What Kind of Recruits?

Recently while I was in the doctor’s waiting room I read portions of a sports article about the recruitment of football players. The writer was making a case that great (winning) teams don’t mainly recruit players who fill particular slots (blocker, receiver, kicker) but recruit any outstanding player just because he’s outstanding as an athlete—great skill accompanied by good character.

Though we don’t customarily take our cues from sports magazines, I see an application for Christians. More than trying to be a great specialist—a great singer, or teacher, or usher, or missionary—my aim should be to pursue holiness, or Christlikeness, which is valuable in any deployment. The Church always has useful places for people who are full of grace, no matter what their skill set.

That’s not an argument against excellence in skill. It’s an argument for excellence of heart that can be applied across a broad spectrum of roles.