Play Free: Change the Game

By Richie Sarlo

TRUTH MATTERS

We live in a world that is desperately seeing truth. In our attempts to find it, we have missed the Source, settling for a diluted version that is neither effective nor relevant. In his book Play Free: Change the Game, Richie Sarlo challenges this cultural mindset by unpacking the following:

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685568085

Richie Sarlo

At the age of nineteen, Richie Sarlo felt called by God to leave university and enter seminary. In the years that followed, he earned a Master of Theology and Doctor of Sacred Studies from Christian Life School of Theology in Columbus, Georgia.He and his wife, Misty, were married in 2002 and have served in every area of local church ministry, from volunteer to full-time staff. With over twenty years in full-time ministry, Richie has seen Christians consistently held captive to past hurts, wounds, and traumas, ultimately crippling their growth in Christ.In 2011, he went through a process of allowing the Lord to heal the wounds, hurts, and traumas of his past, and what emerged from that season was his mandate, "To help broken people like myself find healing in Jesus so that they can live physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy lives."In 2015, he and Misty felt called to plant a church with the mission of teaching Christians how to live free by allowing the Lord access to every area of their past, present, and future. This church, The Community Chapel, has a motto that states, "We do hard things!"Along with pastoring in full-time ministry, Richie is a serial entrepreneur and a passionate communicator.

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Play Free: Change the Game (Updated Edition)

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

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Copyright © 2022 by Richard Sarlo

Scripture quotations marked niv are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked nlt are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked nkjv are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Cover design by: Trilogy

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-68556-807-8

E-ISBN: 978-1-68556-808-5

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the dreamers who have had their wings clipped. May you find strength again in the name of Jesus.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

—Theodore Roosevelt

Foreword

I am writing this in one of the most polarizing times in our history as our world is experiencing a divide like no other time. Parties are fiercely divided in policy, racial tensions are at an all-time high, and the country is trying to navigate its way through a global pandemic. COVID-19 took everyone by surprise in the first quarter of 2020 as it ravaged China, Italy, and Europe before making its way to the states, sparking an almost immediate travel ban and the quarantining of sick individuals. What made it even more difficult is that we did not have a vaccine to combat this virus, forcing widespread panic, government regulations, and eventual state-mandated shutdowns of businesses, churches, schools, public beaches, and parks. This new normal forced people to adapt as many were reintroduced to their families either by furlough or stay-at-home orders. As if tensions were not already high, race relations took a nose-dive after the murder of George Floyd. In cities across America, riots broke out as people of all races came together in protest. It was the match that caused the wick of the American psyche to catch fire.

There is always a backlash when people are forced to confine themselves to a pattern of living they are not accustomed to. We learned how to communicate through glass shields and face masks and to navigate directional arrows at our local grocery stores to slow the spread. The hope of tomorrow seemed distant as we vacillated between the ever-changing protocols that destroyed the free exchange of ideas and capitalism. Zoom meetings took off as businesses and people were forced to meet via screens to connect and get work done. Kids were also caught in the throngs as they were forced to go online for some time, stunting socialization and delaying critical developmental processes.

Will it ever be normal again? I’m not sure we are ever meant to get back to normal. September 11, 2001, changed the way our nation looked at security protocols in our airports. We learned from it and made the necessary adjustments to help keep us safer. You didn’t necessarily like the extra security measures, the pat-downs, and bag searches, but deep down, there was a sense of relief that our country was doing something to keep us safe.

We don’t often change unless it’s absolutely necessary. A poor doctor’s report, a death in the family, being fired from a job, or a failed relationship—all highlight the inevitability of life transitions. Much like a surprise global pandemic, these life-altering events can leave us embittered and cynical. These unexpected events have caused much of our world to be stuck. Like a marathon runner who physically can’t take one more step, our society has remained stalled, but does it have to be this way? Unanswered questions lead people to draw their own conclusions resulting in unrest. Instead of order and peace, you have chaos and confusion. Although this may be a new season, this is not a new problem. Since the fall of man in Genesis 3, we have dealt with the repercussions of sin and lawlessness.

