Sweat oozed down across my forehead, my lungs burned, and I would have been pleased to fall to the ground and die. My body screamed at me to stop this pathetic game of basketball, yet I could not. It was too exhilirating. Too fun. I was engaged with three good friends after we just got done hosting a church service. Now, at 27 years of age, I finally get sports. I get why many people are into it. I finally enjoy and look forward to playing sports with friends.
It wasn't always this way. I literally hated sports for most of my life. I didn't watch sports and I didn't play them. Why? because I'm not naturally athletic. At all. And I gave it a good shot-believe me. I played soccer as a kid, as well as pee-wee football and softball. In junior high I joined the wrestling team and tried out for the basketball team. I was terrible at all of it. I didn't even make the first cut in B-ball tryouts. I was terribly ill-coordinated, I wasn't competative, and my endurance sucked big time. I was into art and good at it. Sports was a lost cause for me. So I ditched the whole world completely as a whole by high school, cringing at anything sports related. It changed somewhat when I started working with teenagers as a youth worker, intern, youth pastor and later as a troubled teens counselor. It forced me into positions where I had to get on the basketball court. During that time, I would hate it and be embarrassed at my blatent lack of ability.
What changed though is when I began to get invited to play basketball just like everyone else. My friends would let me play, and most of all treat me like the rest. I started to feel that I was accepted, whether I ever got better at the game or not (cause I'm still not that great). Lately, they have been cheering me on, telling me I'm improving. I'm starting to make baskets and my defense is getting stronger. I'm getting the game more and more. I actually really like it now.
The big deal in the Church right now is in reaching the disconnected, the lost, and those who aren't Christians. Not growing up in church for me was the same as growing up without natural talents in sports. Those who 'get' Christianity and have been Christians a long time tend to forget or just plain don't know how to truly relate to a clueless bloke like me. For Christians, the life, the culture and rules of Christianity are natural for them. Many churches, even a lot of cool innovative ones still get into the game like always but unknowingly leave the disconnected to watch from the sidelines. The Christians play their game naturally, assuming that non-Christians will just jump right in. Non-Christians assume you already have to be good to play. You'd be surprised how many actually want to participate, but avoid it for fear of being embarrassed at not being a natural.
I believe that the way of Jesus is caught more than taught. I believe conversion is more gradual for most. The most pure conversions will happen over time I think, and you may never hear about the exact time they "got saved". I think there is too high of a standard in many churches for people to get involved, whether they are a beliver or not. What if a church went into the community, serving others and allowing everyone to join in-regardless of thier faith stance? I think we will see more solid belivers come from non-Christian backgrounds when we live as Jesus taught us to, and let those who are cluesless see this way of life and catch it.
Okay, enough of the novel. Add your thoughts.
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