“…for when our sins come to our remembrance, they drive us from the presence of God and make us that we dare not pray. Now the remedy is this. We must come clothed with Christ into the presence of God. We may not come in our names, but we must come in His name and present the merit of Christ unto the Father, even as if we were one and the same person with Him. Thus shall we be accepted.”
—William Perkins
August 1, 2024 PJ Fleck is a football coach at the University of Minnesota. He rose to fame (relative to the college football world) during his first coaching tenure at Western Michigan University, when he took a team that won a single game his first year coaching, to eventually having a 13 win season two years later. A significant part of this turn around was the culture that Fleck infused into the football team, embodied by the phrase “row the boat.” This phrase came about in the aftermath of a personal tragedy in Fleck’s life: his second son died from a heart condition having only lived a single day. In the wake of this, Fleck developed this mantra that is deeply rooted in perseverance, sacrifice, goals, and community. To row the boat some things are necessary. The first thing being an oar. The oar represents energy and perseverance–one can only row when the oar is in the water, and individuals are responsible for doggedly and persistently keeping their oar in the water. The next thing necessary in this mantra is the boat itself–and for Fleck the boat represents sacrifice. Getting into the boat, leaving other things behind. Only when one is committed to a task and is willing to give up other things is when real progress can be made. And finally, the third component of this boat rowing is a compass–something that gives direction. Boats are rowed with backs facing forward, so there needs to be a good compass directing where the rowing leads. Additionally the compass also represents the community of other rowers around you. And when one has good community, with shared ideals, values, and standards, then great things can be expected. This mantra is a big part of Fleck’s football coaching and leadership. And it’s important to note: this mantra has nothing to do with football and everything to do with individual character. But Fleck’s idea is that if the process of becoming a winning person happens, then the necessary consequence of rowing the boat as it were is success. As image bearers of God we have an immense capacity to make things happen in this life. God has endowed his image bearers with significant amounts of perseverance, energy, dedication, passion, intellect, and ambition. Those are all good things that can be wielded for God-glorifying tasks and accomplishing wonderful things. There is a reason that the “row your boat” mantra has been a big part of shaping successful cultures where PJ Fleck has been a leader. But as Christians we know that sometimes there are there are storms through which we cannot be row. Some things are so dark, so heavy, so chaotic, so broken, and so sinful that whatever human power we possess falls short. But our hope in this life as Christians is not in our ability to persevere, to sacrifice, nor to surround ourselves with good community. Our hope in this life is a Savior who meets us in storms, who is in the boat with us, and whose voice calms the wind and the sea. Our God in Christ took on human form and nature, entered into a sinful and fallen world, and redeemed his people through his life, death, and resurrection. Our posture in the Christian life need not be to simply “row the boat,” but rather “look to Christ” the one who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death. The one who upholds the universe by the word of his power. The one who redeems your life from the pit. The one who will come back and make all things new. This is the one we look to. Not ourselves, not our energy, not our goals, not our community. But look to Christ, and Christ alone, for salvation and sustenance. You’ll find it. In Christ, John D |
Announcements
| —Informational Meeting Sunday, August 11 For those who are interested, we will be having an informational meeting on Sunday, August 11 immediately following the worship service to give some more information regarding our property search. This meeting will specifically be giving some historical perspective as to other properties we’ve looked at, why we bought the land that we did, and why we’re excited about pursuing the Rock Family Church property. No decisions will be made, no votes will be had — this is just to make sure everyone has all the information that they want as we move toward voting on property decisions. —Summer Study of Ecclesiastes We will continue our summer study through the book of Ecclesiastes this Sunday, August 4 at 5pm. This study will run for 10 consecutive weeks through the summer and will be located at the Downs’s home. We will eat a meal starting at 5 and begin our study promptly at 6pm. —Songs for Sunday Here’s what we’re singing this Sunday if you’d like to familiarize yourself with tunes + lyrics! In Christ Alone Jesus Lives And So Shall I Psalm 23 Blessed Assurance Jesus I My Cross Have Taken |
INTERESTING LINKS
These are some links that I have read recently that I enjoyed, found helpful, made me think, or otherwise did good for my soul/heart/mind.
Digital Discipleship for Your Children (1)
Digital Discipleship For Your Children (2)
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