Trust is a funny thing. It takes years to build but can be destroyed in an instant. Trust requires honesty, communication, loyalty and proven moral integrity. It is one of the foundational elements behind every great team.

Andy Pettitte knows all about the fragile nature of trust. He has spent his entire life building up trustworthy relationships with his family, his friends, his teammates, the baseball community and the public at large. Yet a single seemingly insignificant misstep can open the door for doubt, which often then results in a certain measure of distrust. In today’s society, it doesn’t take much for a cynical public (and an even more cynical media) to question one’s integrity and chip away at that bedrock of trust.

Trouble and being troubled are two completely different things. Trouble is being down by a run, nobody on base, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and our worst hitter coming to the plate. Being troubled is having no strategy for this scenario and not being prepared to accept the possible consequences that are about to come.

As coaches, there will be many times when we will have to declare to our team, “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” We might even complete our short speech with the same words that Jesus did: “Believe in me.” But if we haven’t demonstrated believability to our players, these words will have absolutely no value. Without having the same credibility that Jesus had, our words will be like wisps of air.

Most of us, at some time, have found ourselves at “the end or our rope” or at the end of our own strength emotionally. Maybe we were so tired at practice that we were disrespectful to a coach, a trainer, or teammate. Most of us have been let down by someone whom we look up to because they were at the end of their rope emotionally. Maybe a friend lied, or our parents left, or our coach blew up and disrespected us.

The other morning my phone alerted me to a new message.  When I checked the screen I saw the following message: "Bible – Update Available".  Now even though I realized that I was being alerted to a digital update for my smart phone Bible application, it is what I heard later in the day that made me think twice about the alert. 

As I traveled to work, the talk radio show I had tuned in was replaying an interview between talk show host Piers Morgan and Saddleback pastor Rick Warren.  During the interview, Mr. Morgan made the following statement:

"…the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned, but they are basically inherently flawed.  Hence the need to amend it...it’s time for an amendment to the Bible."

One of the Division 1 schools in my area entered its conference tournament as the number eight seed and appeared to be a long shot to win it all. The head coach for the team admitted they fell short of expectations, but that the one goal they could hold on to was winning a conference tournament championship. Despite the odds, the team achieved that goal by knocking off the first-, second- and fourth-seeded teams, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament in the process. As one player said, the team put it together when it counted most.