Joey Batson is the head strength and conditioning coach at Clemson University. He is one of the highest paid S&C coaches in the country and is regarded one of the best in his profession. As a Gamecock fan, it pains me to heap praise upon anyone wearing orange, but Joey Batson has earned all the praise that comes his way.
He has been the S&C coach at Clemson for 35 years. Has been instrumental in guiding the program to the College Football Playoff for the last five years and has seen the football program win two national titles in recent years. Batson has pioneered new strength equipment and even earns praise from NFL teams for the physical condition of Clemson athletes who make it to the next level.
Joey Batson is the man.
But, in 2012, Clemson message boards were filled with vitriol for Batson. Clemson fans wanted his head. They were convinced that their successive losses to my Gamecocks were to be blamed, at least in part, on Batson’s inability to properly build strength and conditioning among the Tigers. Dabo did what Dabo does, he defended his coach and moved on. The rest is history.
Joey Batson is now a hero.
Did Joey Batson change? No. But the Tigers started winning, so public perception changed. The basics of strength and conditioning haven’t changed. There are different approaches to building strength (Olympic lifting, power lifting, conjugate method, even Crossfit which sort of combines all sorts of stuff), but at the end of the day strength is built off of a foundation of three things: Time under tension, proper nutrition, and rest & recovery.
Joey Batson knew that 35 years ago. He knew it in 2012, and he knows it today.
If you are a pastor reading this, I’m writing it to urge you to stay the course. Thom Rainer recently wrote about Six Reasons Pastors Are About To Quit. Pastors are under incredible stress. There are times when the comments become almost too much to take. The criticisms often come from people who don’t really know what you do (like the Batson critics), but who are unhappy and need someone to blame.
Pastor, don’t quit. Don’t give up. And, unless you are in sin, don’t change. There are different ways that we will “do” church, but the basics of Christ’s church do not and will not change. We are called to preach the word, pray for God’s people, serve God’s people, and declare the gospel to all who will hear.
It is OK if it’s hard. It is OK if you are criticized. Stay the course. Stick to the basics. It may seem like everything is going in the wrong direction today, but if you will stick to the firm foundation that is Christ, the future is bright.
The crowd is fickle, but truth doesn’t change. Do not stick you finger in the air to determine the direction of the wind. Dig into God’s word. Rest in Christ. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
Will you end up with the equivalent of a national title of ministry for staying the course? Probably not. But, that isn’t your goal anyway. You will be able to stand before the Lord and echo Paul’s words,
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
And that will be enough.
