Football Problem

OK, so I went to the first Monday of "Contagious Leadership" by John Maxwell this week. He concluded lesson one with a reference to what he called the "football problem."

My thoughts were immediately racing as to what this could mean? Is that where you are sitting in the pew at the 10:45am Sunday Service in November and the pastor's sermon goes way long and you wonder if anyone will notice you peel off after you go up for communion so you can get home in time for the Noon kickoff? Is it that Junior football practices and confirmation fall on the same Wednesday nights and you wonder why your son just can't do a couple hours of catechism study for one week during the summer instead of missing football? Is it the desperation of not being able to hear the hours of pregame chatter on Sunday morning so that you can set your best fantasy league lineup when one of your best players is a game time decision and you have usher that morning? Is it the fact that you are often asked to pass the peace with the guy in the next pew who is a diehard Packers fan and that afternoon they'll be playing your beloved Bears? Just what is this football problem?

In a nutshell, Maxwell sees it as you have 22 people on the field in dire need of a rest and 50,000 watching them in the stadium in dire need of some exercise. This is the problem many churches have. A few weary workaholics and a multitude of Sunday morning easy riders. Got quite a laugh in our group. We all understood the analogy right away, as we wouldn't have been there had we not all been regulars on the field. The goal was to hopefully lead some of those others to join us on the field. But we also need to look at the analogy all the way through. The 22 often feed off the energy generated by the 50,000 supporters. The 22 might be able to make a thunderous crack as they crash into each other but the 50,000 can roar a "joyful noise" loud enough to be felt on a Richter scale. Yes, there are often just a few Martha's but that frees up so many to be Mary's that can spend time at the Master's feet. (of course, it would be nice if some of those Martha's got their Mary time too)

No, the "real" football problem is that our society's passions are such that instead of parables about a prodigal son or the widow's mite we resort to sports to find analogies universal enough for all to understand. If only we had as much passion for serving God as we do for supporting our favorite teams. If only we could recite the Word as easliy as we can list the name and number of every Chicago Bear on the team 23 years ago. If only we squirmed at our breakfast tables in anticipation of going to worship on a Sunday morning as much as we do in our pews when the benediction doesn't arrive by opening kickoff.

Football season is upon us. May God help us to keep our pigskin passions at bay so that we may keep our eyes fixed on the prize and do all that His will requires of us.