Raising Expectations with Pastor Joe Schofield Prayer Life, Family Time, and Leading Teams That Win with Stephen Greek Texas high school football coach Stephen Greek returns to Raising Expectations for a second week, walking Pastor Joe Schofield, Melva Schofield, and Ron Greer through his daily prayer life, keeping a marriage strong during football season, and what actually makes a team, a family, or a business win. Team Roll Call and Opening Prayer Pastor Joe Schofield opens the Monday broadcast the way he always does, thanking listeners around the world and reminding them that Jesus Christ died and rose so that anyone who confesses their sins and asks him in can know their eternity is settled, with expectations rising as God works in their lives. He moves quickly through his team, greeting Dr. Paul Hall on the West Coast in Lompoc, California, noting that Dr. Craig and Stephanie Thayer are away celebrating an anniversary this week, and welcoming Pastor Ron Greer, calling in from McKinney, Texas, who works with the ministry Men in the Mirror out of Florida. He introduces his wife Melva, seated beside him at the desk. Before bringing the guest on, Schofield points listeners to bbsradio.com/RaisingExpectations for team biographies, donation information, and his own book, Raising Legitimate Faith Producing Authentic Hope, alongside Dr. Craig Thayer's book, Saved, Finding God in the Ordinary, and previews the evening's returning guest, coach Stephen Greek, back for a second week in a row. Introducing Coach Stephen Greek and Family Schofield brings on Stephen Greek, the Texas high school football coach, teacher, and author behind the ministry goscore.life, reminding listeners that Greek's grandfather pastored for Christ and that his parents have spent decades in gospel ministry to the elderly. He shows a family photo, pointing out Greek's wife, Daisy, and their three sons, all of whom played quarterback in high school like their father did growing up near Branson, Missouri. Greek thanks the panel warmly for having him back, joking that he worried Schofield might text to say the invitation had been a mistake, and says he considers it an honor to share again after how much fun the group had the previous week. Schofield explains the plan for the night, handing the first round of questions to his wife Melva, who addressed faith with Greek in the earlier broadcast, before the rest of the team follows up. He again points listeners to the show's website and to Greek's own site, stevengreek.com, for more information. Scripture and a Daily Prayer Rhythm Melva Schofield asks Greek what verses beyond Colossians 3:23, the one she says a pastor once wrote inside her own New Testament at eighteen, have carried him through life. Greek recalls the book Hind's Feet on High Places and a pastor's line that God can never use a man greatly until he hurts him deeply, then turns to Romans 8:28 and its promise that all things work together for good for those who love God. Asked what daily prayer looks like now, he describes early morning walks and workouts with his wife reciting Bible promises aloud, then explains the acronym ACTS, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, quoting Galatians 2:20 about being crucified with Christ during the confession portion. He remembers singing the hymn Count Your Blessings as a boy in his grandfather's church and testifying afterward, and says naming what he is thankful for still redirects his focus away from a heavy heart. Melva says the exchange reflects the blessings and challenges of her own life's stage. Protecting Marriage During Football Season Ron Greer asks how Greek keeps his marriage a priority through a grueling football season, noting how many coaching families he and his wife have mentored through years of near-widowhood during the season. Greek says he watched other coaches' marriages unravel early in his career and resolved to build in intentional time, like driving ten minutes to Braum's for a three-dollar-and-fifteen-cent yogurt cone with his wife the night before the broadcast, and credits his father with the phrase that love is spelled T-I-M-E. He describes protecting Sundays for church and, when the budget allows, family lunch, plus a tradition of homemade pizza and kitchen dance parties to decades of music. At the high school level, Greek says his staff worked no Sundays through four state championships, and recalls an NFL coach who threatened to fire any assistant who missed a child's soccer game for the office. He notes college coaches often build staff Bible studies and chaplain-led devotions instead, since travel schedules there are harder to control. Leading Teams in Business and Sports Ron Greer poses a business scenario, a leader whose talented team will not gel, and asks Greek where to start. Greek says leadership always begins with hearing a person's heartbeat, the John Maxwell-style questions about what makes someone cry, sing, or dream, so a business owner can learn whether his systems actually let people work from their strengths, citing his own son's marketing work with small businesses as an example. He stresses that teams need a clear target, since aiming for nothing guarantees hitting it, and compares reading a company's culture to reading a defense as a quarterback. Quoting Phil Jackson's line that a team is only as good as its most recent win or loss, Greek turns to a story from Bill Walsh's book The Winning Edge, in which the San Francisco 49ers coach names a two-win season as one of his greatest victories because the team somehow found a way to win at all. Greek adds his grandfather's saying, when you don't know what to do, do what you know, and keep your eyes on Jesus. Surrender, Scripture, and a Closing Prayer Schofield describes a listener who feels like they are losing in faith, family, and work all at once and asks what Greek would tell them. Greek answers that every area of life is only made right by surrendering to Jesus, walking through the gospel of his sinless life, substitutionary death, and resurrection, and recalling his own father's habit of confessing mistakes to him as a teenager. He offers three practical steps for starting fresh, getting into Scripture daily, building a rhythm of prayer and praise, and finding a Bible-believing congregation for encouragement and mentorship. Greek adds that his parents' ministry reaches elderly and homebound believers who watch broadcasts like this one as their only church family, and says his books intentionally weave faith into every coaching and business lesson. Schofield thanks him, points listeners again to stevengreek.com, and jokes about coaxing Paul Hall, dropped by a Zoom glitch, back for a Christmas episode. He closes the broadcast praying by name over Greek, his sons, and his parents before the outro theme plays.
