“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15 (ESV)

The success of the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates, who broke a 20-year losing streak and made the playoffs, began because Pittsburgh Manager Clint Hurdle wanted to make a difference by choosing something other than what people told him to do.

Hurdle recounted his decision to Sports Spectrum in the 2013 Spring issue.

“Everyone told me that I had to go to New York,” recalls Hurdle, who says that people advised him to take that job because of his connection with the Mets as a player and minor league manager. “But every time I woke up, I said Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, I knew that I could make a difference.”

Being a Christian, he wanted to make a difference on and off the field.

He asks men whenever he talks to them, “Are you making a difference? Jesus doesn’t want a finished product. He wants to help you become a finished product. Jesus will help you become a finished product.” The disciples were a work in progress, as evidenced by their lives during Jesus’ ministry. Jesus just wanted someone He could mold, who was willing, so that when He sent them out (as he did in Mark 16:15), they would be ready.

Making a difference doesn’t mean being ready now, but it means being willing to be used. God wants hearts that are willing, not resistant.

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. Log in here to access our most recent Training Table. Subscribe here to receive 12 issues a year and a daily sports-related devotional.