**********************
Player Development on God’s Team
by David Sellnow
“Everyone
is important on this team,” the soccer coach said at the 13-and-under squad’s preseason
meeting. He sounded like he meant it …
but as the summer wore on, Mindy wondered.
She and three other girls spent most moments of most games on the
sidelines. For five minutes of each
35-minute half, they’d give the starting midfielders a breather—time enough for
those players to come off the field and get water. Then the starters resumed
their roles, and the subs became spectators once again. Mindy’s interest in soccer waned. She lost hope in her own potential as an
athlete. A year later, when the high
school held tryouts for the JV team, Mindy didn’t participate.
According
to Fred Engh, founder of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS.org) and
author of Why Johnny Hates Sports,
this sort of scenario plays out far too often in children’s sport
programs. Rather than encouraging confidence,
strengthening skills, and building game readiness in all players on their teams, too many coaches are content to let
weaker players be little more than benchwarmers so that the “better” kids can
notch more victories.
I’ve
been wondering—do we do something similar sometimes in our churches? Every
individual in the church is an equally valuable member of God’s “team,” so to
speak. We know that there is no
favoritism with God (Ephesians 6:9), and that the healthy involvement of every
person in the church is God’s desire (1 Corinthians 12). So we’ll want to engage in “player
development” that not only helps each member of God’s team grow stronger in
faith and faithfulness, but looks to get every teammate “into the game,” that
is, actively serving in the mission of the church.
Sometimes
we do that; sometimes we don’t. A couple
examples from actual congregations, in which “player development” was not
pursued …
·
An accomplished violinist offered to play for
church. The pastor of her large
congregation (not a fan of the violin) felt that pipe organ was the most
effective instrument for corporate worship, and declined her offer.
·
At a tiny church, two members had some skill for
keyboard playing—one quite more skilled than the other. The less accomplished pianist was asked to
discontinue playing for services, because the other volunteer was a stronger
musician.
Now a couple instances of positive “player development” …
·
A small church didn’t have enough voices for a
full choir, nor anyone with the qualifications to serve as choir director. Undaunted, a small group of singers got together
and practiced anthems they could sing in unison (sometimes accompanied by a
member who played bluegrass guitar).
They also rehearsed new hymns so they could lead the congregation in
learning them.
·
Before a church school’s Christmas services,
students in the school’s band take turns playing solo, duet or quartet pieces
as pre-service music while worshipers gather.
These
few examples focus on involvement in church music—which is only one aspect of
the church’s life. Innumerable ways exist
for involving God’s people in godly service, if we are willing to work with
each person’s God-given gifts and acquired capacities. For example, a college student didn’t think
she could do evangelism, but her pastor asked her to come along. Her bilingual fluency enabled her to serve as
his translator when visiting nearby Hispanic neighborhoods. (In the process, she became quite capable as
an evangelist too.) In the church that
asked one of its two musicians to step down because her talents for playing and
time for practicing were limited, could not a plan have been created to keep
her involved—perhaps once a month, with simpler song selections and liturgy
assigned for her days to play?
If
our efforts to involve members consist of bulletin announcements saying, “Volunteers
needed for this or that,” likely we’ll find the same group of “starters”
stepping up to play all those roles. If
our concepts of Christian service tend to remain fixed, in the form of standing
committees or particular duties that habitually have been in place, quite
possibly we are overlooking unique aptitudes and varied talents that some of
our members on the sidelines possess.
Just
as every player on a sports team desires—and needs—to take part in each game
the team plays, each member of “God’s team” needs nurturing and encouraging to
use skills that God has given him, to employ abilities God has bestowed on her,
to get into in the “game” which is far more vital than all mere earthly
pursuits—the mission of Christ’s people to sing his praises and to “declare his
marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3).
Rafe
Esquith, an award-winning teacher in a central Los Angeles elementary school,
laments how many kids’ sports programs just “keep feeding the ball to their
best players.” (The chapter, “Put Me In,
Coach,” in his book, Teach Like YourHair’s On Fire, would make profitable reading for every physical education
teacher and youth sports coach. The
whole book is worth reading by anybody involved in teaching, at any age level.) Esquith consistently labors in his PE classes
to teach all the kids an understanding of the games they play and patiently
instructs them in the fundamentals of each sport. Every child is seen as a player in progress,
as someone with potential to be shaped and developed.
A
similar attitude will be beneficial in our spiritual pursuits as “teams,” that
is, congregations. The tasks and
undertakings of different individuals will be different, but all can become
part of the teamwork of church work.
God calls on every Christian to pursue life as a “living sacrifice, holy
and pleasing to God. ... In Christ we
who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We
have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it
in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is
teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is
contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is
leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it
cheerfully” (Romans 12:1,5-8).
If
we consider the measure of faith and personal giftedness that God has granted
to each individual in his church, how many other areas of service might we
identify?
·
If a man has athleticism and the gift to teach
patiently, let him coach at the church’s combination sports camp / vacation
Bible school.
·
If a woman’s gift is a capacity for careful
listening and godly advising, let her serve as a mentor for young mothers in
the church.
·
If an older child’s gift is brotherliness—a
kindness and gentleness in dealing with younger children—let him be a helper in
the Sunday School preschoolers’ class.
·
If a teenager is gifted with artistic flair and
a knack for expressing the gospel’s beauty in visual forms, let her create
artwork for banners or for backgrounds on the church’s projection screen.
What
opportunities for “player development” can you discover for the talented people
God has put together as your “team”?
