Mike Henderson

Don't Miss God's Power and Presence

 

More Lessons from Football

Jesus often taught using stories, parables, and metaphors.  Even among the prophets props were very popular as there are many ways to communicate biblical truth.  While Jesus used fishing to illustrate the church on mission, I am not too aware of all the intricacies of fishing.  However, I am a fan of football and it has many similarities to the church and it's mission.

All week I have been posting about what the church and football have in common.  Here are a few more.

* Loyalty is a must.  Bill Parcels and others have said that disloyalty is the greatest threat to any team.  Even now as the season gets underway the issue of Carlson Palmer has been a distraction in the Bengals training camp.  He was unhappy and wanted to be traded.  Sometimes the chemistry is just not there.  However, the Bengals would not trade him, so he retired.  I am not sure why any team would want to keep a player who was not happy.  Eventually it will affect the effectiveness of the team.

* Preparation is a must.  No one can simply show up and wing it, or others will know.  Sometimes I think people are unaware that their lack of preparation is noticeable, but it is.  Especially this year in the NFL where the teams missed a lot of practice and preparation, it will be showing up.

* Patience is a virtue.  It is not uncommon to stumble in the first half of the game.  But the team with patience and continues to play in the second half often find that they are able to come back and win the game.

* Fans hate to miss games.  Just this week as the preseason gets underway Savannah and I both wanted to watch the Redskin/Steeler game.  Rachel, who is flying back from South Korea will miss it, but only because she is in flight.  Personally, I love to get letters from the people at New Hope who hate missing when they leave to go on vacation.

Every week I look forward to another game day at New Hope.  Perhaps I am a little weird, but I love watching the players intermingle, chat it up, and connect with one another before and after the game.  And that continues to be one of my favorite parts of Sunday; simply the interactions and the connections taking place at New Hope.

Football is a Great Metaphor

Let's continue to look at one of the most vivid images in today's society: Football.  I am always amazed on Monday mornings especially how the analysis of Sundays games parallel Church on Sundays.

With that in mind, let's look at some more similarities:

7) Fans arrive early and help set the atmosphere.  I love coming early on Sunday mornings.  Granted I am a morning person, but my dad always told me if I was not ten minutes early for work I was late.  Arriving early is simply a great habit to cultivate.

8) Evaluation is a must, but criticism outside the locker room is frowned upon.  Teams typically watch hours of game film, but they keep the feedback in house.

9) Teams must have the right people on the team.  One of the things I recall from earlier days in Washington was quarterback Mark Rypien's inability to move around very well in the pocket.  However, he was operating behind an incredible front line, and the Redskins went on to win a Super Bowl with Rypien as the quarterback.  The key was having a great offensive line.

10) You can do serious damage if you bring in the wrong person.  Last year the Redskins gave Albert Haynesworth a huge contract, but he failed to work out and was even seen pouting on the sideline. He never worked out and cost the team a ton of money.

Because NFL teams have playbooks, I plan to give all New Hope attendees a New Hope Playbook this weekend.  Should be fun.

 

 

Football Provides a Great Metaphor for the Church

This past Sunday at New Hope I used football to help us better understand the mission, vision, and strategy of the church.  While not everyone follows football, it is difficult to find someone who does not watch the Super Bowl.

With that in mind, most then have a basic understanding of the game.  Also, in the New Testament the apostle Paul used running and boxing as metaphors for the Christian life.  Had football been around, I am certain he would have used it to help believers understand how to live as a believer.

Think of the similarities between the football and the church.

1.  Football has coaches, churches have pastors.  Coaches like pastors coach, call plays, evaluate, seek to get the right players on the field, and much more.

2.  Both want to win.  One thing I did this past week was share with the church what a short term win is and what a long term win looks like.  In football a touchdown is a short term win.  Winning a game is a short term win.  Winning the Super Bowl is a long term win.

