YOU NEED TO:
1) Have the right equipment
2) Know Your Position
If Darren McFadden showed up tomorrow to play in the Capital One Bowl and he discovered that Casey Dick and Felix Jones have decided to go shoot fireworks and Marcus Monk and the other receivers are out playing golf and the entire offensive line and defense decided to go to Disney World again and all of the second, third, and fourth string players went home because they assumed that they wouldn’t get a chance to play, what would happen? Now, McFadden finished second in this year’s Heisman award voting. That’s the award that is supposed to be given to the nation’s best college football player. McFadden is supposedly the second best player in the nation, yet if he were taking on the University of Wisconsin Badgers all by himself, the Razorbacks would have zero chance of winning and the score would probably go into the record books as the biggest bowl blowout ever. Sadly, there are many times in the life of a church when it seems that two or three members have been left to take on a task of overwhelming proportions. Some of you have been that person… many of you have caused a situation like that before (maybe unknowingly). How can a team survive if its players don’t actually care to play? 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 says:
(12:12) For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (14) For in fact the body is not one member but many. (15) If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? (16) And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? (17) If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? (18) But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (19) And if they were all one member, where would the body be? (20) But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. (21) And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” (22) No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. (23) And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, (24) but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, (25) that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. (26) And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. (NKJV)
So, what makes up a football team/church?
Every church has an Owner – God/Jesus Christ
Every church has or is looking for a good Coaching Staff – Pastor and other Ministerial Staff
Every church has people who prefer to take care of the little things like taking notes from game footage or answering phones
Every church has its star players like the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. These are usually the people in the church that you often notice doing a lot of the important work… these players/members often have a lot of responsibility given to them and often receive a great deal of the credit or the blame for an event or project.
Every church has its other starters. These players/members often do just as much work as the star players, but only get noticed on rare occasions.
Every church has its substitute players. These are members that stand on the sideline waiting for an opportunity to play… some are hoping for an opportunity and will jump at any chance they get…they’re just waiting to be asked… others are hoping that nobody asks them because they really don’t think that they have the skills to help the team. These players in a game and in a church should always be ready to fill in for the other players.
Every church also has 2 sets of fans. These are members that only occasionally come to church. The first set of fans will still claim an affiliation with your church as long as things are going well, but they will stop showing up at the first sign of a losing season. The second set of fans… well, you can’t ever please them because they don’t want to be pleased. They think that the coaching staff should have been fired three years ago and they certainly don’t want anyone to know that they belong to that church.
Where do you fit into this team? Most of you here this morning are players, but if you think that you might be sitting in the stands… may I encourage you to come and join the rest of the team as a player? The good thing about our football team is that we never get penalized for having too many players on the field. If you are a substitute player, don’t wait on someone to come and ask you if you want to get in the actual game or not… go to the coaches… come talk to the staff.
[tags]Arkansas Razorbacks, Darren McFadden, Casey, Felix Jones, Marcus Monk, Disney World, Heisman, church, coaching staff, players[/tags]
