CurryStew

So I come back from Camp Adventure this past weekend as tired as I’ve ever been, I mean straight up, I didn’t even feel like moving and we come to church at the Saturday Night 7:30 p.m. service and get blown away with one of the most amazing sermons I’ve heard in a long time.

Our Sr. Pastor Mark Beeson was at Camp Adventure with us….hold on let me pause for a moment because you might have missed that…WHAT SR. PASTOR AT A CHURCH LIKE OURS TAKES TWO WEEKS OUT OF THEIR ENTIRE YEAR TO SPEND AT A MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMP? Anyway Pastor Beeson and I did practically the same thing at camp so he was probably JUST as tired as I was. But saturday night he gave one of the most impactful messages I’ve ever heard.

The first thing that popped into my mind after the service was how some pretty awesome things happen when people push themselves beyond fatigue and exhaustion. I remember when Michael Jordan single handedly destroyed the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals when he had the flu. His coach Phil Jackson was almost at a loss for words, but finally told the media, “Because of the circumstances, with this being a critical game in the Finals, I’d have to say this is the greatest game I’ve seen Michael play. Just standing up was nauseating for him and caused him dizzy spells. This was a heroic effort, one to add to the collection of efforts that make up his legend.”

I also remembered the time when Tiger Woods battled through stomach sickness from bad pasta to win the Bay Hill Invitational for the fourth straight year. He didn’t just win, he went 44 holes without a bogey and won by 11 strokes!

There is something unique about going ALL OUT and pushing ourselves to the limit and beyond in EVERYTHING that we do. I believe that GREATNESS comes from relentless and radical pursuit of a positive goal.

This is a very different model of commitment than we see in the corporate world. I was reading an article that was titled “Coming to work sick hurts business“. It said, “If you’re sick, just stay home: That’s what more white collar employers are telling their employees, as sick workers affect the bottom line.”

I’m not so sure that’s always what’s best. What would have happend if Jordan wouldn’t have played in that Finals game against the Jazz? What would Tiger’s career look like if he would have pulled out of the Bay Hill Invitational?

I don’t know for sure what would have happend but i know Pastor Beeson took the “bottom line” and took it up a notch by not only showing up but by bringing HIS BEST for all who had a chance hear him speak. He pushed himself beyond fatigue (like Jordan and Woods), beyond lack of sleep, beyond…well spending two full weeks with middle school students, so that we would know what it means to NOT be casual in our faith. I have no doubt that lives were changed because of Marks willingness to “keep pushing”.

If you’re tired and think you’re at the end of your rope, dig deep and keep pushing. We never know who’s watching, listening, or who needs what we have to offer!