3.  Unity is huge.  Everyone must be reading the same playbook, running the correct routes, and moving at the same time on the snap of the football.

4.  Teams are different and churches vary widely.  Some players prefer the 4-3 defense and others the 3-4.  The particular choice does not make one player right and the other wrong.  I know of churches that will absolutely not offer a cup of coffee inside the church.  One of America's best known Bible teachers and one of my favorite pastors fits in that category.

5.  Coaches are different.  Bill Belichick is very different from Rex Ryan.  They are both different from Andy Reid.  Yet each coach is effective.  It took 25 years for Bill Belichick to make his mark, Rex Ryan became a household name much sooner. 

6.  They celebrate once a week, typically on Sunday. 

As we celebrated this past Sunday my goal was to clarify what the church is all about.  Football provides a great metaphor.  For the remainder of the week I will share some more similarities. 

 

July at New Hope

It's hard to believe that July is almost here.  That means that this weekend is July 4th weekend.  Actually the 4th is on Monday, but you get the idea.

All month long I am doing a series on The Reason for God.  It will be a five part series and will break down as follows:

July 3 - Do We Even Know if God Exists?

July 10 - Didn't Science Debunk Creationism?

July 17 - Why Trust the Bible?

July 24 - What About All the Pain and Suffering?

July 31 - Why Should I Listen to Christianity Which is Full of Hypocrites?

Should be an exciting month.  Also in the hopper is a lake party to celebrate all the 5th graders moving up into Student Ministry.  That takes place July 30 with more details coming soon.

 

Three Must Have Parenting Books

Over the past two weeks I presented a two-part series on parenting.  During those two weeks we gave away three different titles which should be in every parents library.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name is an excellent book for parents with toddlers.  The illustrations are worth the price of the book.  Plus the biblical teaching is excellent.

Shepherding a Child's Heart is the first book a parent needs.  This book will take you to the Scriptures and show you how to influence the heart of the child, and not simply the external behavior.

Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God is designed to teach the Bible in 10-minute segments and is ideal to use with elementary age and middle schoolers.  

               

Best Day Ever

Best Day Ever.  OK, to be fair I just happened to hear someone say that today.  Here's what I do know.  Much of what happens on a Sunday morning goes unnoticed.

Yes, today was somewhat of a microcosm of what the church is all about.  People inviting others.  We as a church creating an environment that unchurched people want to check out and come back to, and invite their friends also. And then watch life change happen. 

Today I wrapped up our two-part series on parenting and will post links to the three books we gave away.  If you are parenting, you should purchase these three books.

It was exciting to see people engaged in all that went on.  While it was the first weekend of the summer as all the schools are now out, we had what I would call an incredible day.  It was the stories that made the day special.

Of course, I would never publicly share someone's story until the appropriate time, but there were at least four stories from today alone that reminded me why I love what I do.

Following the service we went to Darden Towe Park for a baptism and a picnic.  We had a great time and people were able to meet and connect with some who they did not know. 

Of course, being next to the river on a hot day worked out well for some of the kids.  They stayed in the water the entire time.  Fun times.

Mike Collins was in his element manning the grill.  He is the ultimate grill-master.  Since I was baptizing, I left my iPhone in the truck, so I don't have any pictures to upload right now.  However, we will have pics up shortly.

 

One More Book Title to Giveaway

Today at New Hope I gave away the first two books of the four I am giving away.  The books I am giving away are some of the best three titles that every parent should have in their parenting arsenal.  Here is a brief intro to the third title. 

 

Parenting Book Giveaway (Part 2)

This Sunday we will be giving away two books to those who have kids in the preschool or elementary age groups.  Next week I will put up all the links.  That way if you do not receive one at New Hope you may want to purchase them.  All three titles are excellent books to have by your side as a parent.

 

Parenting Series Book Giveaway

This Sunday I will begin a brand new two-part series on parenting.  Since I am a huge fan of books, I will be giving a few away.