Gods_talent_msg

Managing God's Talent

Morgan Young 1.21.01

Does anybody know who this ballplayer is? If I said 2-time world champion, 7 time Golden Glove Winner, and 226 consecutive games without an error; would that help?

Arguably, this man has had more to do with the game of baseball than any other in the history of the game. This is Curt Flood, a centerfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960s. And although you won't find him in the hall of fame, many baseball players today owe a great deal to him.

Have you heard of such a thing in professional sports called "free agency"? Free agency allows players to bargain for salaries and determine what teams they'll play for. Curt Flood set the stage for free agency to take place.

In 1969, professional baseball players were bound to their contract with their original teamthe baseball team owners totally controlled salaries and totally controlled which teams a player would play for---the owners had ultimate power---It's almost the opposite of today. This was know as the "reserve clause."

After 12 years in the major league, Curt Flood did not feel that he was a piece of property to be bought and soldhaving no say as to where his career would take him. He said, "I believe any system that produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States."

Let's take a quick time out: Today, in 2001, we may have a negative view of free agency as we see multi-millionaire ballplayers whine that they aren't going to play for a measly 12 million dollars; but let's look at the context of what Curt Flood was saying:

It was 1969. The 60s had seen more than its share of race riots---African Americans were fighting for equal rights just because of their skin color. Some laws still kept America segregated---there were water fountains marked "For whites only" and African Americans were made to ride at the back of the bus.

With all that in mind, I think it's no coincidence that an African American said "enough" to the baseball owners, and tried to get more rights for players.

In 1970, Flood took his case to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the old Reserve Clause. And this quiet man, never given much in the way of conversation or intelligence, took on major league baseball in the highest court in the country.

But in a 5 to 3 ruling, he lost his case. He went back to baseball for 18 more games, but after a lot of negative pressure and rejection, he walked away from baseball forever

A few years later, free agency made its way into baseball as Flood had paved the way for other players to follow suit (literally). And the rest, as they say, is history.

I tell you that story, because I believe, that in many ways, free agency in our culture is more than just sports related. It's becoming more apparent that in our jobs and careers, many of us have a "free agent" mentality:

"I'm working here as long as the pay is suitableas long as you treat me well,as long as the work is worthwhile and I like the company,"

If we don't think we're being compensated well enough, or if we hear that Melvin, down the hall, got more of a raise than we did, well-----we may just dust off the ol' resume! We may look to play for another team.

John Maxwell, who's seminar we're going to host, recently talked about the "free agent" mentality in the workplace. He sums it up like this:

Yesterday was about loyalty. Today is about opportunity.

Yesterday was being grateful you had a job. Today, life is a cafeteria (I'll choose what I want)

Yesterday was about long term commitment. Today is about short term fulfillment.

Yesterday was about respect and responsibility. Today is about challenges and choices.

And if you look at that list, yesterday was more focused on what? The company or organization. And today is focused more on who? US!! MY opportunity, MY freedom to choose. MY fulfillment. MY challenges.

And why do you think I bring this up this morning? Why all this talk of free agency? Because today we're talking about managing the talent and abilities that God gave every one of us.

And the truth is, we our heavily influenced by the culture and I'm telling you, that free agency is woven into the fabric of our lives whether we're professional athletes or not.

And I bring up free agency because that concept is the opposite of how God wants us to use the talents He's given each one of us.

You see, when it comes to our talents, God calls us to be "franchise players." (repeat)

A franchise player is one who is loyal to the organization and the organization is loyal to him or her. It seems I can think of only a handful of franchise players who road out their career with the same team: Guys like Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach. And perhaps one of the most well know faces on the planet, Michael Jordan.

The concept of being God's franchise player flies in the face of what we're accustomed to. Because a franchise player for God is much like what the workplace used to be like "yesterday".

Franchise players are:

loyal to God, grateful to God, committed long term, eternally to God and we are to be respectful to Him and responsible with all He's entrusted to us. And God has given all of us talents and abilities.

