We started a Podcast

At the beginning of 2016, I sent two of my friends an e-mail. 

I was making my resolutions - because I love resolutions - and I invited them to dream with me. 

Let's create a podcast that replicates the environment of the neigbhorhood barber shop. Mix in story topics from sports and urban culture. Talk about imporant stuff. Talk about funny stuff. And, most importantly, have those conversations shaped by the gospel. 

Everything from George Zimmerman to A1 Sauce on this week's #podcast with @JohnCRichards @CoachJHartman and @C_Lass https://t.co/wY9EeMTdUb

— BoxAnd1Podcast (@BoxAnd1Podcast) May 31, 2016

For a few days, we tossed around ideas. 

Then, nothing. 

For the next three months, no podcast talk. 

Out of the blue, John Richards texted me that he was willing to give it a try. I knew John, aka J-Rich, from The Legacy Conference (a conference I would recommend to everyone), and we had stayed in touch ever since. (Click on John's name and read up on him. He's a super funny guy, a great encouragement and one of the sharpest young theologians I know). 

My homeboy Jeremy Hartman (J-Hart), who was my college basketball teammate at Shenandoah University, agreed to give podcasting a try, too. (Click on Jeremy's name to read about his passion for basketball as a teaching tool for all of life). 

In fact, J-Hart and I did a trial podcast around two years ago. Both J-Hart and I are well under 6-foot tall. Another one of our former teammates, the funniest guy on our squad, suggested we call our podcast "Small Talk." Really funny, Ahmed. 

Once we had our new podcasting team established, we just needed a name. J Rich is tall, so  "Small Talk" wouldn't work (Thanks for trying though, Ahmed). We came up with a bunch of good names, but The Box and 1 Podcast just seemed to stick. 

Right now, we're in the infancy stages. Nine episodes deep in a weekly podcast. We have a budget of zero, no advertisers and the most basic of recording equipment. What we do have, however, is humor, ambition, good chemistry and a conviction to help people see things through a gospel lens. Check out the Box And 1 Podcast here or on iTunes and let us know what you think. 

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 in 2013. You can order the book here.  His first kids' book, Grits & the Grimels, comes out soon.

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. 

Watching a good friend's dream come true: My man Black Boo.

One of my college teammates - as well as one of my favorite people - has a chance to do something amazing. 

 

And we have a chance to help him do it! 

Black Boo, aka Alfred the MC, was a teammate of mine at Shenandoah University. He's featured as an artist on an album that has been nominated for a Grammy.  

One of his own band Mambo Sauce's most most recognizable songs, Welcome to D.C.,  has been a hit among the professional hockey, football and basketball teams in the nation's capital. ( Watch video to that song above). 

Anybody who knows me at all has literally heard me tell thousands of stories about my college days, and that's because I sincerely love my old teammates and the group of friends I met at Shenandoah. 

Black, left, me and Last Born  at my wedding

I could entertain you for an entire day with stories of Black Boo, including the times that: 

• He ordered everything on the menu when our professor took us to dinner.
• He and Last Born started a hip-hop cypha on our tour of ABC News in New York. 
• He decided to take out his cornrows in the warm-up line at VMI
• He freestyled an oral presentation on the Pacific Rim. 
• He challenged an opposing player to a game of one-on-one ... and was serious! 

And none of these would come close to cracking the top 10 funniest things he did at college. 

But Black didn't just provide entertainment. He also provided inspiration. He dreamed of being a musician when we were in college. Now he's got a chance to experience the Grammys. 

The Grammy organization covers the cost for the actual band, but Black can go if he pays his own way since he's a contributor to the Grammy-nominated album recorded by the reggae group Soja. 

And that's where we have a chance to help. 

Black is trying to raise $2,500. I would love  for everyone who reads this and has any ties to Shenandoah University to give $10. For Black's old teammates, I want to challenge us to give at least $25.  We have a chance to help one of our boys watch his dream come true.  Visit his GoFundMe page here. 

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. 

Awful Clothes, Funny Teammates and The Gospel

I never signed up for Fashion 101. My college teammate decided to enroll me. 

They enrolled me because I own shoes like this.

Growing up, I only really cared about basketball and hip-hop. I was so focused on my two passions that I didn't realize there were actual rules to fashion. So when I showed up at Shenandoah University, my wardrobe wasn't fresh. 

Not fresh at all. And that's an understatement.

Shoes weren't Foamposites. Jeans weren't Levi's. And a quick glance through old pictures will reveal that my shirts, as Kanye once told Sway, "Ain't Ralph Though." 

