, Hey, I want you to be my son and daughter, who am I to say that's not good enough? Dan: Yeah, it's really good. Really good. you know, in pastoring, I think this is something you kind of have to think about alm almost regularly, where, you know, I feel like even before you step on stage, you are are being judged and thought of and having different opinions thought about you before you even step on stage. And and even if you have a great Sunday and you got 30 people that say, great job, Pastor, good message. And you have that one person say, well, you were off today, or or something along those lines, you know, it still cuts through and hurts. But at the end of the day, it's about kind of reframing your thinking, saying, Am I performing for these people or am I honoring the Heavenly Father, our Heavenly Father? Right. I'm my audience is an audience of one, and I want to go and be serving and and sharing what God has put on my heart, whether it cuts deep or whether it gets lots of of of good feedback. You wanna serve the and and be honest with with how you're supposed to share. And I think last Sunday the the passage we were going through was really talking about how how Jesus, you know, we get this picture of Jesus as this like s almost as a soft and and cuddly kind of guy, but really he was confrontational and he spoke in truth. He he he stirred it up and mixed it up. He was tough. He was strong. He was a carpenter. he wasn't weak and he wasn't was wasn't soft really at all. He he can be kind and loving. Of course he's that's how we're called to be, but he still stood up and was strong and and I think that's what we're called to do. No matter what you know people's opinions are we gotta stand strong in the faith and and not back down. Drew: Yeah, I think I again I'm I'm coming from a pastor role and I'm I'm still learning how to be, you know, the lead pastor. And I actually got a reality check this this past month. It was something just simple of like whether we were gonna meet or not. And I you know, I'm sort of dancing around like, who is there anyone on our leadership team that really wants to meet? And and finally someone just said, You need to make the decision. You're God has The Coach: Hm. Drew: put you as the leader. Stop stop trying to take polls on everything and there's some things I you know I just need to step up and make decisions about. yeah, but I'm I'm still caught in that, I don't want to make anyone mad if they really had their heart set on it. You know, but there are those situations when God has placed us in these roles where we do have like the lead is in the title. So there's sometimes I have to just step up and make decisions that might not always be popular with everyone, but I have to be secure in the fact that God has put me in this position and learn to live with that. The Coach: Yeah, good stuff. Good stuff. question number two is fear made your faith too quiet. Jesus never allowed the crowd to determine his convictions. He spoke truth when it was unpopular, he confronted hypocrisy when it was powerful, he defended people others wanted to condemn. He continued toward the cross even when his closest friends didn't understand. Jesus was bold, but he wasn't cruel. His boldness wasn't driven by ego, anger. or desire to win arguments. It came from knowing who he was, knowing who had sent him, and loving people enough to tell them the truth. And that confronts us. Have we become so afraid of offending people that we no longer say what we believe? Have we confused following Jesus with simply being polite, agreeable, and accepted by everyone? There's a difference between being unnecessarily offensive and faithfully standing for something. Bold faith doesn't look for a fight. Let me let me say that again. Bold faith doesn't look for a fight, but it does also doesn't run from one when truth, justice, or someone's well being is at stake. Where has fear caused you to become silent, shrink back, or compromise what you know is right? Jang, do you what do you what do you think? Dan: Yeah, I don't know if there's like a tangible example. I think it's been a growing process where I've been strengthened in my faith and and been a little bit more bold along the way. you know, maybe it's even similar to even Drew's last example where where there's different groups that I should have been a little bit more strong in, but and said, you know, this is the kind of the vision. I want you guys to follow the vision. and and I didn't want to disrupt what was going on, what looked good. And and when it really when I should have stepped in and I look back on it, so I should have stepped in and I should have shared this vision. I should have been stronger on it and it would have helped in the long run. But because I didn't, it it it went bad actually. So there's a few times where it's like that, where it's it's when I didn't want to cause offense, especially within church circles. I didn't want to offend the body and and sometimes we're we're called to just be strong and take a standpoint where we need to, where I I where that's a place where I need to grow. Drew: Yeah, I think it's very connected to the to the first question or the first question about worrying about what other people think when you do take unpopular stance and and yeah, there's there's definitely fear that comes in there of what are people gonna think and say about me. I remember even during during COVID when we were deciding what to do with our services and stuff like that, it you know, you're you weren't gonna make everyone happy. There was some people The Coach: Mm. Drew: thinking I was doing too much, some people th thought I was doing too little. But yeah, yeah definitely it's a it's a process of overcoming that fear because we're secure in who has called us to do what we're supposed to do and relying on him. And yeah, I I just sat down with a couple of young adults last week. They want to do a prayer walk here in Carmen and and they're just like excited on fire about their faith. And you know, I'm I'm sitting there thinking like this is something I would never want to do. Just like walk up to people's The Coach: Yeah. Drew: doors and knock on and they're coming to me for advice. And my inside I'm like, I wouldn't even do this. So I don't know what advice to give you guys. But I think it is it's something that