I'm sure there are some thinking: "Nope. I'm just played old ordinary so-in-so. I wouldn't exactly say I'm talented"

If you question your ability or talent, then consider this:

In any athletic team, there is a huge variety of talent; and I don't even mean on the field. There are hundreds more people in a professional team's organization that have to do their job before we can even see the players:

There are scouts, administrative people who keep the whole organization operating, financial peope, website design & maintenance people, marketing people, trainers, assistants, Doctors, there's the people that work in the fieldhouse or dome taking tickets, parking attendants, there's a crew that takes care of the football field or basketball floor, there are food service people, ushers, cleaning & maintenance; we could go on and on.

My point is, the people behind the scenes drastically outnumber the players we see who come out to play. And so it is in church. The people we see on stage are seriously outnumbered by all those who rally together to make services and ministry possible.

And in the big picture of ministry and life, we all have something to give, regardless of how talented we think we are.

Galatians 5:13 says, "You my brothers, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."

Dig this; God doesn't say, "Hey you really talented people out there, be a team player." He doesn't say "some" of you brothers. He says, "YouALL of my brothers (and sisters)," It includes all of the Christ followers.

And let's look closer. Is it a suggestion? Does it include the subordinate clause: "If you feel up to it?" By golly-----it's a command!

A command. Hmmmm. Command. The word "command" just doesn't sound very politically correct does it? It kind of goes against the grain of our free agent lifestyle. When was the last time your spouse commanded you to do something and lived to tell about it??!

I'm a firm believer that God doesn't command or require us to do things without good reason, so let's see why the God of the universe want's us to use our talents and abilities to serve one another.

Why should we serve each other? What's God trying to tell us?

Let me illustrate the answer with this: A few years ago, when Green Bay won the Super Bowl, there were 1587 players in the NFL.

Out of those players, 44 were Notre Dame grads and 35 were Penn St. grads---5% of the NFL's players came from those two teams. Interestingly enough, those are two major contending universities that do not allow players' names on their jerseys.

Both of those coaches put Gatorade-bucket-loads of importance on everyone being a team player---they don't focus on star players or individuals but rather focus heavily on teamwork. Joe Paterno of Penn State said that no one will ever have their name on a jersey there because no one person is any more important that any other.

We're talking about teamwork, because teamwork is to "look to the interest of others."

And historically, as those teams have submitted to the authority or "commands" of those coaches and supported each other, they have been very successful. They've grown as teams & met undisputed success.

Why serve one another? When we help each other, the whole team wins.

Let's look at some "old game film" of the history of the church, not our church but the church in the world:

Sociologist Rodney Stark noticed in his book, The Rise of Christianity, that for Christianity to reach the size that it did at the world's infancy, that it had to grow 40% per decade for three centuries---that's growing by 40% every 10 years for 300 years---that's unbelievable, unprecedented growth!

Stark explained the growth by stating that early disciples of Jesus were more compassionate than others in the world around them at that time; he said they out-loved others and they OUTSERVED others.

Here's an example: In AD 165, an epidemic spread like "Razor Scooters" through the Roman Empire. Within 15 years, nearly a third of the entire population died. Same thing happened in 251 AD---whole towns and regions were wiped out.

While others in the culture hid from the problem, Christians took care of, they served each other and those OUTSIDE the church during plague times.

A bishop, Dionysus wrote this, "Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. They took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, they were infected by others and cheerfully accepted their pains."

The accounts of the non-Christians was less inspiring: At the first onset of the disease, they fled from their families & friends, pushing the sufferers and, throwing them into the roads before they were deadhoping to avoid the spread of the fatal disease.

You could say that the compassion and serving furnace burned bright in the early days of the church--- Serving set Christ followers apart from the rest of the world.

And through those acts of service, through teamwork, serving and focusing on others, the church flourished unbelievably in the world. It exploded. Lives were saved literally and spiritually.

By submitting to the command of the ultimate Coach, the team was highly successful in changing lives and thus it grew at an amazing pace. And the world was impacted in positive ways.

Alright, Morgan, thanks for the historical worldview of Christianity, and a wrap up of Notre Dame & Penn State's teamwork dogma, but what about me? Tell me why I should get out of the seat and lend a hand to the church or the rescue mission other than because it's so darned noble!

