The Four-way Growth Plan

The Four-Way Growth Plan

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. Luke 2:52

It becomes too easy to say at times, and a bit glib and insincere-sounding: football is about more than the game; it’s about life. Well, a friend of mine means it, his teams live it, and their individual lives after football prove it to be true.

At Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, head football coach Danny Rocco took over a program that was 1 and 10, and in five years has taken the Liberty Flames’ football fortunes to a consistent level of championship caliber. Since taking over in December 2005, he has led the team to four Big South Conference Championships in 2007 (the first in school history), 2008, 2009, and 2010; been selected as Conference Coach of the Year three times; and been nominated for the Eddie Robinson and Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year awards on three different occasions.

He has done it with a relentlessly attacking offense that mixes a power running game and play action and a deep passing game that stretches the field, and a defense designed to play fast, smart, and aggressive. But more than that, Coach Rocco has done it by recruiting and developing character and by relying on the admonition and direction of God’s Word, particularly the teaching in Luke 2:52.

Danny believes that part of his responsibility to the university, to his players and staff, and to the community the players serve now and the one they will serve when they graduate is to grow his players and staff in a number of different ways: intellectually (“Jesus grew in wisdom”), physically (“stature”), spiritually (“in favor with God”), and relationally (“and all people”). Coach Rocco calls it “whole-person development” and believes that the person who embodied it—Jesus Christ—is an unmatched role model for him and his teams to emulate.

And the bonus for them is winning a lot of football games!

Uncommon Key > Do you need a growth spurt? Everyone needs improvement with something. Write down Luke 2:52 and evaluate what area you need to work on. Explore ways to make it happen and then do it!