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If Ministry Were a Ball Game

ByPastor Wynn

As I have pondered on the ministry, a thought occurred to me…What if each member of a local church approached the ministry as fans do ball games?

Each week, during the Fall, untold thousands of fans pour into the stadiums of their favorite teams.  They pay a ghastly amount of money for an advanced ticket.  They spend large amounts of funds to finance their trip to the game.  They may rent a motel room the night before, buy a lot of food for “tail-gating” purposes, fuel for the vehicle, etc.  They have spent money on their team’s merchandising (hats, pennants, flags, decals, etc).

These well-financed fans arrive a couple of hours early, in order to get the best parking and seating.  They pay a fee to park their car at the stadium.  Stand in long lines to enter the stadium.  Then, joyfully sit in the stadium seating for several hours.

As game time approaches, their heart races in anticipation of the “kick-off.”  Then, the participation begins!  The shouts, the yells, the cheering of their team players.  In a packed stadium, the adrenalin levels are at all-time highs!  When a quarterback throws an interception, the crowd grumbles briefly, then shouts words of encouragement like, “You can do it!”  If a player is injured on the field, the game pauses while the player is cared for.  The fans all are concerned because they know the game will be difficult to win, if he cannot continue to play.  No one leaves the stands and goes and kicks the player for allowing himself to get injured.

If the game is a “nail-biter,” with a close score, no one leaves until the game is over.  Snack runs, bathroom runs, and other departures are suspended.  No one wants to miss the final play.  It may be the best play of all time!

After the game is over, the multitude of fans pour out of the stadium and make their way home.  For the fans of the winning team, they are exhilarated!  The game is their topic of discussion for the next several days.  “Did you see that play?” is a frequent question at the water cooler at work.  For the fans of the losing team, they say “I am still a fan, because you don’t quit ‘em when they’re down.”  Team loyalty is important.

Wouldn’t it be nice if believers would have the same passion, commitment and enthusiasm for their local church and its leadership?  How wonderful it would be to see believers who eagerly anticipate the next service at church. . .Who strongly invest in the ministry and its outreach efforts…Who arrive early so they can “get a good seat”…Who convince friends to come with them…Who vocally participate in the service with well-placed “Amens,” “Preach it,” and more…Who would willingly sit on “stadium seats,” if it helped in furthering the gospel…Who spoke words of encouragement when someone “falls,” fails or is injured…Who supports the leadership.

Sure, there are those who always feel they could have done better.  The “armchair quarterbacks” will always be with us.  These are the people who have never trained a day in their lives to play the game.  They have never played or coached.  They have never studied the plays, read the rule book, or planned a strategy for winning. They have always been a spectator.  They have no skin in the game.  If the team failed and ceased to exist, they would claim to have “seen it coming.”  They have no investment in it.  They have no commitment to it.  During the week, they think nothing of the team or game.  Although, they claim the team when it is winning.

Likewise, in ministry.  There are those who have not prepared themselves for ministry.  They have never spent a day in disciplining themselves in ministry training.  They have never read the Bible through.  They can quote very little from the Bible.  Yet, they are the ones who know how to best run the ministry.  They are the ones who, when a ministry crisis arises, could “see it coming.”  Yet, they offered little help to avoid it.  Rather, they relish in the fact that they can claim to have known better.  These are the ones who, during the week, think nothing of the ministry (unless there is gossip to be heard).  If their church closed tomorrow, they would simply migrate to another.  It would be no life-changing loss for them.

Lord, help us to be more passionate about your work.  Forgive us for allowing a simple game to claim more of our passion and finances than the work of the local church.  Help each believer to realize that, in ministry, there are no spectators.  Each believer is called of God to participate.  This means that each believer must prepare for ministry by diligent study of God’s Word, by commitment to being at each service.  (After all, no player would be permitted to continue who only showed up for 80% or less of the games).  May we realize that ministry has an impact on eternity.  A simple football game will not matter within a few months.  Help us to live for eternal purposes.

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34 Comments

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