If you don't play the game you will never be soccer player

The other day in a session I was able to teach, I sort of had a "going off the script" moment. These generally are the times where some of my better lines come from. While this line was not earth shattering, it was enough to stick in my mind and recall later. So I share it here.

My son is 4 and he is a horrible soccer player. He does not follow the rules. He likes to carry the ball. When I tell him to kick the ball into the goal, he sits on the ball. Needless to say, he is not on the fast track to be the next Messi (5 goals in one game! You have got to be kidding me!)

 

The thing about soccer, like all sports, is that there are rules that one must follow in order to play. If you do not follow the rules you will never be a soccer player. 

Likewise, there are rhythms and patterns and disciplines and even "rules" to the Way of Christ. If you do not follow these "rules" you will never be a Disciple.

Unless you play the game, you will never develop your game.

Let those with ears hear.

Peaches as a way forward

Last year I was told the peach season in Texas was deeply impacted by the drought. This meant that the peach crop in Texas was going to be small. But what I also learned that when the fruit trees are affected by drought, they will not only produce less fruit but the fruit that is produced is highly flavorful.

Drought for peaches means that a plethora gives way to potent.

The Church talks about being in a bit of a drought. The rise of the "nones" (as nicely articulated in the recent Time magazine) highlights that the Church is not going to get a plethora of members anytime soon.

What would it look like if the Church mimicked the peach trees? What if we gave up on getting a plethora of members and focused on creating potent disciples?

To be honest, the crop may have been small but last years peaches were the best I have had in years.

Worship is like meatloaf?

Have you ever heard, or perhaps you might have said, something about worship on Sunday morning that could be mistaken for a critique of a restaurant?

"Well, that was good."

"I really liked it today."

"I will be back next week."

All of these comments, and others like them, are built upon the idea that Sunday worship is very much like a dish that is served up for our consumption. And just like after a meal at a restaurant, we have a number of comments that "evaluate" what we just experienced.

"The service was slow." 

"After that, I feel full."

"I am not sure I would go back."

"I could not read the menu."

Worship "evaluation" is built on the idea that it is just another thing we consume. If we do not like the "head chef" then we will not go back to that restaurant. If we had a good experience we might attend again, but we really would tell someone about our dislike of the music (selection or volume). 

When we are hungry we have any number of food options at our disposal and it really does not matter which restaurant we go to because they all ultimately serve the same thing - calories - just in different styles. 

Worship is consumed like meatloaf.

Worship is not something to consume. We do not attend worship in order to, like a meal, "get something out of it". We are not looking for a "nugget" that we can "chew on" for later this week. We are not attempting to "fill ourselves up" with an experience with the Holy or Mystery. 

Worship is not something we just consume, but something we participate in.

It is the difference in going to a restaurant and ordering the meatloaf so that someone else makes it and serves it to you or going to a kitchen and learning to prepare meatloaf in a class.