Day 28 spotters

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiSIxqbqlv8   This post wont make much sense unless you watch this 40 sec clip.

If you want to be an Olympic gymnast ( and full confession here, I really dont 😂) you are going to have to do a massive amount of work and sustain innumerable injuries, regardless of your discipline.  Its just not possible to reach the top without pain.  But the reason gymnasts dont just break limbs in practice and disable themselves out of the sport at a young age, is because of the spotters.  What heroes those people are.  Their job is to break the fall of a spinning,  tumbling, jumping athlete hurtling towards them at speed. Their reactions are lightning quick and quite clearly they are prepared to be injured themselves in order to keep the gymnast from coming a cropper.  To me this is a wonderful picture of the role we 'elders' should be playing in the life of the church.  

There will be young people in our church families who are about to embark on adventures. Maybe they are launching new businesses, new ventures in church, going off on mission, starting a family or coming to faith for the first time.  They are full of energy and hope and want to run at things at full tilt with all the strength they can muster.  And we are thrilled for them because, lets face it, we dont have the energy for that stuff any more 😊  We were probably gymnasts in our day, bounding youthfully through the kingdom with passion and fearlessness.  But now our role is on the sidelines, watching intently, anticipating every move and stepping in the minute we see any signs that someone is going off course.  Our role is to step in front of the moving train to stop it before it derails. And if that means that we get flattened in the process..... well, we are experienced enough to know how to take a fall and get back up again.  And we also know how to give a hug and check everything is OK and give good counsel about getting back on the horse and not being defeated.

Im now old enough to feel that I might be that person for my pastor and leadership team.  Most of them are half my age and full of (mostly) really good ideas and vision and passion for Jesus and His church.  I see them taking leaps of faith into unknown territory ( for our church recently it has been opening a community cafe) for the most part with huge amounts of wisdom and humility.  And my generation is somewhat on the sidelines, observing, praying and occasionally offering a word of advice or wisdom gained from years of knowing how God works and how people work.  Thankfully in our church there havent been any derailments or spectacular fails. But every now and then a judiciously placed crash mat might have just helped something land a bit better than it might otherwise have done.

Being in a church is being part of a team - just like being in a gymnastic squad.  Not everyone is destined to be in the spotlight, but nobody would ever stand in the spotlight if the whole team wasnt working towards the same goal.   So today, whether you are leading or preaching or praying or planning or helping out in whatever capacity - go out there and be a crash mat for Jesus!  😊






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