more on coach carter

in the movie "Coach Carter", one of the team dropout (Cruz) wants to come back on the team. Coach Ken Carter gave Cruz the impossible (of which he himself admits) - to do 1000 push-ups and 500 'Suicides' by fri (the amount done by the team all this while he was gone, i suspect). not surprisingly, Cruz, despite his admirable efforts failed to meet the criteria. Coach Carter looked at Cruz and with coldness of tone and expression dismissed him with saying "you did well, but not enough."
as Cruz walks despairingly out of the gym, one of the players said, "You said we are a team right? i'll do the 500 push-ups for him."
another, spurred on by the first, said, "i'll do the push-ups too, and some suicides."
one after another pitched in.

after the progress reports had come in, Coach Carter found 6 of his players missing the mark (a 2.3 average as agreed upon in their 'contracts'), stopped all basketball practices and matches and made all the students study in the library till the weak ones caught up in their studies. (he benched the whole team despite 2 or more had above 3 point grade average).
he told them as they met in the library, "You, no, we failed."

what a great 'body concept'.
1 Cor 12 puts it like this:
12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

in teh face of strong opposition towards his instituting the 2.3 point average, Carter insisted they were "Student athletes" - 'student' comes first.

are we christians who are students, counsellors, teachers, auditors, bankers, doctors etc or students, counsellors, teachers, auditors, bankers, doctors etc who are christians? qhich comes first? alot of times, we get it mixed up. very much like the parents, teachers and even the students themselves in the said movie. (in chinese there's a saying ' ben3 mo4 dao3 zhi4 - 'putting the cart before a horse')

We can, continue in that mixed up and live rather happily as would those in the movie if coach carter would let them be - athletes instead of insisting they study, get a 2.3 average, cut no classes and sit in the front row of every class. their principal, in dialogue with Coach Carter, said, "this (basketball season) could be the highlight of their lives!" and in reply, Carter agreed, "that's what i am afraid it will be". if they would live like that, they would, indeed, let the short basketball season be the highlight of their lives. we would too be like 'a falsh in the pan' if we live getting our priorities and choices mixed up.

Coach Carter wanted his players to live for more; to live for what they are capable of - a misinterpreted motive by all those in the community.

Col 1: 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God...