"Ready, Set, Go!"

The Olympics are fast approaching and it won’t be long until we hear the words, "Ready, set, go!" After years of training, maintaining diets and competing each athlete will step to the mark and give it all they’ve got to be the first one across the finish line. Some will be winners. But, far greater numbers will lose.

Why do they do it? Why would anyone put their body and soul through such a rigorous journey, knowing that their chances of losing are far greater than winning? It seems futile. And what amazes me is that it is only microseconds that separates the winners from the losers.

Most athletes will tell you that its not just about winning. Just being there, as a participant and having the opportunity to represent your country is reward enough. Meeting athletes from other countries and experiencing a different culture is very meaningful too. Its also the camaraderie that is made with teammates, coaches and trainers. Besides all that, each one is driven, motivated from within to pursue their personal goal.

As people of faith we too have a goal. Its not about winning. Its not about setting records, nor are we in competition with anyone. Our goal is to share our faith and invite others to be part of the faith community. Let there be no mistake. Just as Jesus sent the disciples out, he sends us. In fact, he orders us. We have been called to the starting gate. The gun has sounded. The words, "Go!" have been given.

What then is holding us back? Are we afraid of losing? Do we resist getting involved because we might fail? Yes, we may fail. For not everyone is going to listen and many will not care. Notice that Jesus prepares the disciples for failure. "If anyplace will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet." In other words, Jesus anticipates that failure is normal. Unless you try, however you will never know.

God wants us to spread the faith. God wants us to use our energy to tell others the good news. Every believer has the responsibility to share his/her faith. Some will want nothing to do with us. Others will give excuses. We won’t always succeed, nevertheless we are commissioned to try.

At the University of Notre Dame, there was a football player named Rudy Rutteiger. He was on the football team in 1975. It was his lifelong dream to play for Notre Dame. Rudy was small and his chances of playing were virtually impossible. In his first two years of college he was rejected by Notre Dame and therefore played for a nearby community college. But that didn’t stop him. He trained and worked out rigorously. Rudy also attended the chapel and prayed to be accepted to Notre Dame. He finally succeeded.

The story doesn’t end there, however. After Rudy gets accepted to Notre Dame he makes the team. All through his football career he plays on the squad that the varsity uses to practice against. Rudy never gets to play on the varsity. But, he was highly respected for his ability and personal drive. On the last home game of his senior year his teammates convinced coach Devine to let Rudy dress. His dream finally comes true as he gets to run out of the tunnel into the stadium as a member of the varsity team.

Rudy stands on the sideline the entire game. There is only 30 seconds left and the offense has the ball. That means Rudy will not get in the game, although all the other seniors got to go in since Notre Dame was winning. The quarterback ignored the coach and called a play that would give them a touchdown. By scoring, Notre Dame would then be on defense and Rudy could play. They scored and on the ensuing kickoff, Rudy got his chance. He played in the last two plays of the game and on the last play he made a tackle. Rudy was carried off the field by his teammates, something that has never happened since that day in 1975.

When God calls us to be people of faith does God want us to hold back and never try? Does God want us to quit just because someone turns us down? Does God expect that every attempt will lead to victory? Of course not.

At the same time God doesn’t expect any of us to have a quality system like Notre Dame in which to be a participant. God wants us to be who we are. Jesus told the disciples to travel light. "Take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts."

It doesn’t take sophisticated marketing skills to bring others into the community of faith. You don’t need any special equipment. You don’t have to have lots of personal resources to share your faith. You are only called to go.

I mentioned to a friend lately that I was still waiting for him to come to worship. He replied by saying, "If we had a Saturday night service he would come." I responded by saying, "Yeh, right."

William Willimon said, "The more we give in to the consumer and modify our programs and worship to fit everyone’s else’s wants, the more we are succumbing to their demands and not ours." He goes on to say that, "Perhaps the Church should not just meet needs but rearrange the needs of people to fit the Church, or give needs they would otherwise never receive. The Church is not here to meet people’s needs, the Church is called to the counter-cultural activity of serving God in a world that does not worship God."

I believe that Willimon is on to something. Perhaps the Church is trying too hard to accommodate the public. We compromise our worship and beliefs by giving into the whims of society. I suspect that the more we build our faith around our culture the more we are giving away of what we believe. By continuing to offer more and more alternatives we end up with no basis on which to stand.

Notice that as the disciples went out "they proclaimed that all should repent." Repent means to turn in a different direction. It means to turn from our idols and turn our lives toward God. Believing in God and being an active member of the faith community means that people will have to rearrange their lives to fit the life of the church, not the other way around.

It sounds like a tall order, and it is. The good news, however is that "going out" is not something we have to do by ourselves. In fact, Jesus wants us to share our faith in teams. Just as you don’t win any ball games with all superstars, you don’t bring others into the faith by yourself. It takes teamwork. And regardless of wherever our journey make take us we also have the assurance that God is also on our team and therefore with us.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St, Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio