A few years ago we instituted a new outreach in InBounds called Next Man Up. The idea is taken from the sports world of when a player goes down or is unavailable, the next guy on the bench has to be ready to step in and do the job. We utilize it with our worship team, as we have numerous folks we call on to fill out the roster for any given scenario… this creates an understanding and opportunity for each member of the team to be an integral part… WE NEED EACH OTHER!
This idea of serving the team fits well with our beginning of the ‘23 season where we are emphasizing the greatness found in serving… and I was reminded of these truths in a couple of ways this past week. As we arrived back home last week, on Monday we found a major issue taking place at my in-law’s home… one where pipes had burst, no one was home, and water destroyed a large amount of their home after running for what is guesstimated to be at least a week. Needless to say, I was exhausted and pre-occupied! Immediately upon hearing the news Coach Thomas “THendy” Henderson offered to be the Next Man Up and write last week’s Game Plan for Life. I immediately felt some weight lifted and was able to focus on the task at hand. So first, THANKS THENDY!
The second time the Next Man Up idea came to mind is during the process of gutting the destroyed home. It hit me that in the midst of this commercialized world, how the church has lost some of its Next Man Up mentality… Years ago, if someone’s home was destroyed, immediately the local church body would have deployed to the property and got to work. Yet, in today’s culture we awaited insurance answers, meeting with commercial businesses, and ended up with just some immediate family members spending MANY hours moving things, throwing things in the trash, cutting out wet carpets, etc. It broke my heart that there was no one from the local church there; not because I was angry, (folks from the church would have been assuming it was all be taken care of), but was sad… because a Next Man Up shoulder-to-shoulder approach builds a feeling of team… a feeling of belonging. This was pounded home to me as my brother-in-law mentioned that in spite of his fatigue and the emotional strain of the situation, he loved that he and his sisters got to hang out together… I watched as 3 of my children got to work together and laugh, even in the midst of tragedy. (I think the Amish still have a good idea when they get together for a work “party” and will, as a team/community, build a barn in a day… it used to be common to help plant and harvest… it used to be common to simply meet one another’s needs…)
So this week, while still VERY TIRED and still VERY MUCH to do… let me remind us of a Biblical team-mandate: Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, AND SO FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST.
The word “law” there could simply be translated “command”; and doesn’t that fit with Jesus’ words in John 13:15, after serving the Apostles, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
NEXT MAN UP PLEASE!
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