Billy Beane

There is a Brad Pitt movie that came out last year called Moneyball. In the movie, he plays Billy Beane, the GM of the Oakland A's.  The movie tells the story of the A's 2002 season and the unorthodox way of evaluating the best players with their limited budget. The climax of the film is a win streak of 20 games, complete with a montage that rivals the best sports movies. The music alone gets me every time.

Two weeks ago Pastor Steve talked about being consumed by God. He's been speaking in Ephesians, I know you have heard it. You probably talked about it in some way in your CARE group meeting. I made a special note of that very phrase in my notebook. Questions come in my mind, what does a consumed life look like? What would it be like to live consumed? In Ephesians chapter 1, we read that the power that caused that raised Jesus from the grave is the same power that resides in us. HELLO?!? Its hard for me to fathom that. Paul himself prays that we would understand that very thing. He writes in ch 3 vs 20-21

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Astounding.....how do I get there?

 In Moneyball, Billy Beane and Peter Brand put this team together with the belief that their system will work. They have many doubters, and at the beginning of the season, things do not look good. They did not start off with a 20 game win streak, but near the end of the season, things finally clicked. What was most interesting to me were the scenes of Billy and Peter talking to the players about the game and the way they want it to be played. They are advising them throughout the season....about taking pitches, walking more, doing whatever they can to get on base. Bases lead to runs, and runs lead to wins. There is one statement that Billy makes that resounds in me....

It's a process.

I think that often we want our relationship with God to be magical.....that all the bad things will quit bugging us and it will be easy street. We want to come out of the gates with a record breaking streak of spiritual victories. People will immediately see the ever-present power that is in us and we will be breaking down spiritual walls in the first week. Its doesn't happen that way does it? We can be at it for years and are still talking the same way, acting the same way, feeling like this whole God thing is a chore more than a joy.  We can easily get down on ourselves and down on being a Christian.  We like immediate results and words like "process" don't necessarily float our boat so to speak.  For something to be a process means that it will take time.

During the A's season, it took time.  The season started in April, the streak did not finish til September 5th.  It took them a whole season to put into practice the process.  Learning which pitches to take and which to swing at.  Learning that a walk is just as good as a hit and even though its not exciting, it wins games.  The end result was worth the daily work, the work that sometimes doesn't bring us instant gratification....but when all of that process finally cemented in them, they succeeded in a great way.

Our Christian walk (coincidence?) is a lifelong process.  It begins by taking advice....imagine if the A's just disregarded all of the advice they were given.  If they did not buy into it, they would have had a difficult season.  Homer talked Sunday morning about the Word.  He talked about how important it was for us to get into the Word of God.  We are being given "advice" from the author of our faith.  I like to think of it in those terms.  The Word is full of lessons, full of blessings that will work in us to change us.  Allow yourself to be part of the process, to follow the Word, get it in you and start on your walk to great successes in the name of God in your life.