Too Many Quarterbacks
By Lexi Cole Ellis
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one
another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
A few
years ago, while supervising recess, my sixth grade boys began playing tag
football. “I’m Aaron Rogers.” “I’m Tom Brady.” “I’m Brett Favre.” “I’m Peyton
Manning.” All of a sudden, there seemed to be five quarterbacks on each team.
The kid holding the football stood there, unsure who to hike the ball to. It
eventually got solved and the game started.
After
recess, I said to a couple of the boys, “It seemed there were too many
quarterbacks.” One boy stopped to think and said, “There shouldn’t be too many
quarterbacks. It means no one can play the game well.” Another chimed in that
they should rotate each recess to prevent the “too-many-quarterback-situation”
again.
It made
me realize we, as Christians, often do the exact same thing. We’ve been given this incredible privilege of
representing Christ’s love to a broken world and all believers play important
roles… that don’t necessarily look the same. I wonder if sometimes, though, we
spend time telling believers to all be quarterbacks…to go and do specific things
a specific way. While we are called to be intentional in our words and actions,
the reality is we don’t play the game well if there are too many quarterbacks.
I think of the believers who serve, empathize, encourage quietly, and pray
diligently. These roles are just as vital as the believers who preach, teach
and exhort.
Additionally,
Kingdom-building is multi-faceted: There
are plenty of issues of injustice to be passionate about. Missions,
orphan/foster care, literacy, job sustainability, child sponsorship,
anti-trafficking, Bible translating, pastor appreciation, homelessness,
advocacy for the disenfranchised, equality for the oppressed…the list could go
on and on.
God has
designed us with specific talents and He inspires different passions. The work
we as the Church have to do is approached most effectively when each believer
is using his or her gifting and being an advocate for the issues of injustice
that break his or her heart. Whether loud or quiet, your strengths are an asset
to the Kingdom. Whether passionate about the orphaned, the homeless, the
neglected, the ignored, the hungry or the uneducated, God wants YOU to make a
difference for Him based on the specific issues you are drawn to. What is your
gifting? What issues are you passionate about? The Church isn’t a team
exclusively of quarterbacks…but it’s imperative to get in the game. You play an
important part! [1]
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Take some time to identify your giftings and your passions.
2.
What do you need to do (or start doing) to use these unique
giftings and passions for the Kingdom?
FURTHER
READING:
Lexi’s family consists of her, her husband, Andrew, her
daughter, Sloane, and her dog, Calvin. She teaches sixth grade Reading and
Writing and serves with Children’s Ministries.
[1] Need
some pep music on the subject? Listen to Matthew West’s song, “Do Something” by
clicking here. It’s a great song to start your day
with!
