3 Things Being a Point Guard Taught Me

I love March Madness. 

I like sports, but I love basketball. I was fortunate to play for Robert E. Lee High School under hall of fame coach Paul Hatcher. 

After high school, I had the opportunity to play four years at Shenandoah University. 

It's been well over a decade since I've played competitively, but I've learned that point guards really never stop being point guards. Here are three lessons I've learned from the point guard position that have helped me in the "game" of life. 

1. Success comes with sacrifice. Growing up, I literally ate, slept and breathed basketball. Reaching my potential as a basketball player meant saying yes to lots of hours in the weight room and in the gym. It also meant saying no to things like soda and television. Every decision on how to use my time and resources was filtered through whether it aided to worked against me reaching my goal.  As I've gone through life, I realize that everything worth succeeding at follows this formula. 

2. The best leaders are the ones people willingly follow. There's a huge difference between the leaders people follow because they "have" to follow and the leaders people follow because they "want" to follow. As the point guard, I was trying to make sure I was someone my teammates wanted to follow. That meant being first to the gym and last to leave. Most importantly, it meant never doing anything that put myself before the team, which usually meant I willingly made the most sacrifices to make sure the team flourished. That philosophy has helped as a husband, father, employee and a Young Life leader. 

3. An assist is better than a score. This is the true magic of the point guard position. You learn that setting up others for success feels better than achieving that success yourself. Every pass that set up a teammate's basket was a chance for me to say, "I care more about your success and our team's success than my stats." An unselfish point guard can set the tone for everyone else to follow in his or her footsteps. This realization has also served me well in family life, ministry and at my places of employment. 

I would love to hear from you. What's the biggest life lesson you ever learned from sports? 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five kids and a freelance writer for Young Life Relationships, HipHopDX.com, JamTheHype.com and other publications. His first book, You're Grounded, was published by Moody Publications last year. You can order the book here. 

Summer Road to Chicago Anyone?

Save the dates: July 23-25

Planes, trains or automobiles? 

The question isn't whether you should come with me to the Legacy Conference in 2015  - (read my blog here on why I go every year) - it's how we should get there. 

Kyle Bumgarner, one of my really good friends and a co-laborer in a campus ministry called Young Life, is prayerfully planning on going to Legacy this year with me. As we begin planning out the trip, I thought I'd see if either Kyle or I knew others who would want to go to Moody Bible Institute for three days this summer. 

If it's just Kyle and me, we may plan to travel one way. Perhaps by plane. If we each had two friends that wanted to go, we might plan the trip another way. 

As you decide, here are a few things you can know. 

• You can stay in the Moody Bible Institute dorms for pretty cheap. 
• You can eat most meals at the Moody Bible Institute cafeteria for pretty cheap.
• You can sign up for the conference for pretty cheap. 
• The theological depth (listen to one gen. session here) is amazing. 
• It's worth every dollar you spend. 
• You need try deep dish pizza and other Chicago foods at least once. 
• I snore. 

If you have any interest in going, please let me know. Also, follow @LegacyDisciple on Twitter for more info. on the conference. 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five kids and a freelance writer for Young Life Relationships, HipHopDX.com, JamTheHype.com and other publications. His first book, You're Grounded, was published by Moody Publications last year. You can order the book here. 

Dear Scott Hamilton

Dear Scott, 

Sometimes as a writer you feel something so strongly that you have to write about it. Even if you want to write about other things, your mind and your heart keep steering you in another direction. Sometimes things demand to be written. I feel like this was one of those things. 

I was trying to think about why the news of your current health circumstances was hitting me so hard emotionally. 

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the reasons were all things I wish I would have told you personally a long time ago. I think the core of those sentiments can be summed up in two words. 

Thank you! 

First, thanks for constantly encouraging me not to waste my life. You are not the only person who has taught me to live with eternity in mind. John Piper has written books about it. LeCrae has rapped about it.  

But they did it from a distance. They are not people I know personally. You looked us in our eyes and told us live a life that matters for the gospel. And just so you know, I listened. And even when I would lose focus, there would be some place where our paths crossed. You would begin to talk about ministry, teenagers and eternal hope. 

You'd choke on your words. And you'd tear up. And I'd remember. 

I needed every one of those reminders to live in light of eternity. Thanks for encouraging me to give my life away rather than waste it. 

Second, thanks for sending me out to Bermuda. And then the Bahamas. I always thought you were playing pranks when you called me and told me to go to these places. I feel alive - not just breathing but really alive - whenever I am helping urban kids process the gospel. I know that is what I was meant to do. 

I'm not even on Young Life staff, but you've entrusted me to take the gospel to two different islands. And those trips are some of my family's most cherished memories. 

And, finally, you have watched me struggle through seasons of trying to be family man, financial provider for a large family and a volunteer Young Life leader. On more times than I can count on one hand, you've gone out of our your way to help financially. You know what I'm talking about.

I just wanted to communicate to you how much I look up to you. If you've taught us in the Young Life Commonwealth Region anything, it's to pray. And then pray. And then pray some more. And we count it our privilege to pray for you now. 

Get well soon! 

We're praying! 

In Christ

Chris Lassiter.