Right: Not Ralph Though... Left: Cross Colours 

The purple Reeboks pictured above (I won them from Champ Sports with a soda top lid) are just one sad example of things that were in my wardrobe. My fashion sense (or lack of fashion sense) didn't sit well with one of my teammates, Larry Tharpe. A post player from Washington, D.C., Larry's disappointment in my wardrobe reached a boiling point one day. 

I promised what happened next is a true story. Larry ran up in my room, pulled open my closet doors, and started angrily body-slamming my clothes, forbidding me to wear most of my wardrobe ever again. 

He wasn't joking! 

I'm sure all of my friends from Shenandoah University are cracking up right now ... unless you are one of the other two people that had the same experience with Larry. 

The New Testament writer Matthew records a story of a guy who has a fashion crisis worse than mine. He rolls up into a wedding party, but his outfit "ain't Ralph, though!" In the parable, everyone is invited to a wedding banquet of the king, but one guy shows up in something that's not appropriate wedding attire. 

The guy - there's always that one guy - is thrown out of the party (like Jaz on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and is severely disciplined.

The question is why. 

In our society, fashion represents social standing. In this parable found in Matthew 22, clothing represents moral standing. The central message of the Bible is clear. Our own morality (represented by the unfit clothing in this parable) could never measure up to God's standards. 

There is no list of do's or don'ts that can make us right with God.  To put it fashion terms, our morality "ain't Ralph, though!" I'm not saying you're not a great person. I'm saying that using the biblical standard of morality, everyone falls miserably short. The picture in the parable is that this guy thinks his own morality is good enough to be in the presence of God. 

By way of contrast, the King accepts the wedding garments of the other guests. The reason is because those garments were provided by the King Himself. The garments provided by the King are a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The gospel is that Jesus came to rescue us from our moral brokenness. My pastor Rick Gilmartin always says, "We don't need rules! We need rescuing." 

Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live in our place. Then He goes to the cross on our behalf to die in our place.  The acceptable garments are a picture of the righteousness Christ provided to cover our sins. 

Jesus is our rescuer!

Imagine I wanted to go to a social event with Larry. If I would have gotten dressed in my own clothes, Larry would have said there was no way I was going out with him looking like that.  I would have had to borrow "acceptable clothes" from someone with better fashion sense. 

This is what Jesus does for those that place their trust in Him. Rather than God grading us on our morality - how well do the do's and avoid the don'ts - God grades us on Christ's morality.  And Jesus was perfect. So Christianity isn't based on what you or I did. It's based on what Christ did. 

Just like I would have needed someone with better clothes to provide me an outfit, I need someone with a perfect righteousness to provide me right standing with God. And that Someone in Jesus Christ. 


I write these blogs as conversation-starters. I would love to know: 

• What is the worst thing you've ever worn? 
• How do you believe man can be right with God? 

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. 

Bigger Than Football: P.K.'s Story

Life is bigger than sports. Thank you P.K. Kier for reminding us. 

Before I tell you what P.K. - a sophomore at Winchester's Millbrook High School - did for a 7-year-old cancer survivor, let me explain our connection.  

I went to Shenandoah University in Winchester mostly because P.K.'s dad, Pede, was already there playing baseball. (I didn't know that  going to college together meant Pede would steal all the food in my refrigerator every night, but that's a different story.) 

Growing up, I thought the world of Pede, who live three blocks from me in Staunton. That admiration has only grown as we've gotten older. Most importantly, Pede shared the gospel with me. It has completely changed the trajectory of my whole life. 

At the beginning of the season, Pede e-mailed me an article about P.K.'s four-touchdown performance. I was impressed. Last week, Pede sent me Val Van Meter's Winchester Star article about PK and his teammates. 

I was even more impressed. And the article had little to do with football. 

P.K., his coaches and his Millbrook teammates arranged for 7-year-old Isaiah Truman to be the team's special guest on the sideline. Truman's guest appearance highlighted a week where doctors said that his brain cancer was in remission after a year of treatments. 

P.K. and Isaiah are neighbors.  According to the story, P.K. went to his coach Josh Haymore and told them about Isaiah. The 7-year-old's story includes being airlifted to U.Va Medical Center, a rare diagnosis of brain cancer in a child, and routine trips to the Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. 

The team, who wore bracelets with Isaiah's name on it, then came up with a way to support Isaiah at the football game. 

I work with a lot of kids. We often talk about servant leadership. We define it as "taking initiative for the benefit of others." Thank you P.K., coach Haymore and the Millbrook football program for being one such example on this occasion. 

When sports is done correctly, it's supposed to teach you about life: how to put "we" before "I," how to battle adversity, how to accomplish goals, how to be part of something bigger than yourself. It sounds like the Millbrook team is learning this lesson. 