Alright, I will. (GET VOLUNTEER to sit in theater seats on stage ---- gather stools in a circle around him)

OK, this is my perspective on what life can feel like. We're sitting here living our life. This stool is my job. This one is my spouse. This one is my kids. This one is my health. This is my small group etc.

It is very easy for me to feel like all this stuff is closing in on me; to feel consumed with all the stuff of life day in and day out.

(have tech guy in front row toss me the football & have _____stand on one end of the stage.)

Alright, let's say that for example this football represents service or your talent. It might represent you being greeter on a Sun. morning, helping out at the Rescue mission; or maybe it represents a football & you're involved in a kids football camp. Let's see what happens.

(start throwing it with volunteer)

Now what do you think __________ is thinking about right now? C'mon, give me an answer. Right, "duh", he's thinking about catching the football; or saying hi to people as they come in to church, serving lunch at the mission etc (elaborate)

Now remember all that stuff he was surrounded with a few minutes ago? Where is it now? It's over there.

What are me & _________focused on right now? Serving others.

(thanks _______for helping)

Guess what? Getting involved just gave us the gift of God's perspective. Why is that so important? It's important because when we focus on something outside of ourselves that's more team oriented and serving others, then my stuff that I'm obsessing over---- working on my ulcer over, gets further away. It's not so big any more. By serving, God puts my life in His perspective. He reminds me of what life is supposed to be about.

And guess what? When I do get back to my "stuff", I'm healthier; because I took a mental, physical and spiritual change of scenery.

Do I feel better now? Yup. What about the people I served, do they appreciate it? Yup. Why does God want us to get involved with helping someone else? The answer is 1-2-3. They need it --- you need it ---And God uses it to impact everyone involved. God "commands" us to serve one another in love as a means to change us, to make us more like His Son.

In fact we're told in Phil. 2:5-7

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christtaking the very nature of a servant."

Now we're at the heart of "real deal" Christianity. C.S. Lewis wrote about Mere Christianity, we're talking today about what I call "real deal" Christianity.

And here's the real deal: It's not enough for our hearts to be in the right place unless our hands and feet are there too.

The real deal is that Christianity is not a spectator sport. Christianity always requires action on our part. That's true from the very beginning of our walk with Christ. Think back to the first time you came here. Or if this is your first time, think all the way back to earlier this morning!

First, we had to get out of bed to make it here; THEN we could hear what God had to tell us in a way we couldn't get anywhere else. First, we took action; we had to get here.

And at some point after that, we understand that Christ died for our sins to make a relationship possible & give us eternal life. BUT, it is not enough to understand that, just to believe it; we have to accept the gift (there's our action word); salvation is free, but requires action on our partwe must receive it.

And today again, we must put our abilities into action. Every step along the way following Christ, we have to move our beliefs to action.

In this series, we're sharing what God requires of FDFs (Fully devoted followers). Some people may wonder why we use non-traditional terms like "Christ follower" or "FDF".

Here's the dealThere's nothing wrong with the word "Believer", but it's not totally descriptive. Real deal Christianity is full of not "believers", but "doers."

Christianity with only belief and no action is a philosophy. Christianity is to be a lifestyle where we live out those things we believe in. To only believe Christianity without putting our hands and feet to it, is to only get it half-right. So why the term "Christ follower"? Because it has the action built in.

I told you earlier of how in its infancy the church flourished at an unbelievable pace. Rodney Stark summed it up by saying that at that time, real deal Christianity was happening. Christians were characterized by their actions.

Stark went on to point out how much religious denominations have shrunk in the world in recent times. He basically said that the shrinking world church is doing so because there's been way too much "believing" without being accompanied with "doing."

One of my favorite authors, Leonard Sweet, said,

"The most frightful thing anyone can say at my funeral is, 'Sweet meant well.'" He went on, "That gets my vote for the most damning epitaph of all time. Our feet and hands must be in the same places as our heart. Godly living is a way of life or it is nothing."

I also like the way Bob Dylan summed it up when he said: "You've gotta serve somebody."

