NFL Combines and the Church

This week in Indianapolis, the NFL combines were held. For those who don't know, the combines are an event where athletes hoping to be drafted by an NFL team go and work out before scouts, coaches and executives. These potential NFL players go through a battery of tests including lifting weights, jumping, throwing, running and even a standardized test called the Wonderlic Test. Players are then ranked based on how much they could benchpress or how fast they can run to how high they scored on the Wonderlic Test. From the combines, teams take this information and use it in drafting players.

I personally haven't ever really liked the combines. Not that I have anything against them, I just don't feel like they are the best gauge in who's the best player. It's one thing that I guy can benchpress 450lbs or a guy can run a 4.3 in 40 yards. It's another thing when you put a helmet and shoulderpads on and stick him on the field and ask him to make plays. There are two things the combines can't measure, or at least I've never seen them measure. Those are character and heart. How a player handles adversity both on and off the field is sometimes more important than how high he scored on a standardized test. Case in point, Tom Brady. Tom Brady went to the combines and was rated horribly. He didn't have the "prototypical" quarterback body. He didn't wow the scouts with his lifting ability or his running ability. Because of this, he ended up being a 6th round draft pick. Of course, we know how that story turned out.

So what does this have to do with the church? I think the same kind of emphasis exists as well. We tend to elevate those who have super memorization skills of Scripture or can recite the Westminster Catechisms back and forth or are very astute in deep doctrine. And we tend to forget those followers of Jesus who may not be as astute but who love God and love others and share the Gospel with all they come in contact in word and deed.

Now I'm not saying that memorization is bad or studing theology is bad (if it was, I wouldn't be right now in seminary). I'm just saying don't overlook those other believers out there who are doing the work too. Just as much as there are players on teams who have the "eye-popping" combine stats, there are others who don't but who's contribution to the team is just as significant.

In the end, for a team to succeed, all the players have to buy into the system. The same is true for those who follow Jesus. Those that follow Jesus have to buy into Him. And from that, you get so much more than the pleasure of being the #1 pick. You get to be a child of God...