Paris Originals
8/01/2007
 I am reading a book these days called The Disciple-Making Church by Glenn McDonald. On pages 112-113 the author uses an analogy that I found particularly thought-provoking. He says…On most top-drawer football teams only a few performers ever get to touch the ball. They are the so-called money players. Everybody else on the team accepts a supporting role. Realistically the money players are the only team members who are likely to score or radically affect the outcome of a game. Each year at the time of the Super Bowl, even after a week of saturation news coverage, most football fans can name only six or eight of the 100 or so players who have suited up for the game. Are you an offensive lineman? You’d better stop dreaming about getting a pregame interview with ESPN. Whenever churches imitate this “star system” that is so typical of professional sports, we find ourselves in big trouble. We start to imagine that only a few people are spiritually capable of carrying the ball. We’ve identified our own money players. There’s the preacher, of course. And the soprano soloist. Don’t forget the missionary, or the major donor who becomes the go-to-guy when the money is tight. And don’t overlook that one mom who is always willing to chaperone the middle school overnight lock-in. These are the | people who do great things for God. The rest of us watch and pray. What we pray is that they all aren’t transferred in the same month. Is that picture found anywhere in the Bible? Of course not. What God’s Word tells us is that every disciple is called to make a difference. If you are a lifelong learner of Jesus Christ, then you get the ball. In fact, you’re called to score. The plain truth is that every follower of Jesus is expected to do great things for God — to radically affect the growth of God’s kingdom through his or her presence and faithfulness. That’s the gist of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:12: “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.” Paul summarizes in verse 27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” When I read those words I could not help thinking about our upcoming Life Keys training. The purpose of Life Keys is to help you discover just how wonderfully fashioned you are and how gifted you are to fulfill God’s purposes for you in the world. Check out the training session schedule on page 2 and sign up soon. Lois, Pat Lindquist, John Kauffman, and I are all “chomping at the bits” to get started. Through Life Keys I think you will be delighted to discover that the ball has been in your hands all along. Perhaps you have just needed a little help to see it. |
The United Church of Christ.