All Christians Should Train to Win
Have you ever felt unprepared?
This year, my four-year-old son began his first season playing flag football.
It didn’t go as expected.
When we arrived for his first practice and scrimmage, we learned that our coach had a personal emergency and would not be able to help our team this year. Since I was the only dad who played football before, I suddenly became the coach.
So I gathered the boys and threw together some basic explanations of the game: “This is a football. This is a goal line. If you get the football across the line, we score. These are the flags. Here’s how you pull them. If a kid on the other team has the football and you pull their flag, we stop them.”
Then, practice time was over, and we had to play our first scrimmage.
I knew we are in trouble from the moment we lined up against the other team.
The opposing team’s five-year-old quarterback squatted behind the center and raised his right leg like he was Peyton Manning, signaling his receiver to go in motion. They snapped the ball, handed it to the receiver running at full speed, and ran 80 yards down the field for a touchdown.
I didn’t know five-year-olds could do that!
They continued to score on every play. They knew many complex plays and techniques of the game already. My team was just learning how to pull a flag and how to hand the ball off without dropping it.
It was a win for us if a kid ran in the right direction.
After a blowout loss, I learned that the other team had played together in previous seasons and had been meeting for extra midweek practices.
They had been training for a year, and our team was just learning the basics.
They were prepared. We weren’t. And it was obvious!
Everyone Needs Training
Preparation, training, and practice make all the difference in sports and in life.
How often do we as Christians feel unprepared for the task God has called us to?
How often do pastors feel like we weren’t properly equipped for the work of ministry?
Maybe you look at other others and feel like a failure. But we often forget that they’ve been training for twenty-some years. And we’re just getting started.
Make no mistake, we are in a war (Ephesians 6:12). Like it or not, the battle is coming. And if we are caught unprepared, we’ll get the tar beat out of us.
This is why I’m such an advocate for personal development, education, and the humility it takes to be a life-long learner.
Don’t just take my word for it. Paul writes:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
Too many Christians, even pastors, are not properly equipped before entering the battle. We’re a lot like my son’s beginner football team against a veteran squad.
But my son’s team got better after a few more weeks of practice and having a coach who was prepared to lead them. We started competing and even won a game.
As long as you’re still breathing, it’s not too late. You can start training today.
Even if you’re a grizzled veteran who has been in the trenches for years, you still need to keep your skills sharp and keep up with a rapidly changing battlefield.
All Christians need to grow in godliness, and train for ministry.
So how will you train?
Seven Ways to Train
If you aren’t growing, it’s not because you don’t have the opportunity. You have no excuses.
We have more resources today than ever.
- Study your Bible.
- Read books.
- Listen to podcasts.
- Take an online course (like my new preaching course).
- Go to a conference.
- Enroll in a class at a local seminary or university.
- Find a coach—a mentor who has more experience in the game than you do.
So here’s my challenge to you: Pick one area of your life or ministry that you don’t feel properly prepared for. Then, take immediate action using one of the methods above to get better equipped.
Don’t sleep on this. Christ deserves our best.
Train to win.
