Making a Team
Tonight was our first practice for our Upward basketball season at our church. I have a team of 8 boys in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. It is always a challenge to help the boys learn some basketball and to learn about the Lord, too. The goal is for them to come to know Christ, if they are not already Christians. The second goal is to build character in their lives, and to teach them that in Jesus we are all winners. That is a great truth for boys and girls these days.
As the coach, I want to try to help them improve their skills in basketball, but I want them to have fun, too. I want them to know the thrill of victory, and I want them to know how to lose gracefully. However, mostly I would like to be able to make them into a team. To do that I emphasize the strengths of each player, and I try to put them in the position that will enable them to excel. Then, I show them how to work together using their strengths. If one can dribble well, I want him to dribble and pass the ball. If a boy can't dribble well, I hope he will learn, but to put him in a position that calls for him to dribble would cause him great frustration. It is the same with shooting and rebounding, except that I do want all of them to shoot and score. Therefore, I try to set them up for victory.
Think about the church. It is really a lot the same as a team. Each person should find his or her strengths and get into a position to use those strengths for the Lord. We should not put someone in a position to fail but to succeed in the Lord. Then, as we all work together, we make the impact God intended in the lives of people, and God gets the glory, because He gave us those gifts or strengths.
Where do you fit into the team we call the church? What is your strength? How could you maximize your gifts to help the team do the Lord's will? All of these things are important for all of us. It is not a game. It is a matter of life and death.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 11-13 and James 1.
As the coach, I want to try to help them improve their skills in basketball, but I want them to have fun, too. I want them to know the thrill of victory, and I want them to know how to lose gracefully. However, mostly I would like to be able to make them into a team. To do that I emphasize the strengths of each player, and I try to put them in the position that will enable them to excel. Then, I show them how to work together using their strengths. If one can dribble well, I want him to dribble and pass the ball. If a boy can't dribble well, I hope he will learn, but to put him in a position that calls for him to dribble would cause him great frustration. It is the same with shooting and rebounding, except that I do want all of them to shoot and score. Therefore, I try to set them up for victory.
Think about the church. It is really a lot the same as a team. Each person should find his or her strengths and get into a position to use those strengths for the Lord. We should not put someone in a position to fail but to succeed in the Lord. Then, as we all work together, we make the impact God intended in the lives of people, and God gets the glory, because He gave us those gifts or strengths.
Where do you fit into the team we call the church? What is your strength? How could you maximize your gifts to help the team do the Lord's will? All of these things are important for all of us. It is not a game. It is a matter of life and death.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 11-13 and James 1.