Author: D. Sader

Glory Road Essay Question: What Does It Take to Change the World?

After viewing the film Glory Road write a 5 paragraph essay response to the question: What Does It Take to Change the World?

Pick and choose from the following six ideas to develop your own thesis and topic sentences. In your essay refer to specific detail from the film, your own experiences, and passages from Scripture to develop your response to the question: What Does It Take to Change the World?

One: Recruiting Strategies
(read Luke 14:15-24; 1 Corinthians 1:24-31; and John 3:16-18; John 1:12-13)

  • How does Coach Haskins change his recruiting methods after the traditional methods fail?
    In school, when a team “captain” was choosing up sides for a team — what determined if someone got picked or not?
  • Have you ever wanted to be part of something — knowing you could do well — only to be rejected? Or have you ever rejected someone because of their race, the way they talked, the clothes they wore, or where they lived? Describe your experience.
  • When Paul comments about “the wise” who do you think he is talking about? Who would represent the “wise” in Glory Road?
  • What kind of people does God “recruit?”
  • What does God use as His standard for who makes the team?

Two: Good Players Need Good Coaching
 (read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; 2 Timothy 2:2-7)

  • Name some of the behaviors that players on the Texas Western team had to overcome in order to become winners.
  • What kinds of things did Coach Haskins do to discipline his team so that they would work together?
  • What does the Bible say about why some people might not work well together?
  • Name some roles Christians play in changing the world for Christ.
  • Describe a coaching or mentoring relationship you have or had in school. What effect did the coaching have on your performance? What characteristics did you most appreciate in the person who was helping you?
  • What does Timothy — and the rest of us — learn about playing on God’s team from each of the examples that Paul uses?
  • Where should we go to find out what we should do, what the rules are, and how to work hard?
  • Once we have learned how to change the world for Christ, what does Paul say we should do with that knowledge?

Three: Great Players Persevere
 (read 1 Peter 5:8; 1 Peter 4:12-19; James 1:2-3, 12 and Romans 5:1-5)

  • What were some of the responses people had when the Texas Western team began to win — especially when they began to beat highly-ranked teams?
  • Once things got really bad, what happened to the team?
  • How was their internal conflict demonstrated outwardly?
  • Who is one of our opponents?
  • Why shouldn’t we be surprised that we face opposition?
  • What does it mean to be reviled?
  • What do James and Paul say we should do in the face of difficult opposition?
  • What is the end result of endurance and perseverance?

Four: Players Don’t Stand Alone
 (read Romans 12:4-13, Philippians 2:1-11 and Hebrews 10:23-25)

  • When Coach Haskins announces his decision to his team — what is their response?
  • Some of the white players would never again get a chance to play in a championship tournament, so why do you think they agreed to sit out the game?
  • What lines of support did you see develop that helped Texas Western to prevail? According to the Bible, what are some ways we can show support for one another?
  • How does meeting together regularly contribute to the support of all members?

Five: All Players Triumph through Belief and Action
 (read James 2:14-26)

  • What obstacles have you overcome in your life?
  • Can you give some examples of how action confirms belief?
  • What kind of actions can you take that will lead others to Jesus and help to change the world for Christ

Six: Go Play to Win!
(read 1 Corinthians 9:25-27)

  • What one thing will you change about yourself this week to help win the world for Christ?
  • What one thing will you commit yourself to do for someone else in this room to help them in their faith
  • Discuss what you can do to reach out to others and help them to join God’s team.

NRSV translation of the related Scriptures from http://bible.oremus.org/:
James 2:1-10
Luke 14:15-24
1 Corinthians 1:24-31
John 3:16-18
John 1:12-13
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
2 Timothy 2:2-7
1 Peter 5:8
1 Peter 4:12-19
James 1:2-3
James 1:12
Romans 5:1-5
Romans 12:4-13
Philippians 2:1-11
Hebrews 10:23-25
James 2:14-26
1 Corinthians 9:25-27

Wonder & Awe in God’s Presence

“I have called you friends, because I have make known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” John 15:15
  1. Where/when do I most feel God’s presence in my life?
  2. What are my hopes and dreams for my life?
  3. The Sunday Eucharist is the “source and summit of life”. Will the Sunday Eucharist be part of my summer journey?
  4. Share a moment of Wonder and Awe in God’s presence in your own life.

“May you find the path that leads to the highest and truest of yourself. Hope for perpetual discovery and trust life.” – Teilhard De Chardin

Reverence

“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” – Romans 15:13

  1. How have I been attentive to God’s voice in my life?
  2. How can we liberate each other on our journey?
  3. How does receiving the Eucharist contribute liberating grace for my journey?
  4. Freedom is wide open friendship with God – what does this mean to me today?

“Sacred One, teach us love, compassion and honour that we may heal the earth and heal each other.” – Ojibwa Prayer

Knowledge

“As God’s chosen one, whole and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience … Forgive each other.” – Colossians 3:12-13

  1. What are your hopes and dreams for yourself?
  2. What are some activities that refresh you?
  3. What difference has the Pascal (Easter) Mystery made in my life and in the life of our school community?
  4. “Place your talents and enthusiasm at the service of life.” – John Paul II

“Knowing in not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough: we must do.” – Goethe

Patience

“Beloved, let us love one another.” 1John 4:7

  1. In what ways do I see my job or position as a call or invitation from God?
  2. Am I confusing my God given talents and gifts?
  3. Is my faith an inspiring gift to the students and my peers? My parish?
  4. Do you think we own our gifts?

“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life or in the life of another.” – Helen Keller

Receive the Power of the Holy Spirit

“You are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you.” – Isaiah 43:4

  1. Who or what has been my greatest inspiration?
  2. How does God, the Holy Spirit, inspire you in your teaching ministry?
  3. When do I most need the Power in my life; in what areas of my life right now?
  4. What step can I take to widen my horizon; to see anew?

“Find the thing that stirs your heart and make room for it.” – Joan Chittister

Wisdom

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed … nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

  1. Who or what is a source of Wisdom in my life and why?
  2. What could I, with the help of God, transform in my life?
  3. How do I turn to God for help?
  4. What area in my life do I see great potential?

“We need the discipline of the scales, in order to improvise.” – Timothy Radcliffe

Peace and Joy

“Be strong and courageous: do not be frightened or dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

  1. At the heart of Mary’s yes to bring Jesus to the world, was great faith and belief in the Power of God. What is the center of my faith? What do I put my trust in?
  2. In the midst of the Advent season in what way can  most experience peace and joy?

“The rivers of our soul sprang from the same well.” – Chinese poet Po Chu

Understanding

“God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” 1John 1:5

  1. When do I feel most at peace and most understood?
  2. What role do the Church’s Sacrament of Peace and reconciliation play in one’s inner peace?
  3. What could help me become more understanding?
  4. A.J. Muste says, “There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” What does this mean to me?

Prayer for World Peace
Lord we pray for the power to be gentle,
The strength to be forgiving,
The patience to be understanding
And the endurance to accept the consequences
Of holding to what we believe to be right.
May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil
And the power of love to overcome hatred.
We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world
Emancipated from violence, a new work where fear shall no longer lead people to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.
Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace.
Praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we and all people were created.