Glorifying The Football Instead Of The Quarterback

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”  (1 Corinthians 3:5-7, ESV)

We’ve been studying 1 Corinthians in the high school Bible class that I teach.  Today we discussed how the Corinthian Christians were dividing into factions based on their preference for a particular pastor or teacher.  As we looked at the verses I’ve quoted above, the following illustration came to mind:

The Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes and no interceptions to beat the Seattle Seahawks 38 to 17 on Sunday.  How silly would it sound for the fans to say, “Wow!  That football was awesome!  What an amazing piece of pigskin!  Did you see how it got into the end zone?  Did you see how it flew through the air and skillfully avoided being intercepted?  Let’s put that football in a glass case and give it a spot in the ring of honor!”

Of course it’s silly.  The football is nothing but an instrument in the hands of a skilled quarterback.  The quarterback did the work and the football, submissive to the quarterback’s will, gets caught up in a moment of glory.  So, the football is nothing, but the quarterback who made the pass is the one who deserves the glory.

Sometimes in the Kingdom we give too much credit to God’s instruments and not enough to the God who uses them.  We give them celebrity status as if they have done all the work.  We fight with one another over which instrument of God is better than the other.  (Hint: it’s usually the instrument that I happen to follow.)  It’s akin to starting a fan club for the football and ignoring the football player.

Now, it is true that some footballs get put in glass cases and are given places of honor in the homes of the player who used them to execute glorious plays in big games.  But it’s the player that used the ball that gets to choose which ones he will honor.

Similarly, some football fans will give a ball a place of honor in their home.  However, it’s not the ball that they revere but the player.  They honor what the player has done with that ball or they honor the player’s name written on the ball.

As we look at the church in America today, it’s clear that many of us have given way too much glory to footballs.  No matter what size the church, God’s people are prone to divide over which church leader they follow.  We are far too likely to love our leaders more than our Lord.  (And we church leaders encourage it.)

It’s as absurd as having a ticker tape victory parade for a piece of leather.

Just a thought.

Book Review: Unfashionable

My review of Tullian Tchividjian’s Unfashionable: Making A Difference In The World By Being Different has just been released at BreakPoint.org.

Here’s an excerpt from the review:

The book is positive, punctual, and pithy. The resounding tone of Tullian’s approach to our engagement with culture is hopeful, not despairing. The book is a timely reminder that we must remain grounded in the Word as we go into the world. Tullian has a gift for putting things simply, but soundly. His writing is accessible and memorable, ancient depth and modern delivery.

Hope For Your Marriage

My latest article at BreakPoint.org has just been published.

Here’s an exerpt from “Remember and Tell”:

I shouldn’t be surprised that a Christian couple could so easily forget the Story and lose hope. I do it pretty regularly myself. That’s why our conversation was as encouraging to me as it was to them. I needed to hear what the Spirit was saying to them. It reminded me how often I despair over the slow progress of sanctification I see in myself and others. Do I really believe the Gospel for myself and others? 

At The Intersection Of The Seen And The Unseen

Celtic Christians were very much aware of the intersections of worlds in which they lived: the world of men and culture, the world of creation, the unseen realm of saints and angels, the world of those who have gone before. They understood that they lived in all these worlds, and, in a very real sense, they understood and related their experiences in a way meant to communicate fullness of life in the will of God.

Today’s Christians are mostly aware of one world – the world of getting-and-spending. We have almost no vision of the unseen realm (although half our faith depends on this, Heb. 11.1), and we take the world of creation and culture for granted most of the time. Our sense of the past is not very lively, either.

So if our Christian lives don’t seem as interesting as Patrick’s or Coemgen’s, maybe that has something to do with how we view the world, which has something to do with how we understand our Lord Jesus and the salvation He has granted us by grace through faith.

~ T. M. Moore, “Intersections,” Crossfigell (October 5, 2009)

Chuck Colson’s 2010 Centurions Program

I highly recommend Chuck Colson’s Centurions Program as an excellent way for all Christians to get Biblical Worldview training.  I am a graduate of the 2006 Centurions Program and found the material to be challenging, eye-opening, and refreshingly discipleship-oriented.  My friend T. M. Moore is the Dean of the Centurions Program.  Registration is now open for the class of 2010…apply now as the 100 spaces will fill up quickly.

For more information see my recent interview with Martha Anderson, National Director of the Centurions Program:  A Growing Movement for Biblical Worldview.  Feel free to ask me questions about my experience in this program by leaving me a message in the comments section.

Click here for registration information.