And speaking of serving somebodyPlease let me share three stories of everyday talent and abilities. And my hope is that as I tell them, you'll be hit with a thoughts like: "I could do that."

These are some stories of some things that I've had the privilege of seeing happen around here through the holidays.

Let's talk about our Christmas eve services for a few minutes. Over the years, we have done several concerts, services and outreach events both here and at Havens Auditorium. So far, last month's Christmas eve services were the biggest in 15 years. And I don't mean biggest just in terms of people who came---more importantly, biggest in terms of people who served.

You guys stepped up at one of the busiest times of the year and gave of yourselves right up through about 10pm Christmas eve. We had somewhere around 180 and 190 people involved at various stages of that event.

Remember earlier I was talking about how many people it takes to pull off a professional ball game? We only had about 15-20 people on stage that night----so that means what you saw that night, was only the tip of the iceberg of what it took to make it happen.

There was another 150+ people working togetherserving---to make it possible. I think some of my favorite servers, were the guys who suited up to stand out in the parking lot in sub-zero temperatures to help keep the parking lot organized.

In some ways the picture of somebody standing out in a parking lot that more resembled the frozen tundra of Lambaeu Field, paints a crystal clear picture of what it means to manage God's abilities. "Abilities" comes from the word "able." They were guys that were able to help --so they did.

And I'm not trying to be mellow-dramatic, embellishing this simple act of parking cars. But those guys were the first contact someone had who perhaps didn't know Christ or didn't really understand the true significance of Christmas. If only one person walked out of each service with a more profound understanding of who Jesus Christ is---- then that cold guy waving a fluorescent orange flashlight contributed to that just the same as we all did.

In my mind, those freezing cats in Carhardts put legs and hands and flashlights to their belief that people matter to God. And if that meant helping them find a parking space and giving them a warm smile on an arctic night, then perhaps they understand servanthood better than anyone.

On a different note, the staff got together for its annual Christmas party in the middle of December. Someone suggested that a guy who had been coming to the church for about 6 months was a great cook and perhaps he would grace us with his cooking skills.

Here's the deal. This guy grew up with a Sicilian father and definitely learned how to cook authentic Italian food. The Olive Garden commercials say "Real Italian"don't you believe it!

Probably 20 of us sat down to an incredible spread of Rosemary Buttered Beef,

Braciole, Lasagna, Italian Meatballs & sausage, Italian eggroll, fresh pasta, pitchers of red sauce. And most of the dishes were the kind that you just have to fuss over to prepare them the right way. I would challenge you to find this quality of Italian food anywhere in the state, regardless of how much money you had in your pocket.

To me, to say the dinner was the culinary highlight of the season, would be totally honest. And although I and the rest of the staff were on the receiving end of this dinner, it was a real treat to watch him in action; he was what I would call "In the zone." He was kickin' gourmet quality food out of the kitchen, with a smile. You could see him truly enjoy how much we delighted in his food.

And I bring this up for this reason: Most of us think we don't have talents or our ability isn't that big of a deal. I'm sure this guy had made these dishes more times in his life than he could count.

But here's a guy who's kids are grown, who never spent much time in a church, but for some strange reason shows up here some 6 months ago and every Sunday since. His daughter tells me her dad is changing---she says he's walks in here and listens to the message and walks out and tries to live it the best he can. He's trying to live out what God is saying to his heart.

And in an evening of incredible Italian food, is a guy who is so digging being able to give something backand to hang out with a church staff and their spouses.

Maybe this sounds simple and unimportant to you, but my bet is this guy never in a million years would have thought you'd catch him in church every Sun. not to mention hanging out with a bunch of people sold out to God---AND ENJOYING IT! But God used his ability, his talent to cook, to relationally bring him a little closer to the church.

Last story. A while back, our small group decided we wanted to find some kind of a serving project that we could all do together. This is what we found:

In early Dec. my wife, Sandra was working as an assistant in an elementary school classroom. She couldn't help but notice a little brown-haired girl who didn't seem to be dressed very well, not to mention very warmly. There were some days when she wasn't wearing any socksand that was in a snowy December.

