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Preach It! Eagles! Preach It!

Written by admin on . Posted in basketball, discipleship, Hillcrest. No Comments on Preach It! Eagles! Preach It!



Spent the month of January coaching the Hillcrest Middle School Boys basketball team. Most of them had never played basketball before and we had a rough start. Our first game we lost by 50 points! Yes, I said 50! Our second game we felt really good because we only lost by 30. Funny how your perspective changes when your expectations are tempered by reality. Our third game we only lost by 4! hahahahaha We’re 0-3 and are excited.

After losing several other games by just a few points we then went on a winning streak and “lo and behold” we made the playoffs. Seven teams in our league and we finished third. So yesterday we played the second place team and found ourselves down by 10 points early. But the Hillcrest boys rallied and ended up winning the game by 8 points which means today at 3:00 p.m. we play for the league championship! Who would have thought that was even possible?
What’s exciting for me though, far beyond the chance to be league champs is that for the past 6 weeks we have had a chance to mentor these young men spiritually. My assistant coach Mike Johnson, who coached on a D-1 level for 17 years, and I have made sure that at every opportunity we have talked about them becoming Men of God!
About half way through the season I talked to the 12 of them (yes, there are 12) about how Jesus had 12 disciples and that those disciples changed the entire world with the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They then started referring to themselves at “The 12 Disciples” and when we break the huddle after timeouts they like to holler in unison “PREACH IT!”
Yes, I hope we win the game today for a truly amazing basketball season for a bunch of boys who’ve never played before, but MORE IMPORTANTLY I hope that these 12 boys grow up to be 12 preachers who will help point the world to Jesus!
PREACH IT! Eagles PREACH IT!

10 Reasons to ROOT for Dallas over Miami!!!

Written by admin on . Posted in basketball, LeBRON, NBA, sports. No Comments on 10 Reasons to ROOT for Dallas over Miami!!!


Today in our Pastors meeting I asked how many are pulling for the Dallas Mavericks and all but 2 were rooting for the Mavs. Last night, when I should have been sleeping, I was thinking WHY do I want the Mavs to win. Not to change any one’s mind but simply to tell you why I do NOT want Miami to win. Enjoy.

1) Being a Lakers fan, you always want a team from the West to beat the Team from the East.

2) LeBron celebrates too early. He hasn’t won YET! If he wins, let him cheer all he wants. His celebrating in front of Dallas’ bench was classless. If you had ever played basketball, this is a NO-NO.

For what it’s worth. I think LeBron is one of the greatest athletes in the WORLD. He is an amazing talent. That is NOT the issue. It’s the extreme celebrating before the season even started and it’s something I never saw in Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird or Michael Jordan. Yes I saw Magic Johnson celebrate. But it was a JOYOUS celebration of sheer happiness. Not the type of stuff we see going on today.

3) My son’s name is Dallas. ENOUGH SAID.

4) Some of my favorite Pastors are from the Dallas area. This may not be important to you, but hey, it’s my blog. Chris Seidman, Rick Atchley, T.D. Jakes, Caleb Kaltenbach, Drew Sherman, Barry Cameron, Jack Graham and Ed Young Jr.

5) Reason number 5 is “DIRK”

6) The head Coach of Dallas is losing his hair. I LOVE THAT!!!!

7) Blue is my favorite color. (Besides Purple and Gold)

8) Mark Cuban is finally being quiet.

9) The Cowboys have been so bad for so long, it’s nice for that city to have something to cheer about.

10) Dallas has better BBQ than Miami.

Do I think Dallas will win? I don’t know. I have always been a fan of Dwayne Wade. I don’t think Miami should ever lose a game with all that talent. But I am pulling for Dallas and know that win or lose they will do it with class.

Thoughts on Coach Wooden

Written by admin on . Posted in basketball, Coach John Wooden, heaven, Poems. No Comments on Thoughts on Coach Wooden


On Saturday, June 26th, UCLA honored the greatest Coach in all of sport, Coach John Wooden. He died at age 99 and many people were hoping that he could have celebrated his 100th birthday before he graduated into glory. But an honest and quick question to ask oneself is, “Would you rather celebrate your 100th birthday here on earth? Or would you prefer to celebrate your 100th birthday in heaven with your beloved wife and your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Up to the very last moment, Coach was aware of everything that was going on — his health, his family, his condition, his place in history and of course his faith. We talked and prayed many times during the last 10 days of his life, and he simply had reached a decision that he wanted to go to heaven.

He would smile and jest with you. He was polite. He was considerate. He said, “I love you,” to everyone who uttered those words to him. And, by the way, everyone who came to see him, his players, his friends and his family, said those beautiful words, and every time, Coach returned those same words of affection with such compassion. More than food or water, his only petition was that he wanted to go home. He wanted to be with Nell. On several occasions, a tear would come to the corner of his eye as his mind would flash to that moment that he would graduate into the arms of God.

His family was torn between him staying here in the present, with his 99 year old feeble frame, or allowing him to journey to his next place of residence…Heaven, with its golden streets and pearly gates, and of course, it’s eternal clock. As only a true family can do, they came together, strengthened by each other, reaching the only conclusion they could, that they wanted what was best for “Papa”.

So when it came time for the public service, they instructed the University that it was imperative that someone should speak and highlight the faith of Coach Wooden. It was one of the pillars of his life as evidenced in his poems, his words and his life. Credit goes to Jim and Nan Wooden, along with the grandchildren, for making sure this was a part of the service.

Thus, I was asked, by the family to make a presentation about Coach’s faith. And for those who knew Coach, he never pushed his faith onto anyone else, but he did make it clear where he stood regarding his beliefs. And as I shared in the memorial service, he is in heaven today because of his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He personally declared his intention for the scripture in Matthew 22 about “loving God and loving others” to be used, and thus I used that text. He felt, that the greatest word in the English language was the word love. He was a giant of a man, the likes of which we will never see again in our lifetime.

