Game Plan
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Well, almost. I’m not talking about Christmas; I’m talking about football season! In a matter of days, toe will meet leather and the Friday night lights will come on as the boys of fall take the field. And of course, on Saturdays, the National Champs will begin their title defense. And I’m told the Falcons will field a team this year as well! Like many of you, this is my favorite time of the year as a sports fan.
During the Summer camps and preseason practices, the players (from peewee to pros) all get a review concerning the fundamentals of the sport—things like how to tackle properly, how to block effectively, how to secure the ball, and so forth. These basic fundamentals are essential to any good preparation because teams that fail to do them well typically do not win games! In like manner, we who are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ would do well to review the basic, fundamental tasks that Jesus has always called his Church to be about—things like worship and prayer, inviting people to Jesus, and growing deeper in our relationship with him, living in covenant community together as we seek to reach out in service to the world. There are many different ways to live out these basic tasks, but there is no way to be a successful Church (at least by God’s metrics) if we fail to do these things and do them well. I invite you to join your Church Family as we review the “Game Plan” that our Lord has given his Church, and I challenge you to double down on your commitment to it. Our success is utterly dependent on our faithfulness to do the basics. Hope to see you often at the church house! And oh yeah…. “Go Dawgs!”