"Opening Day" of the Season 2010

Welcome to Christian Sportsmen’s Fellowship’s

Online F.I.R.E. Publication!

F – Friends through Fellowship
I – Interest around Common Goals
R – Relationships that are built to last
E – Evangelize as God Opens the Door
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Chapter Leadership Training Introduction

This leadership training publication has been prepared for the purpose of helping church leaders to encourage, empower then engage Christian sportsmen in developing a viable men’s outreach to sportsmen. Relevant men’s ministry events and projects provide the basis for fellowship where growth occurs around common passions which then lead to long term friendships. Used as a personal or group devotional, chapter leaders have found the F.I.R.E. Publication to be very helpful in understanding the sportsmen’s central role in fulfilling the Great Commission. As sportsmen, we can unashamedly utilize our passions for hunting, fishing and target shooting to bring men, women, boys and girls to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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"Opening Day” of the Season

All sportsmen anticipate the “opening day” of each new season whether looking forward to trout fishing, whitetail hunting or any other passionate outdoors pursuit.

In preparation for each hunting or fishing season the avid sportsman takes stock of his gear and equipment to make sure that everything is in proper working order. Such increased demand for the newest and most innovative product is fueled by the growing popularity of outdoor adventure is a marketing guru’s “dream come true”. The outdoors industry continues to develop new products and is forever inventing another device to enhance our outdoors skills, needed stealth and/or increased accuracy. Over 48,000 manufacturers, dealers, wholesalers, retailers and other industry leaders converge each year during the National Shooting Sports Foundation “Shot Show” often held in Las Vegas to welcome in the new year.

Sportsmen go to great lengths to make sure that the planning and preparation for their annual trips are established well in advance to optimize their success afield.

As Christian sportsmen we have a similar opportunity at the beginning of each new year to start new and fresh regardless of the season of life that that one may be entering. What would take place in your Christian journey if you very carefully and deliberately considered the cost of your new plans for the year then committed them into the trustworthy hands of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Many of us may again resolve to eat healthier, walk closer with God, become kinder in our relationships with others and in general try to become a better person. Many resolutions will be made and yet most of them quickly broken as the new year progresses.

Foundational to the Christian sportsmen’s success is his principled belief system combined with a growing relationship to God and others (Namely God’s Word and prayer). The bible is now available with a camouflaged cover complete with study notes by other Christian sportsmen. The Camouflaged Sportsmen’s Bible should be standard equipment for every outdoorsman who wants to become a serious follower of Christ. A daily time of personal devotion combined with prayer with those of like passion is the secret to building lasting friendships with fellow sportsmen.

By word and example Jesus instructed His disciples on the importance of solitude and prayer (Mark 6:46, Luke 9:28)

In Luke 6:12 the Lord even spent the night in prayer before making His choice of a special group of disciples that He called Apostles. True prayer is a strenuous spiritual exercise that demands the utmost mental discipline and concentration. Frequency and fervency improve our aim in hitting the target with accuracy.

The apostle Paul taught often on “Praying in the Spirit”. This phrase means that we are to pray along the same lines, about the same things, in the same name, as the Holy Spirit. True prayer rises in the spirit of the Christian from the Spirit who indwells us. Renowned Christian leader J. Oswald Sanders stated that to pray in the Spirit is vitally important for a couple of reasons.

A. First, we are to pray in the realm of the Spirit, for the Holy Spirit is the sphere and atmosphere of the Christian’s life.
B. Second, we are to pray in the power and energy of the Spirit. “Give yourselves wholly to prayer and entreaty; pray on every occasion in the power of the Spirit” Eph. 6:18

Why not purpose to pray together with those family members and friends that join you in route to your “opening day” hunting or fishing trip? The two foundational principles found in developing your principled belief system through God’s Word along with daily prayer can outfit a Christian sportsman for success regardless of whether or not trophies are scored. The time we invest in developing these two disciplines will be the true measure of their importance in our lives.

The upcoming new season of your life will only come around once in a lifetime so why not commit your way to the Lord and then look to Him to order your steps well beyond “opening day” of the season!

Take a few moments and consider several questions:

Discussion Questions

1. What new direction would you like for your life to take in the New Year ahead?
2. Is the foundational belief system for your life centered on God’s Word? How? If not, then what is the basis for your deeply held belief system?
3. Are you willing to pay the price to make real life-change decisions then follow through with your commitment? In what specific ways?
4. What level of priority does the Word of God hold in your new plans? Explain.
5. What “Season of Life” are you entering? How can you reaffirm your commitment to courageously follow God’s plan?
6. Would you be willing to invest a couple of days or even a few hours in getting alone with God in an outdoors setting to ask that he confirm the direction you are considering? What ideas for your quiet time alone with God would be most productive?
7. Have you intentionally prayed and sought God’s direction for setting new goals and are you wiling to become vulnerable before another accountability partner as you implement your plan?
8. Are you willing to prayerfully write out a plan of action then discipline your schedule to monitor your progress?
9. Do you really understand the imperative outlined in scripture to “Walk in the Spirit”? How can such a desire for consistency help you in your spiritual walk?
10. How do you believe that God’s Word along with daily prayer can keep you focused on your new goals?