A Dream for the Team

Every year around this time, football teams across the country take the field for their first games. They all start the season with goals and hopes for success. The long hours of physical training, eating well, and team practices will now be put to use in the game.

I was talking to a football player today and he said the average play lasts about 5 or 6 seconds. And the average player might be part of 40 plays in a game. That's a total of about 4 minutes of intense action per game. And it's usually only about 3 or 4 plays per game that become Big Highlight Plays.

The thing that keeps coming back to me about those 3 or 4 Big Highlight Plays per game is this:
The Big Highlight Plays wouldn't be possible without the regular, routine, repetitious, sometimes boring habits that take hours every day.

No coach worth his sweat would imagine their players being ready for the Big Play without the regular, routine, repetitious and rigorous habits of football practice.

This has wonderful parallels for the Christian life.
It is the regular, routine, repetitious, sometimes boring habits that prepare us for the few Big Plays in our life.

I spoke with a man in our church whose family is facing a "Big Play" right now – unexpected costs to treat a family member's illness. The costs are not just financial. They are emotional, spiritual and even physical costs involved in this "Big Play."

Going through this "Big Play" will be difficult and challenging for this family. That's the nature of Big Plays. But this family is not unprepared for the challenge.

I've known this family for 8 years now, and they have practiced spiritual, financial and physical discipleship regularly, routinely, repetitiously and rigorously.

• They worship regularly.
  
• They have taken Disciple Bible study and other small group studies to grow in their faith.
  
• They served God through mission trips, community outreach, VBS, building the church building etc.
  
• They ordered their life in a way that they were able to give a tithe (10 percent) of their income to the church.
  
• They have no debt except for their house mortgage.
  
• They saved an emergency fund.
  

So this man tells me that he wishes he knew how this "Big Play" was going to turn out, but that their faith and the support of their church family would be more important than ever for them now. He said, "I don't want to do this but we are going to have to stop tithing 10% of our income to the church during this season of treatment. But the good news is that we are not going to go into debt. We're going to be ok."

This man and his family are spiritually, financially and physically ready for this "Big Play" that has come their way.

I dream of a church full of people who are willing to practice discipleship regularly, routinely, repetitiously and rigorously so that they are ready for the "Big Play" that comes their way and extend needed help when they see other families facing their own "Big Play."

That's my dream for the team!