Zach Clinton

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

This is the Truth Network. In a coffee shop in the fall, I just ordered an autumn leaves latte half-sweet, but my buddy Zach Clinton, because he's full throttle. He's one speed. He ordered the full dose. I mean, you went all out, didn't you? Extra sweet, Mr. Stu. I love it. Unbelievable. This guy here, I've been on his podcast.

Now, he's on mine. Truth Talk on the radio, on the podcast, on the mobile device, which is just another radio. You're holding your hand, right?

You may just be younger and that may be how you listen to Truth Talk or the Truth Network or all the many affiliates, 200 plus that carry. They're brave enough to carry this program. Zach, we were talking about how God has put you in a position that is just so strategic and you're loving it.

Like, you're in a sweet spot. Talk about this, just coaching coaches, coaching players, but the dynamic of impacting someone, changing a destiny for Jesus through coaching. Yeah, I think it goes back to that Billy Graham quote that you just said that a coach will have more impact or influence on an individual's life in a given year than most people have in a lifetime. I think that's the truest statement because when I think of my experience playing sports, I always say there are two types of coaches. There's the recruiter coach or there's the relational coach, right?

Not saying that one is worse than the other but recruiter coaches are very performance driven. Really, they make a lot of their players, I would say, think that their value, their worth, and their identity is attached to their performance. And unfortunately, what that does is it kind of disconnects them, leads a lot of players down a really rough road trying to reach for anything to fill that void or that gap of safe and secure attachment.

It's really what I'm heavily immersing myself in is that secure attachment literature, I would say. But then the relational coach, on the other hand, has the same type of drive and passion for the players. But really what they want them to understand is that their value, their worth, and their identity is detached from their performance, that they love them, that they care about the individual more than the results. And so when I think about this, I love helping athletes tie this in with their relationship with Christ, understanding that God is for us, not against us. There's this simple little quote I'll give to your people right here. Dan Siegel, he's one of the leading experts in interpersonal neurobiology, which is like the relational brain and how it functions.

He wrote a book called The Power of Showing Up. This is what I share with all the coaches that I have the opportunity sitting down with. The Power of Showing Up talks about how parental presence helps shape who our kids become and how their brains are wired. And he gave us four simple words that we can begin fostering this safe and secure attachment with other people, especially our players. Number one, we have to make them feel safe. It doesn't promise that they won't get their feelings hurt, that they won't get, you know, hurt within their entire lives. But ultimately what it does is it provides them with the sense of a safe haven, allowing them to run back to, then to go explore out in the world.

It's for the growth and the change that may be necessary. Number two, we have to be able to see them. What that means is see them emotionally, both good and bad, trying to see what's going on within their minds beneath their behavior. Number three, we have to soothe them. Soothing does not promise a life of ease, but what it does promise is that we're trying to help equip them with the coping skills necessary to navigate through the inevitable challenges that will come in life, helping them understand that they will never suffer alone. And then lastly, when we reliably provide safety, when we see them emotionally, and then when we soothe them in times of need, they're able to then rely on that safe and secure attachment. That's so cool.

Just four basic things. And it's messy. I mean, it's like the coach says, okay, guys, you should go to church on Sunday. Well, it may mean the coach has to go bang on the door, which I've done many times, go in the house, get in, you know, yank the covers off and say, buddy, throw on your pants, throw on your clothes.

We're going to church, right? I mean, this is, this is like life on life. This is getting into life with young people who may not have had a parent figure. They may not have had a godly parent to nurture them, to put them through good discipline. That's right.

And the beautiful thing about Siegel's research is he really talks about this one word, which is called neuroplasticity, which means that our brains can be developed and they can change over time. So even if somebody is going through the ringer and maybe they feel lost or they feel anxious or they feel depressed, that is not the end-all be-all, right? I think the beautiful thing about God is that there is a savior in the midst of the valley because he wants to remind us that the valley is not our home.

Amen. Baller Nation, we were with Rusty LaRue, NBA great, Wake Forest All-American, played three sports, scholarship athlete, grew up with a dad as a Marine and he says, it's funny, he says, I could play for Bobby Knight or any of those guys. I lived with Bobby Knight for 18 years, but he did say something very powerful when he spoke, Baller Nation, about you miss a couple shots, you could be cut from the team.

He was cut from NBA teams before he got to the Bulls in the last dance. Baller Nation, talk about what he said about how God's grace is there for you, no matter how many shots you missed. Yeah, he really talked about how God's grace is there and it doesn't matter how many points you score, but it ultimately matters that Jesus is number one in your life. And so it's just a great blessing to have Rusty and have him speak the other night of just how powerful performance, you don't have to perform.

You can just trust in Jesus and there's grace in the middle of it. Yeah, Baller Nation, John Perry, you're an ambassador of Truth Network, Truth Warrior ambassador. You're also coaching on the college level, assistant coach at Carolina University, and you're the one of the guys that helped bring Zach Clinton here to get him and what's it like having a guy like him come and talk to your players, share the gospel with him last year, powerful.