I want to leave you with the poem that the family placed in the program. It was entitled, “Don’t Look Back,” and it speaks not only of Coach’s faith, but it also speaks of the family’s wishes for the funeral to truly represent his life and thoughts.

The years have left their imprint
On my hands and on my face.
Erect no longer is my walk
And slower is my pace.

But there is no fear within my heart
Because I’m growing old
I only wish I had more time
To better serve my Lord.

When I’ve gone to Him in prayer
He has brought me inner peace
And soon my cares and worries
And other problems cease.

He has helped in so many ways,
He has never let me down,
Why should I fear the future
When soon I could be near His crown.

Though I know down here my time is short
There is endless time up there
And He will forgive and keep me
Forever in His loving care.

May I not waste an hour
That’s left to glorify the Name
Of the One Who died, that we might live
And for our sins, took all the blame.

Thank you, Coach, for showing us how to live, and thank you for showing us how to live again.

A Championship Year

Written by admin on . Posted in basketball, Kerri. No Comments on A Championship Year

As many of you know, I have been coaching the Hillcrest Middle School girls’ basketball team that my daughter plays on. Recently, the VARISITY Coach, Debbie Haliday, who played at UCLA and is also the school’s athletic director and has a daughter on the team, wrote this article and thought I’d share it…

“There’s just something really pure about their faces. I love watching them play…practice or game, it’s really the same. They play with desire, but desire isn’t even quite the right word. I heard today that when they come out of the locker room they always all touch the poster that is entitled, “Effort.” How great is that? Maybe it is about effort. They really do work very hard, all the time. But even that description falls short. It is effort maximized, from the heart. Actually, I think the word is earnest…they play with earnest desire.

I don’t know if you can teach earnest. I’ve watched their coach for years and he is certainly demanding of full effort. They drill, and drill, and drill. It is basketball at its most fundamental best. These are 12 and 13 year old girls who don’t shy away from any hard thing their coach asks them to do…and he asks, every day. If anyone could teach earnest, I’d say he could. Even so, it’s more along the lines of him drawing it out than teaching it… which of course is an art in and of itself.
Effort, desire, earnest hard work… some might think these qualities are in short supply in “kids these days.” But I get to see it every day. I walked through the gym today and they were playing a game, the score was 19-2 when I arrived. Every one of the girls on the court was hustling hard, hands and feet and legs flying everywhere. The other team tried to drive into the key and landed in a trap. The ball got tipped away, a quick pass to the point guard followed by three long legged dribbles and a hard pass to a girl sprinting from the left side led to a layup in about four seconds. The whole bench exploded in applause. It was awesome!
Similar scenarios happened over and over again, no matter who was in the game. And the same look was on all of their faces. That pure, earnest, desire, love of the game, and effort on the poster expression that is so captivating to me. It is sport at its best in my opinion, and I’m very thankful I get to watch. “

If you would like to read more articles regarding faith and sports, check out this website:

It’s a great encouragement to both parents and children involved with sports!

It has been a phenomonal year with these girls, and they just won the League Championships! They’ve worked really hard, and it’s been FUN!!! A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE GIRLS!!!
Also, a BIG THANK YOU to Stewart Uy, who came out to take pictures at three of the girls’ games! To view more of his great photogrpahy skills, you can visit his website here: http://www.s2cphotography.com/

Kerri and the gang…

Written by admin on . Posted in basketball, children, friends, Kerri, sports. 2 Comments on Kerri and the gang…



It is one of the great joys of my life to have coached my two older children and now I am coaching my youngest… Kerri Brett Rutherford. She is number…. ahhhhhhh I will let you guess….. lol

The name of our team is the BRUINS!!!! God worked that one out… and to my knowledge all of these girls are Christians and one of them was actually baptized in the ocean last week.

Kerri is a reflection of her moma… the same spirit and demeanor.. I’m not sure she really likes basketball… I think she plays because she knows I like to coach.. hahahaha but she is a great girl who seems to bless all who come in contact with her.

I am a blessed man to have a daughter like her and to have so many of her close friends who serve and worship the Lord each week. Through in an occasional basketball game from time to time… what else could you ask for???????

Thank you Jesus!!!!

What a Team!!!

Written by admin on . Posted in basketball, children, Hillcrest, honoring God, Kerri. 1 Comment on What a Team!!!



I have been coaching Kerri’s middle school basketball team. It is comprised of 6th, 7th and 8th grade girls. They are a great bunch of kids. They all love to play and we are having a good season. I have not posted a picture of Kerri recently so I thought I’d post a few. Kerri doesn’t really like to play as much as my other two children but she runs up and down that court primarily because she knows I like it so much.
As her father, I’m a little torn because she does a pretty good job but I’m never sure if she really wants to be out there. It was interesting that when we begin stretching before practice that Kerri ( a 6th grader at Hillcrest Christian School) is always the first in line to LEAD the stretching. Usually and 8th grader would step up to lead but Kerri is always anxious to lead.
You see, I think she is anxious NOT because she LOVES the game of basketball… you can ask her… she doesn’t really enjoy it that much… but the reason she leads the stretching is because she is a LEADER. God placed that within her!! And God has placed different gifts within each of us… and when we use those gifts the Lord is glorified.
Not only is Kerri leading the stretching, she is always quick to say a prayer or lead a devotion. Yes, I am thankful that I get to hang out with her on the basketball court, but i’m most thankful that she has a heart for God.
We have a few games left…. I think we play L.A.B at Hillcrest Christian School on November 2nd at 3:15 pm. Come out and cheer us on if you’d like.