you you just need to be able to be confident in. And if we believe that Jesus is our savior, then we shouldn't be ashamed of that or embarrassed or scared of Telling people about it. The Coach: Yeah, I think it it's interesting because as you become more experienced in life things, you you get to the point where some of the stuff doesn't matter. And and the stuff that doesn't matter is like, what does this person think about me? What does this person think about this? Or what is their like you get to a point where it's like, you what? This other person's perception of me. Actually has very little impact on how I live my life. And I I can, you know, I I can think of knowing people of different religions, you know, grandmas and grandpas, people of different religions, and you know, you want to respect your elders, and you know, they may say some other things, and you're like, maybe I should have said something then. Right? But you also think, I don't really want to cause a fight or an argument, but you you have to be able to say, hey, you know what? That I I'm happy you believe that. And you know, I I'm okay to disagree with you on that, but this is what I believe. And and I think the statement that, you know, we we don't want to run towards a fight with our with with our boldness. We're not looking to beat anyone's submission to being, hey, you have to believe what I believe, because that's that's rarely worked. if you look go back to looking at history, but being being bold and saying, hey. I'm not doing this because this is what I believe. I think down you give an example of mom and dad not letting you play basketball on Sundays. Right? That's you know, that's what you know, we they believed and and they took a stand. Or, you know, I'm not gonna go to this place or listen to this music or or whatever this popular thing is because that's what I believe. And and that's a hard thing to explain to somebody who who doesn't. Have any sort of faith system, or you know, right and wrong is something they've what they feel like on those certain days. but understanding that your integrity as a as a faith believer is the only thing that you can hang on to because you have Jesus and you you cling to that and and you're gonna make mistakes, you're going to sin, no one's perfect, but When you actively make those decisions to say, hey, this is what I believe, 99% of the time, people are going to respect that. And that 1% is going to be, well, they're they're just going to argue about any anything about everything with anyone. It's that they they're they just are so confused as to what truth and reality actually is, that they won't understand. What it's like to just have a conversation about things. And so it's not about if somebody gets offended, it's their choice. Right? And for easy example, the earth is round. People are going to freak out about that. You can't help that. But the empirical evidence shows the earth is not flat. And there's said, someone is always not going to be happy with you. But being able to be bold because you know where your faith comes from and the reality of of what is truth, that shields that shields you from a lot of things that allows you as a young person to say, Hey, I wanna go and have a prayer walk. I wanna do this, I wanna be bold and do something different. And we have to encourage that and we have to say, Hey, being bold is is great. Being bold in a respectful way is is awesome. And not running from the fight when it comes your way is is is very important. Because I think, you know, one example people often say is, well, what if church lost their charity status? Who would still give? I don't know. I I can't, I don't have that answer. But I know for for me, I don't I don't give for the tax break. I give because God has commanded me to give. And I'm so thankful for the opportunity to give. Right. So even if I didn't get a a a refund because of that, that won't change me. And that's something that I've actually struggled with a long time, is tithing. So understanding, you know, that boldness and why I do what I do, it it it helps you avoid those compromises and helps you avoid. Not showing what God wants you to show to others. Dan: I think we got one more Drew. Let's let's all keep it tight. Drew: Alright, so question three What are you doing with what God has given you? being selected in a draft is only the beginning. Eventually the player has to step onto the field. Potential doesn't win games if it remains on the sidelines. In the same way, purpose is more than someone or something we talk about, it has to become obedience. Maybe God has been asking you to have a conversation, maybe to forgive someone. Maybe to serve somewhere, to use your giftings, to stand up for somebody, to share your faith, to forgot f to finally begin what you keep saying you'll do one day. We often ask God to show us his entire plan while ignoring the step he has already placed in front of us. Maybe you don't need another sign. Maybe you need the courage to obey what God obey what God has already made clear. So our question is, what is one act of courage or obedience? You know God is asking you to d take, but you have been postponing. Dan: Hmm. Yeah, go. Yeah, go for The Coach: I have a I have a good one for this one. Yeah. Dan: it. The Coach: it's I I I don't have anything right now, like it's ongoing, but I know that I definitely delayed getting baptized. Not out of the sense of like not wanting to do it, but because I I obvious I know the importance of being baptized, but it's just like I didn't feel it was the right time or I wasn't doing this. I made all these excuses and it's like you're only you're you're only delaying it because Of what you're afraid to be obedient, you're afraid to say, you know, Jesus is my Lord and Savior. That's crazy. And Dan: Were you afraid being submerged in water? I know you struggle in the swimming side of things. The Coach: Okay, look, look, look, this is a safe place. Okay. There was no reason for you to bring that up whatsoever. None. That may have played a very, very small part. No, I'm just kidding. But no, like being being baptized was like, you know, i I knew what I needed to do, and and it was just like, no, I'm not gonna do I'm not gonna do it. And and again, it it's a a declaration of what I believe in. So def that was definitely one thing that I