It's A Team Game

"It's not enough to be committed to God - you have to be committed specifically to your church." ... That's what the speaker said when addressing a gathering interested in church growth.

He used the comparison of a sporting coach - who has to be committed to their particular club, not just to the game. It rankled me at the time, and it still does now when i remember it.

Part of this is because I'm a sports fan and this year saw one of the most dramatic events in rugby league for many a year. The Melbourne Storm, in an effort to build a superior team, deliberately broke the player salary cap.


The result was the stripping of the team's 2007 and 2009 championships, the returning of the prizemoney from those years, and disqualification from this year's finals. Because of the incident, sponsors including the club's major sponsor have cut off their association with the club.

The annoying thing is that it happened because at the point where the good of the game and the good of the club came into conflict, people were too focussed on the club - and put it ahead of the game. The result was a great loss - for both.

So that's kinda why i get disheartened when churches battle against each other rather than co-operate for the greater good; or when churches pump up their ego and their attendance by sucking people away from other churches instead of by spreading the gospel.

Sure, it may mean hard work to co-operate, and to follow Jesus' command to actually spread the gospel. It also takes hard work to win a rugby league competition, but it's better than the Melbourne Storm approach. Or to put it in the words of St Paul:

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

And St Paul didn't even know about the Melbourne Storm :)