January 24, 2024

I think I need to put you on notice that y’all poked the bear, well, more like the buckeye. For my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes, the reality of losing 3 years in a row to TTUN (The Team Up North), since no self-respecting, hard-core Buckeye ever utters the M-word, combined with watching them hoist the National Championship Trophy was just too much. The angst and anger has resulted in millions of dollars from the fan base being poured into 3 foundations that are used to pay star players through a legal scheme called Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). This means that college athletes can be compensated for their appearances and big schools have had to jump on board or watch all of their good athletes go to other schools. For the OSU football team, they have landed commitments from a truck full of 5-star athletes in the past few days (thanks in large part to Nick Saban retiring from Alabama), vowing to never allow the results of the last 3 years happen again - ever!

The Beach Boys sang a song called, “Be True to your School.” That was long before the transfer portal and NIL negotiations. That song would now be laughed off the stage or replaced with “Be True to your latest NIL Package.” The lyrics may be a bit more difficult to rhyme or harmonize, but it would be more honest. Even at the high school level, athletes are wooed to move or transfer (private schools) to places where they can raise their profiles and chances to be noticed. The “what’s in it for me” is the poisonous gas that seeps into a setting where “do this for the team” is supposed to be the rule. Every coach will tell you how difficult it is to build a team around athletes who are concerned about posing for their latest Instagram post. This toxic air is not confined to sports team.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I need to find a church where I can exercise my gift?” On the surface that may sound reasonable. But let’s dig a little deeper. Do you find that anywhere in the NT? Not exactly. What you find is that each member of a local church (see 1 Corinthians 12) is given a gift(s) for the common good (v.7). Those who use gifts as an excuse to make it about themselves completely miss the point (vs. 12-19). “The body does not consist of one member but of many.” I cannot remember anyone ever saying they are desperately looking for a church where they can exercise their gift of cleaning the windows, stacking chairs, or serving in the nursery so the pastor can preach long sermons. Quite the opposite, actually. The “I need to find a church where I can exercise my gift” attitude is often a thin veil that doesn’t do a good job of disguising the real desire of being admired and noticed. However, once again, the church is designed to be so different than the world. “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor….” (vs. 22-23a)

If NIL ever caught on at the church this means that we would be signing lucrative deals with our security team, parking lot crew, door greeters, landscape workers, gardeners, food pantry workers, children’s workers and the many, many others who serve behind the scenes simply because they love Jesus. That is the greater good and we are blessed by all of them/you!

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s text: Luke 3:15-18

PS. Please take a look at the video from CareNet above (the crisis pregnancy center that we support). Our annual Baby Bottle Boomerang drive starts this Sunday.