As you would expect, there was bloviating galore from the experts on which teams were winners in the draft, which were losers; which prospects are can’t miss and which are can’t make.
Which begs the question: what if churches got to draft the people who would join them?
Think of it!
You’d have an expansion draft for church starts.
You’d have the churches that are struggling the most get the highest pick (hello Kansas City Chiefs!).
And the churches with the greatest strength coming in to the draft would have to pick last in each round, just like the Baltimore Ravens this year.
Most churches would look for folks who are . . .
Nice looking — so they can serve as greeters.
Low maintenance — so they won’t take ministry time with rotating crises.
Some church experience but not too much — so they speak the language of church but don’t bring baggage from three or four church splits in their background.
Financially healthy — so the church will be too!
Well known in the community — so people will know the church has that indescribable “it” which draws attractive people.
Socially adept — so covered dish dinners are full of good conversation.
Perhaps you have qualities you’d add to the list.
Paul did. Except the people “drafted” into salvation and service through the church at Corinth are quite diffferent from what we’d expect. This section from I Corinthians 1:26-31 should be required reading and memorizing for all who are interested in church leadership:
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
You know what that looks like?
The people who started the church in Corinth would have gone undrafted.
They weren’t well connected enough, rich enough, or smart enough, and so the scouts passed them right over.
Yet God didn’t. Those “undraftables” became the free agents he called to turn the world upside down.
Something tells me nothing’s changed.
There are 4 comments
Bloviating is my word for the day, which my iPad said is misspelled and tried to auto-correct to ‘blockading.’ 🙂
Great message!
I Cor 12:22 AMP But instead, there is [absolute] necessity for the parts of the body that are considered the more weak.
23 And those [parts] of the body which we consider rather ignoble are [the very parts] which we invest with additional honor, and our unseemly parts and those unsuitable for exposure are treated with seemliness (modesty and decorum),
24 Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted (mingled, harmonized, and subtly proportioned the parts of) the whole body, giving the greater honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts which lack [apparent importance],
25 So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.
26 And if one member suffers, all the parts [share] the suffering; if one member is honored, all the members [share in] the enjoyment of it.
If we could see plainly into the world of the spirit, I think most of us would be shocked at who the real “spiritual giants” are.
Luke 16:14 AMP Now the Pharisees, who were covetous and lovers of money, heard all these things [taken together], and they began to sneer at and ridicule and scoff at Him.
15 But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God.
Until John came, there were the Law and the Prophets; since then the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone strives violently to go in [would force his own way rather than God’s way into it].
Jessica,
I sorta liked “bloviating” as well!