The Hope of Soccer
It’s Summer, and for many, Summer means soccer. I am a soccer fan and enjoyed the FIFA World Cup, cheering for Canada, Scotland, and also for the Netherlands with my wife! Recently, I had the opportunity to watch two of my granddaughters- who play soccer on the same team. Mind you, they are six and four, so it was more of a gaggle of girls running in a bunch chasing the ball around with no concept of winning and no clear strategy other than having fun! But the thing I noticed was that at this age both team coaches were allowed on the field. They ran around with the girls, giving encouragement and, at times, showing them the direction in which to kick the ball!
As I watched the game, I overheard one of the parents say that the coaches seemed really interested in the girls and they loved how the coaches took such an interest in helping the kids develop. Quite different from FIFA which seemed more like a grab your leg, roll around on the ground like a cement truck just ran you over until you sell it to the Ref and draw a penalty strategy! Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit here! But I see HOPE in soccer.
What I mean is this: when the coach is running around the field with you, yelling encouragement, and showing you what to do and how to improve, you will get better. You will develop a sporting attitude toward winning and losing with grace, as the coach models it. For those in vocational ministry, the field and the markers can become hazy, even obscured, as we seek to meet needs, move churches and ministries forward, and reach anticipated or marked goals and objectives. Ministry leaders often feel like they are out on the field alone, trying to find the right direction to kick the ball. We all need coaches. Rather, let's say we all need others in our lives who will encourage us, show us how to improve our skills, be there to celebrate with us when we win, and comfort and console us when we lose. They help us keep our focus on the Lord rather than human markers of success.
But you don’t have to be in vocational ministry to need a coach. Each of us, as fellow believers, needs one another in our lives that demonstrate the power of coaching and intentional involvement with others.
Ministry coaching involves several factors that reflect the value of the one-anothers. First, there are those who know the game and have experience that can show us the way, and demonstrate what to do. Second, there are the other team players, who enhance our skill set, make up what we lack, and spur us on to improvement. They, too, coach us. Third, there are those we encourage and coach as we transfer to others what we are learning, helping them grow in ministry effectiveness.
So, this summer- get out there and play some soccer! Or, seek to be a spiritual coach by sharing with others what the Lord has been teaching you, that you may encourage others. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
Intentionally coaching others, as they coach us!
Rev. Bill Allan,
AGC President