fridayfocuslogolong

February 5, 2016

When I was still coaching high school basketball, one of the most daunting tasks was to try and make players understand what their role on the team was.  There were starters.  There were guys who came off the bench and played a lot of minutes.  There were guys that didn’t get to play as much as they wanted in the games, but they were still very important to the team as teammates, encouragers, players that pushed other players to get better in practice.  Regardless of what their role was, there was one thing that was always consistent on every team I coached – every single person had a role on the team and it was important that they fulfilled it as well as possible in order for us to succeed.  But there were times that the players, and even on some occasions their parents, had a difficult time accepting the roles that had been assigned to them.  The best teams I ever coached were full of players who accepted their roles and carried them out the very best of their ability. I’ve found that in ministry there are some similarities to that difficult assignment found in coaching.  It is difficult at times to help people in church recognize that they have been assigned a role, whether they like it or not.  God has placed each and every one of us in a situation and assigned us a role to carry out in this life.  Just like in basketball, we simply have two choices – we can accept the role and fulfill it the best we can, or we can simply disregard our role, or deny we have been given a role.  Sadly, if the second choice is made, it not only hurts us, but it hurts the entire body of believers. You see, the gifts that you have been given are unique to you.  If you choose not to fulfill your role, then the team must move forward without the contributions that you can provide.  Moving on without you, carrying out the duties of your role, makes the church less effective in its quest to build the kingdom of God.  Why?  Because no one else can fill your role quite like you can. This Sunday, we are going to look at a story found in Exodus 17.  From this story, I believe we can find three important roles that exist in the church.  Furthermore, I believe this story helps prove that everyone – every single person – at Faith Family has a role to play.  I want to help you identify what role you have been called to and help you step in to thriving in the role. So let me ask you . . . . What is your role? Pastor Brandon