was delaying about being obedient to God. Dan: Yeah, I'm trying to think of an act of courage or obedience, you know, God is asking you to take. that I've been postponing. It's nothing coming to the top of my brain. trying to be obedient as much as I can. The Coach: From the guy who wrote the question. Dan: yeah, so you know, I think it's been along the way of of allowing one thing, maybe it's allowing others to take leads in different areas. I've been You know, especially being you know, when you're the pastor at a church, when you especially when you have only one staff member, you know, it's it's easier to hold on to the reins of stuff to make sure stuff gets done. It's not necessarily even about control, it's about getting stuff done. But this area where I've been trying to grow is, you know, allowing others to take the leads in different positions and different and different areas of ministry and seeing them grow and and letting them do do do a great job as well. So maybe that's an area where I've God's been asking me to, you know, let go a little bit, let him be in control. He's ultimately in control. So still an area I'm growing. Drew: I I think for me it's probably in the area of, you know, being a husband and a father, God has asked us to be the leaders and I think so often I just allow my wife to lead and she does a great job. It's not that she doesn't, but I think that's an area where I could probably be more at the forefront, be step up and I take the leadership role and we're gonna do devotions tonight and we're gonna do this and you know, and that's probably something that God has put me in a position of being a father to my boys and a husband to my wife that probably I need to take a be more obedient to the leadership role he's put me in. Dan: Mom. I love it. I love it. You know, every fantasy draft ends. Season's gonna begin. You know, I think the funnest part of fantasy football probably is the draft. I think the most successful teams are the ones that draft well, but also put in the work during the week. You know, you pick up the waiver wire, pick up on the waiver wire, you make trades, you set your team up. You're not scared if the projections are for you to lose, but you you giving your team a chance. To win. That's kind of the most important point. You give your team a chance to win. And and the same is true for us, you know, being chosen isn't merely a comforting label. It's a it's really a calling. Cause you were chosen to love when when hatred would be easier. You were chosen to speak when fear tells you to stay silent. You were chosen to stand when when the crowd bows to something else. You were chosen to serve, forgive, and lead and sacrifice and point people toward Jesus. You know, maybe the greatest tragedy tragedy wouldn't be discovering that God had no purpose for your life. Maybe it would be reaching the end of your life and realizing that fear kept you from walking in it. So our challenge is to stop living like you're still waiting to be picked. Stop waiting for everybody to understand you or waiting until you feel completely qualified. I think really that is one of the biggest things we'll talk about, the Canadian church. I think we've become so passive. So scared to offend, so scared to stand up strongly. But the reality is that you have been chosen. I was talking with a few people this week about even the church across Canada. Most of the church is filled with women. And where are the where are where are the men and why we we stepped up in different ways? And and it's not bad that it's filled with women. I'm just saying the bad part is that they're the the men need to step up and need to be there, need to be discipled and and galvanized to be manly men of God. And and and walking and honoring in that way. And I think if you saw that, I think we would see a bigger growth and a stronger church stance in Canada. So it's one of the things we want to establish at our church in downtown Toronto is really galvanizing the men because we have a ton of deadbeat dads in the neighborhood. That's our neighborhood. It's it's it's the truth. And and we we want to and and it's been great to be able to get them in the door, and now we want to be able to. disciple them and mentor them and help them grow into men of God and help them to not be deadbeat dads and things like that as well. So coach Drew, do you guys have any final thoughts before we wrap it up? The Coach: Be bold, don't run away. Drew: Yeah, I think this this has been a probably a tough topic, but yeah, I I love the idea of men stepping up to lead their families and and lead the church and and yeah, I think we should be in favor of that. Not that women can't do that stuff, but I think we need to take a larger role in in yeah, discipling the young men that are coming up in the church. Dan: Yeah, I think women have been holding it down. It's just time for men to step up and and do their part, do their calling. So The Coach: Absolutely. Dan: coach, why don't you walk everyone through how to continue to support us, how to share us, all the things where they can follow. The Coach: All the good things. So if you are on this platform of YouTube, please like, subscribe, share, click the little button, the bell button there so you get notified when we go drop the next pod. for those of you on X, check us out there. TikTok is little bit there. All you old heads on Facebook. I know Drew is a big proponent of Facebook, so jump jump in on that. And Instagram, check us out on Instagram, Sports Reference. And yeah, give us your picks, give us, you know, your your insights on where we picked wrong and and all that good stuff. And on Monday, September fourteenth, if you are in Huntsville, the Huntsville area, chum come check us out at North Granite Ridge Golf Club for the Fire Fireman's Platoon golf tournament. Dan: Come on. Yeah, we our our website is actually up as well because I've The Coach: There we go. Dan: it it hit it hit auto renew and I didn't exactly want it to hit auto renew, but it's up for the next three years and I and it's paid for. So let's go. Check it out, sportsreverends.com. The Coach: Beautiful. Let's go. Dan: Friends, we are no experts, but guess what? We are the sports reverends. Drew: Boards right. The Coach: Sports Reverends. Dan: I think we're getting worse. We're getting worse. The Coach: Yeah.