An Organ Recital From the
Locker Room
Excerpts from this past Sunday's Message:
(pointing to the sanctuary) If the locker room is the place where a team gathers to hear from the coach, to
go over the play book, to celebrate the victories and encourage each other
during the defeats, if the locker room is where the team gathers to be
refreshed, to be challenge before going back out onto the field to make a
difference, if this a place of prayer, if this is the place where we can suit
up with the armor of God, if this is a place where we can unite as team then
this is our locker room.
We have assembled together. We come together bringing our different abilities
and strengths to help our church team to be effective. Outside those doors
lies our mission filed. Some churches have a sign over the front doors of
their church for their people to read on the way out that says, "You are now
entering the mission field". And I don't believe it would be inappropriate if
the church were to a put sign over the sanctuary doors that said, "You are now
entering the locker room".
This is our locker room. We are the players. We are not the spectators.
This has to be said over and over again…we are the players not the spectators.
This is so important. Can you imagine what would happen if a team comes out of
the locker room heading out to the field thinking they were the spectators?
How effective would the team be with that paradigm…players sitting on the bench
waiting for something to happen?
How effective would we be as a church if we met here in the locker room, if we
heard from the Playbook only to go into the mission field and not play?
Jesus says to His team..."You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses
its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of
the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:13-14
In the Hebrew culture in which Jesus speaks these words salt is symbolic of
love, friendship and loyalty. When Jesus said, "You are the salt of the
earth", He was saying, when there is love, friendship and loyalty among my
followers…then…and only then…you will be the light of the world.
Jesus comes to us meeting in the locker room today, ready to go back out into
the mission field and says to us, "I have a church growth plan. If you would
be the salt of the earth, if you would love, be friends and have loyalty among
each other…the lighthouse will have a light! And people will see and people
will come."