This little girl really got into Sandra's heart and she started asking around the school system how we could help this girl and her family. They hooked Sandra up with a social worker who was very helpful in telling us what kinds of things we should do, what kinds of things we shouldn't do---they contacted the family and made sure if it was OK for some people to offer them some assistance and got us clothing sizes for all 6 kids.

Something a small group did for Sandra & I to make us feel welcome our first Christmas at OakBrook was to do the "12 Days of Christmas" to us.---- which meant every one of the 12 days leading up to Christmas, at some point in the evening, our doorbell would ring and we'd open the door to find no one there, but instead, a simple gift with a note.

On the last day, Xmas eve, Bob & Sue Shappell showed up to own-up to it and tell us they were glad we were at OakBrook. We've never forgotten that.

Sandra's idea was to do the "12 days" to this family, but maybe in a more significant way. So our small group went about going through all of our kids old clothes, they went shopping at Goodwill and bought new clothes as well.

One night would be clothes night. One night we took them a "movie night in a bag"---a box of microwave popcorn, some pop and the movie Simon Birch. There were gift certificates to groceries, filled stockings night, one night we loaded them down with staple food items----you get the idea. We all pooled our money, our old clothes, our time & creativity.

We also called on several other small groups who helped in all the same ways---we quickly learnedwe quickly were amazed at how much "stuff" everyone had to give.

As God would have it, Sandra "just happened" to run into a lady who is part of a ministry that provides new gifts to children at Christmas. She offered their help & when she got back with us, she said they wanted to give 10 new gifts a piece to the kids!

Pretty soon, our huge 1-car garage was looking like a factory outlet store! Each night another family from our small group would take that nights gift, put it on the porch, ring the doorbell and run away.

The only problem was, we had so many clothes, for each of the kids, there was no way for one couple to drop them off by themselves.

So on the night of our small group Christmas dinner, we all went together on a "stealth run" to drop off all of the clothes.

We had 6 boxes full of clothes----I and I don't mean clothes boxes, I mean computer, or appliance boxes!! This was hilarious--- We had three vehicles because the entire back of our mini-van was full of boxes wrapped in white paper.

We pulled a 1/2 block down from their house and all 9 of us piled out of the cars and almost everyone grabbed a huge box, each one of us in a line behind the other in the snow--- we looked like a bunch of well dressed natives carrying provisions on an arctic expeditionwe're all laughing, but trying to keep it quiet---the same way a roomful of 3rd graders does when someone passes gas.

We piled the boxes up in front of the door, and one brave soul stayed behind to knock on the door, then run back to the getaway cars.

At the end of the 12 days, we did not show ourselves to the family. We simply left them a note that some people from OakBrook church were glad they got to share Christmas with them

A couple weeks ago, the class my wife helped in---- the kids had to write a paper on their favorite Christmas present. The little brown-haired girl wrote about the new toys that had been left on her doorstep.

And she now comes to class in her new Old Navy vests on top of all new outfits. She holds her head a little higher. She raises her hand a little more often than she used to. She takes more care of her brown hair. Other kids comment on what she's wearing her appearance,and she smiles a little more, because she fits in a little better than she did before.

I haven't told you stories this morning of amazing talent---of star quality performers. I've told you stories of ordinary people, working together, doing ordinary things with the abilities God gave them.

And through those ordinary scenarios, we allow our God to do amazing things in the hearts and the lives of His people.

These are stories about people who allowed their hands and feet to go the same way as their heart. Real deal Christianity is about doing what we say we believeand that means serving others with whatever abilities & talent God has given us. (strike podium & sit in theater seats)

So here we all are today. We're all in a seat. (pick up the football) What is this for you? What can you do? What are your abilities? Can you cook? Are you a handyman or craftsman? Are you an athlete? Can you sew? Are you good in an office environment? What do you see around here that you could do? How 'bout out at OakBrook Valley? (mention hand out)

One of the best things about being one of God's franchise players is that you'll never be cut. You'll never be traded. You may be asked to play a different position, but you're always be on the team.

(pray out)