When people do not accept divine guidance,

they run wild.

But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

Proverbs 29:18 (NLT)

People who struggle with change will struggle with progress because it forces them to reconcile that they are not in control. Adam and Eve’s sin caused a change in their utopian environment, but can you imagine if they would have halted life because they weren’t living in paradise anymore? What about you? Has the last several years caused you to live bound? It could be fear of sickness or anger that things are not what they used to be. How can we truly play free when life feels so restrictive?

My prayer is that as you continue reading this book, you will see that since the fall, we have lived with some semblance of restrictions, but this never has and can never depict our freedom if we are in Christ. In any case, change is difficult, but it is only when we can learn to embrace it that we can begin to play free.

Follow Me

Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Luke 9:23 (NIV)

This command from Jesus has given us the blueprint to discover our real purpose in life. Contrary to the following craze of our social media platforms and popular news outlets, Jesus splits the narrative of social acceptance in two with a clear solution to being a follower. He didn’t ask for us to follow a system, an idea, or a movement. Instead, He tells His disciples, Follow me. For many of His followers, this may have seemed like an invitation to literally follow Him around, learn from Him, listen to His words, and become a student of His teaching.

Although Jesus isn’t physically present with us on the earth today, He still echoes through His Word, Follow me! If you have read the Gospels, you have undoubtedly been faced with some very unpopular feelings regarding Jesus’ words. Follow me is nice, but when He starts to talk about eating His flesh and drinking His blood or hating family members, that becomes a step in the journey many are unwilling to take.

There has been a process that has existed from virtually the beginning of time involving public shunning. Early Greek history records a system of ostracism meant to banish an individual for causing a disruption in the flow of society or disrupting the cultural norms. I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s! Big hair, bomber jackets, Michael Jackson—this was life! Along with this culture, I also experienced its version of ostracism. We called it boycotting! As Christians, we boycotted anything and everything that represented secularism. Keep out the evil and only subscribe to Jesus. We waved our Jesus banners in church, shook our tambourines, and boycotted everything we were against.

Today, we are too ordered to banish someone, so instead, we cancel that person. Canceling someone or an organization is not a new practice; it may have changed names over the years, but it is certainly not new.

Christians living in today’s society are suddenly on the receiving end of what it feels like to be canceled. If you don’t believe me, invite your friend at work who is an atheist to church! You will quickly feel the shunning that so many have felt throughout history. Please hear me! I’m not making the claim that we shouldn’t operate within boundaries. However, erecting invisible boundaries meant to keep out evil is a process Jesus neither participated in nor condoned. Jesus engaged the leaders of His day with unpopular truths that set them ablaze and ultimately caused them to hate Him. So, if we are going to follow Jesus, then it stands to reason that we may experience and should expect to be canceled by some, if not many.

Instead of speaking the truth in love, we have hidden behind a perverted version of love. Because we fear being canceled or unpopular, we skirt around the truth and never address sin, as the Bible calls it. Inclusivity has crept into our way of life and masked itself as love. Here is where I believe we have stopped following Jesus and become ensnared or shackled to people. How can you truly play free if you are more concerned with how others will treat you in response to your obedience to Jesus? Here is the place I have to control my anger. Pastor friends reading this book, you have not been called to preach or teach your opinion on the Word of God. You have been called, by our Savior, to speak the truth in love. You don’t get a pass on this. You are sacrificing the freedom of your congregation and crippling their growth as believers. We have to stand on the truth found only in the Word of God. Stop winking at sin by looking the other way. If you know your worship leader is struggling with sin, do what is right. The fear that your worship set on Sunday may take a hit only teaches and reinforces your sin sickness. Follow Jesus and play free!

The Setup

Do you know why you were created? You are not just