I was there. What's it like to have him and give a word about how important this is? Yeah, it's so important having Zach come to the team, just having a new perspective, a different voice for the guys to hear on the team. I mean, we've got 38 guys who are who are ready and hungry for the gospel and and they really just, it's always like Zach says, it's a struggle as a coach to reach these guys sometimes and it's just nice to have somebody with a fresh perspective and just an amazing character guy like Zach come and just also with just the amazing things that he's done throughout his life and with his dad.

It's just incredible. Zach, what do you say to these kids? You're going to go talk to the whole basketball team, a college basketball team. You're going to talk in just a couple hours.

You talk to all these guys. You talk, you work with a lot of Liberty University coaches and teams. I've met athletes that you've just been a brilliant impact in their life. What do you say, what's at the heart of your message to them and as you're thinking about what you're going to tell our listeners, parents are listening, coaches are listening, what's your word to them on how they can communicate Christ in the arena of sports and in their family? You know, I think something that James and I were just talking about was every time I get the opportunity to go and share whether it's a motivational talk, I'm prepping the team for the season, whatever that looks like, I just want to keep the main thing the main thing. So I want to share my testimony. I want to share, be vulnerable, share a lot of things that I've struggled with in my life personally. All my downfalls, how I am not enough, right?

And a message I've heard recently from a woman named Ruth Cho Simons really resonated with me that I want to share with them. And it talks about how in this life, it seems like we're always striving for more. We're always striving to be enough, I would say. Culture and society preaches independence, but that's why faith in Christ is so countercultural because it preaches dependence on him, helping them understand, right, that we were never made to be enough.

We were just made to be weak recipients of his grace and his goodness in our lives. So that's my heart and goal behind everything. That's so cool. James, you know, you're you're with this guy today, tagging along. Another big athlete right here.

We love these are big athletes. James, coach me in basketball. I got to know one thing. This is Zach Clinton. Is he the real deal? Talk to me. I'm not just talking about his jump shot because he knows he's got a jumper, but is he the real deal? James, talk to me. Actually, I coached him in basketball.

He doesn't have a jumper at all. Oh, no. Oh, no.

It's all now. I'm kidding. No, I've had the privilege to be around Zach since he was about 12 years old. And to see how much he has grown into the man he is today. He is. He is the real deal.

He is. He is a man of God and he doesn't take that lightly. And like you just said, he wants that's what he wants to get across is his relationship with the Lord. And you can have that, too. And it's been nothing but a privilege of mine and an honor to be a part of his life for 15 years or so. You know, it's these acts to talk to your coach, who what you're talking about, you're going to share with a college basketball team tonight, Carolina University. That guy was born into you 15 years ago. That's right.

And to see that fleshed out, that's incarnational. Your word out there to people as we wrap up. There's people listening. They don't have an athletic bone in their body like they wouldn't know what to say to a team.

You know, hey, can I can I stack chairs for you? They wouldn't know what to do. But what how everyone out there listening, how can you challenge them to be a coach for Christ? No, we call it coaching. We call it mentoring.

We call it small groups. But the master called it discipleship. He said, go make disciples. Challenge everyone listening. Parent, students, kids, someone in ninth grade needs to grab a sixth grader and just take him to coffee and hang with him and pour Christ into him.

Even coaches. What's your word on that powerful message of Christ in discipling and coaching everywhere we go to anyone that can do that? I think it goes back to we actually brought up the word discipleship today that I'll be speaking a little bit about in the message, but goes back to the beginning of time.

Right. In Genesis, the first thing that God said was not good was for man to be alone. It's found in Genesis two eighteen. And so if we were built for relationship, we have to cling to community in the midst of trial. Understand that pain is inevitable, but pain will be temporary. And I think of Romans eight twenty eight to anybody out there going through a really difficult time for we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to his purpose. But then understanding that that may not mean that your circumstance, that what you're praying for to change is going to change. It may not be answered according to your will, but our prayer should be that his will would be done in and through us. So the change would take place when he transforms the heart, when he renews the mind and when he reshapes the perspective, understanding that I promise you, it may not look different on the outside, but God can do the most amazing things internally. And that is where true change and true freedom takes place. Well, that's tremendous.

Now, I don't want to divert from this important conversation, but there is a almond almond autumn leaves latte sitting right in front of you. It just came out and you're about to put that down. But you're going to tell us what your website is for folks to learn more about the built different podcast, about your books, about they can hear you interview Darryl Strawberry and other great folks. What's the website? How can they find out more about Zach Clinton? So to find out more about me, my website, Zach Clinton dot com, that has all the podcasting network up there, it has a built different challenge, completely free seven day challenge that we've developed that will help you grow holistically when it comes to your physical, mental, relational, spiritual and financial health and well-being.

It's a really fun, simple program that you can go through. But also, if you're a guy and you're interested in our ignitements impact, we can coming up here March 10th and 11th, the Thomas Rowe Baptist Church. I promise you guys, you're not going to want to miss it. We have a killer lineup and we're going to be announcing some big name athletes coming up here soon. So please plan to join us March 10th and 11th.

Tom, Thomas Rowe Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia. I'll be awesome. The new ninety three point seven FM, the new truth talk affiliate will be there to pump it up. God bless you, brother. Thank you so much. Do this is the Truth Network.