We who are fans only of college or professional football have no idea what it must be like to walk out onto the field at game time.

Growing up, most of us played the game at some level. We’re used to the green expanse stretching before us and the guys on the other team facing us. But there’s one thing we never saw that is a powerful element in the game played by the big boys.

There are a jillion fans sitting all around them.

Think of it. On your field of vision as you exit the locker room is a sliver of green which is the playing field. But filling 90 percent of your eyeballs is a stadium filled with raving, cheering, expectant fans. When the ball is thrown into the air, the backdrop is the fans. When it’s kicked, the player has to pick the ball out of a mural of fans.

That’s the part of the game I cannot imagine. I have little trouble imagining the running, throwing, hitting, blocking, catching parts of the game. But what a difference it must make for a player to be the object of 75 thousand fans, all screaming for him to make it or break it, to catch it or miss it. He’s cheered, he’s booed, he’s a goat, he’s a hero.

I’m thinking of the time Rex Ryan, coach of the NFL’s New York Jets, gave the game ball (signifying their leading role in a victory) to the fans who helped his team to a rare win over the New England Patriots. The previous week, Ryan had sent a voice mail to every season-ticket holder calling on them to “be there and be loud” at the game.

It worked. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady admitted he had trouble being heard when calling signals to his players. At one point, twice in a row the referees threw the penalty flag on Brady’s team for getting out of sync.

Pastors know the difference the congregation makes.

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Everyone has his own contender for that honor–the “best thing in the Bible”–and here’s mine.

“Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

“And might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Those two loaded verses tell us why the incarnation (the act by which Jesus became human) and why the crucifixion (His death on the cross). It all pointed to the same purpose.

Jesus defeated the one holding the power of death, the devil, and delivered those in bondage to the fear of death. (That would be “us.”) He accomplished this by His death.

Eugene Peterson restates that in The Message:

“Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by His death. By embracing death, taking it into Himself, He destroyed the devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.”

Think of that: “scared to death of death.”

It describes our generation to a T.

Now, a wonderful little glimpse of something. Fast forward over to the first chapter of Revelation. In John’s vision of the ascended/glorified Jesus, there is a detail you may have missed.

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We’re not in the dark as to how the Lord prefers to train leaders. Take a gander at His favorite leaders in the Scriptures….

In Genesis, Joseph. In Exodus, Moses. Later, Joshua. In I Samuel, David. In the New Testament, it’s clearly Paul.

What one thing do all these leaders have in common?

They all suffered a great deal before the Lord decided they were ready to be used by Him. (And often continued to suffer while serving Him.)

Joseph spent the best years of his youth as a slave in Egypt, then was mistreated by his master and thrown in prison where he seemed to have been forgotten for a number of years.

Moses spent 40 years in remote areas keeping sheep before God decided that at the age of 80, this man was ready to face Pharaoh and lead the Israelites.

Joshua served as Moses’ servant for more years than he could count and endured the entire 40 years of wilderness wandering before Moses left the scene and gave him the keys to the car.

David was anointed as the new king sometime around his 17th year, we think. Soon, he fought Goliath and became a national champion, then a hero acclaimed by the masses. A jealous King Saul put a price on his head, turning David into an outlaw for a number of years.

Want to be a leader greatly used of God? Get ready to suffer first.

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The newspaper column by Andy Rooney, resident curmudgeon of CBS television, does not appear in the New Orleans paper but I found it today in the Baton Rouge Advocate. Rooney thought we’d like to see what he shared Wednesday at the memorial service for Walter Cronkite at the Avery Fisher Hall in the Lincoln Center.

Two stories from that have special meaning for us.

The first illustration…

Rooney says he and his wife were often invited to go sailing with Walter and Betsy Cronkite. “Once while we were sailing in Maine several years ago, we tied up near a little village and Walter and Betsy went into a country store.”

“This strange-looking character comes up to Walter and asks him a question. Walter was always polite to his fans and, with Betsy standing there, Walter said, “Oh sure. We’ve met several times . We’re not really close friends. I talk to him once in a while.”

Outside, Betsy said, “Walter, did you hear who he asked you about?” And Walter, who was hard of hearing answered,”No, I didn’t.” She said, “Well, he asked if you knew Jesus Christ.”

(What if it turned out that that accidental answer was the real one? Let’s hope he knew Jesus well and is in His presence at this very moment.)

And then the second Cronkite story.

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“Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

“But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord.” (Jer. 9:23-24)

Remember those words. They will be on the test.

The word “rhapsody,” we’re told, comes to us from the Greek “rhapsodia.” That word is made from “rhapso” meaning “to sew” and “ode,” a song. Literally, a rhapsody is a patchwork composition, parts of various songs stitched together into one.

I have my needle and thread this morning. I’m ready to pull together some thoughts on this fascinating declaration from our Heavenly Father for our benefit. In time, with continued reflection and study, my composition will be seamless. But not today, I’m afraid.

Last week, on Facebook–where “friends” try to compress large thoughts and long paragraphs of meaning into two or three pithy sentences–I urged pastors to begin their worship services by walking up to the pulpit and quoting these two verses from Jeremiah 9.

I suggested that the worship leader (the pastor should always be the opening and primary worship leader) should look his people in the eye and with a clear, almost dramatic voice, call out from memory–most definitely not reading–the words of this text. Do it slowly, forcefully, authoritatively.

This is in contrast to the trite manner in which so many worship services begin. “How y’all doing this morning?” “Well, aren’t we having a pretty day?” “Is everyone happy today? I said, ‘Is EVERYONE happy today?’ Maybe you didn’t hear me–IS EVERYONE HAPPY TODAY?”

Oh please. Spare us.

You can do better than this, pastor. Instead of beginning the worship service berating us for not answering your silly question forcefully enough, why not direct us toward the Lord. Lift us toward Heaven. See if you can actually help us worship.

After posting the suggestion about Jeremiah 9:23-24 on Facebook, the next day I made a comment regarding Galatians 2:20. That drew a response from Philip Price.

Price is the new director of missions for the Jackson County Baptist Association, headquartered in Pascagoula, having just left the First Baptist Church of Leakesville, MS (where I’ll be leading in revival in a few weeks). Philip said, “Interesting you would pick those two scriptures.”

The Galatians verse is his favorite and the Jeremiah passage was his text a few days ago when he addressed the state-wide meeting of directors of missions, his new peer group.

Until Philip said that, I was “past” Jeremiah 9:23-24. But that drew me back.

I’ve since memorized it and am attempting to retain it by lying in bed reflecting on its content and quoting it back from time to time.

Let’s take it apart and sew it back together. With me now?

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