If you are thankful kids are still learning lessons through athletics, take the time to encourage the 2014 Millbrook Football team. You can write them at: 

Millbrook Football

c/o coach Josh Haymore 

251 First Woods Drive

Winchester, VA 22603 

At the least, take the time to encourage the team through email in care of coach Haymore. 

His e-mail address is haymorej@frederick.k12.va.us. 

When things make us angry, it motivates us to action. We'll write a letter or send an e-mail immediately. I hope the thought of this next generation taking initiative for the benefit of others will motivate you to take a moment to publicly applaud them. 

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. 

Off to college: The next chapter for a Lee High Success Story

If  you've never been properly introduced, meet Liam Fairfax. 

He's front left in the picture above, and he has a pretty amazing story. I've gotten to watch firsthand this pretty amazing story unfold as Liam's Young Life leader. Some parts of that story I've learned in confidence. And those parts I'll take to the grave. You'll just have to trust me if I say that he's been through a lot to get where he has gotten. 

Other parts of his story are public. 

For instance, his high school football teammates all know how Liam helped Lee High beat the Broadway Gobblers in a game he played a few hours after attending his mother's funeral. She battled a long-term illness. Another very public part of his story is he was one of the few minority students at Robert E. Lee to attend governor's school. 

So here's the deal. 

Liam is now at my college alma mater Shenandoah University. He wants to do something in the medical field. 

I know that we could never replace the support system he had in his mom, but I thought it would be kind of cool to form a support system for him nonetheless.  Here's what I had in mind. 

• If you are reading this blog, send Liam a card of encouragement in the mail. His address is: 

Liam Fairfax

Shenandoah University

1460 University Drive 

P.O. Box 265

Winchester, VA 22601 

Make sure that your note of encouragement also contains a few bucks, too, especially if you remember those college Ramen Noodle nights. 

• If you are in the Winchester area reading this, please make sure you adopt Liam as your little brother. My Shenandoah University friends were - and still are - like family to me. So I'm calling on all my SU family still in the area to look out for my main man Liam while he's there at school. 

I wrote this blog to my hometown community and all my friends with ties to Winchester or Shenandoah University. I also want to add one sentence to the black community here in Staunton. 

For years, the older generation of blacks has rightly preached to following generations that education is vital. Here's a kid that has taken you up on that advice. And a major part of his support system is gone. I hope that "WE" will be there for him. 

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. 

Help!!!!!! Our Podcast Needs a Name!!!!!

Now you can catch me name-dropping like The Game, but I only came in the game to drop one name (Jesus) - Phanatik.

My main man Jeremy Hartman (peep his blog here) and I have dreamed about covering sports and culture since we were basketball teammates at Shenandoah University back in the day. 

The only problem is when we dreamed, we didn't dream up a name. Now that we've successfully recorded our pilot podcast (which you can listen to here) , we need to pick a name for the podcast. Fortunately, we have some creative friends who either sent us great options or things so hilarious that I was literally on the ground laughing. 

Here's what we need from you. If you like one of the name options 0r you have your own, let us know. Write your favorite on the JamTheHype.com link right here. We also want to know which of our friends you think is the funniest, so at the bottom of this page let us know which name you think is the funniest.


I will start with the funny names: 

• BYOB - Bring Your Own Bible (I got superweak when I read this one) 
• Turnover City (J Hart and I had a few turnovers in the SU backcourt)
• Church Party 3 (a hysterical parody of the movie House Party 3, nice)
• A Righteous Turnover (I see what you did there Melz)
• Spiritual Guidance from Staunton's own Kid-N-Play (speaks for itself) 
• Wisdom from Point guards who pass and point guards who don't (let's just say one of us may or may not be a SHOOTING guard trapped in a point guard's body.) 

Here are the names we we would actually consider for our faith, sports and culture podcast: 

• Real Talk (We talk about real stuff ... it's a possibility)
• Gaining Ground (has potential)
• Get Lifted (well played with the spiritual double entendre)
• Small Talk (We're both a tad shy of 6-foot and it's a podcast)
• On Point (two former point guards)
• The Crossover (has a spiritual and an athletic meaning)
• Pardon The Introduction (you see what he did there)
• Podcast With No Name (the name of the pilot podcast)
• That's What's Up (Somebody gave us a shot out, but it kinda had a ring to it.) 
    

Now that's you've seen the options - or if you have your own - help us decide!

 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five crazy and fun kids, a Young Life leader in his hometown of Staunton, VA. He has written for JamTheHype.com, Rapzilla.com, VIBE, HipHopDX.com and other sites. 

Moody Publishers recently published his first book, You're Grounded, which you can read about here. The Cross Promotion gets updated twice a week. Please consider subscribing by e-mail or joining the blog at the bottom of the page where it says "Join This Site."