Pats, Cats, Power and Glory

At the top of everyone's list was the ascension of New England quarterback Tom Brady to near legend status. Following the Patriots 24-14 drubbing of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game, visions of Brady being the next Joe Montana began to emerge. The comparisons are easy to make; both are handsome, play quarterback, Montana played in San Francisco, Brady grew up in the Bay Area, their playing styles are similar, both are certified superstars, and both have met the President (Brady attended the recent State of the Union address as a guest of President Bush).

Brady did not disappoint as he threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns in the game earning the game's Most Valuable Player award. However, a lot more passes need to be thrown before I am ready to annoint Tom Brady the next Joe Montana.

A second storyline garnering a great deal of attention during Super Bowl week was the rags to riches story of "He Hate Me", also known as Carolina Panthers kick returner Rod Smart. A football vagabond of sorts, Smart played Division 1-AA college football, was not selected in the NFL draft, and had been cut by the San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, before finding a home with the Panthers. Somewhere along his circuitous journey to the NFL, Smart played a season with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the now defunct XFL. It was there that he gained national attention by placing the now famous phrase "He Hate Me" on the back of his game jersey.

A more somber storyline involved the courageous battles that two members of the Panthers organization are fighting. Former Carolina linebacker and current linebackers coach Sam Mills and linebacker Mark Fields both have cancer. While Fields is responding well to treatments for Hodgkins Disease and is expected back on the field next season, Mills health forecast is less certain. The former undersized yet ferocious defensive star has been responding well to chemotherapy for intestinal cancer but every new day of sustained life is a victory.

On a much more pleasant note, there was the "Bill Belichick Coaching Genius" storyline finding its way into several sports publications and television shows. The last time Belichick brought his team to the Super Bowl two years ago, he was viewed with a great deal of skepticism. Some of this consternation was justified as the coach in the hooded sweatshirt had never really proven anything in a grim stint as Cleveland Browns head coach or without Bill Parcells along for the ride as head coach to Belichick's assistant status. However, this week he arrived at the biggest game in American sport touted as the most brilliant coach since Vince Lombardi. It is amazing what a Super Bowl victory and a 14 game winning streak will do for a coach.

On the field, the Patriots and Panthers came into the game as polar opposites. Just two short years ago, New England entered Super Bowl XXXVIII as the "hunter" against the St. Louis Rams but now the Patriots found themselves the "hunted" compliments of their aforementioned 14 game winning streak. Carolina on the other hand was perhaps one of the unlikeliest of Super Bowl participants. Just two years removed from a 1-15 season, Panthers Coach John Fox had been nothing short of a miracle worker, taking a team in complete disarray (remember Rae Carruth and Fred Lane) and leading them to football's most spectacular stage. The Patriots were a great defensive team with a good passing game. The Panthers were a great defensive team with a good running game. When all was said and done, Super Bowl XXXVIII was billed as a throwback, no-nonsense, smashmouth football game.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Did I mention a football game was played? Despite all of the posturing and two weeks of tedious pre-game hype, hoopla, and analysis, New England defeated the upstart Panthers, 32-29, on a last second Adam Vinatieri field goal.

It is remarkable to think that for the billions of dollars that were spent in preparation for Super Bowl XXXVIII, it is all centers around 22 people, playing on a field that is 300 feet long, using a ball that is fashioned from the hide of a pig, for 60 minutes. That's it. For all the glitz, glamour and pre-game pageantry that has gripped our nation for the last two weeks, it all comes down to a game.

This game serves as the solitary focus for each player on every team from the first day of training camp. It is the ultimate goal, the single most important achievement for any player and team from day one. It is ultimately why players are willing to sacrifice their bodies through the blazing heat of training camp in July to the bitter, rawness of a play-off game in January.

Coaches are hired and fired for one reason and one reason only; that is to either take their team to the pinnacle of gridiron success or because they failed to do so.

Once you have peeled away the multiple layers of the glitter going on around the game you are left with a single, solitary focus. That is to be crowned a champion on the last game of the season.

I find the concept of traditional church to be very similar. Beyond all of the activities, committees, and special programs that a house of worship may offer, it all should come back to a single focus. That is to worship God. Unfortunately, the gospel message sometimes gets left out in the cold due to all of the programming that is going on around it.

Do not misunderstand me. I believe that we are commanded by God to reach out to those people in our church, community, and beyond through various means. To do so requires appropriate vehicles for evangelism. However, I sometimes get the feeling that more attention is being attributed to getting the message out than figuring out what the message is.

At the end of the day it all should come back to one clear truth; the power and glory of who Jesus Christ is.

In

This passage of scripture presents a question that you should ask yourself. Furthermore, consider your church congregation when reflecting on it.

The question is:

Is your worship genuine and true?

The location or program of worship is not nearly as important as the attitude of the worshippers. God is present wherever we choose to worship Him. We can worship God alone within our heart, or we can worship Him while gathered together with others.

Our worship is to be served in forms of adoration or thanks to God with a complete focus on His holiness, truth, beauty, and love.

Through faith, we are on a remarkable journey that requires our complete devotion to Him. It is wonderful to want to reach out to others with such a wonderful message. But it is critical to remember what that message is.

The message is the power and glory of Jesus Christ.

Tell me what you think

* Material from The Transformer, study Bible used in this article.