By Mike Vandermause

Years ago in my former profession as a sports journalist covering the Green Bay Packers, reporters would be ushered down from the press box to the sidelines at Lambeau Field for the final minutes of home games. That gave writers like me easy and quick access to the locker rooms for post-game interviews that took place soon after the final gun sounded.

Standing on the hallowed Lambeau tundra next to the players, with 60,000 to 70,000 screaming fans threatening to shatter my ear drums, was an exhilarating experience and provided a unique perspective.

It was from this vantage point that I witnessed some of the more memorable and dramatic finishes in Green Bay gridiron history, including:

*The Packers’ 48-47 win over Washington in 1983 that remains the highest scoring game in Monday Night Football history.  

*The Packers’ controversial "Instant Replay” win over the Chicago Bears in 1989.

*Brett Favre’s first victory as the Packers’ quarterback in 1992 when he directed a 92-yard drive in the final minute to beat Cincinnati.

In his devotional today Rick Warren reminded me of my time watching Packers games from the sideline when he wrote: “Today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the Body suffers."

As a member of the media, I had special access to the sideline but had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the game because I was only an observer. How many Christians, who have special access to God through a relationship with Jesus, have no impact for the kingdom because they are standing on the sidelines and don’t get into the game?

As a football reporter on the field, I couldn’t have asked for a better place to experience the sights and sounds of the NFL — it was incredibly entertaining. How many Christians go to church only as a way to be “entertained” on Sunday but fail to grasp God’s call for them to serve?

Could you imagine a Packers player being told to go into a close game in the waning minutes and declining to do so? “No thanks coach, it’s a lot easier watching my teammates do the work.” That player would be issued a one-way ticket out of town.

So why do some Christians think it’s OK to say, “No thanks God, it’s a lot easier watching other people get involved and do your work."

Would a football player train all year round only to balk at the chance to put his skills and physical makeup to good use in a game? In the same way, some Christians are content to soak up Biblical knowledge but then fail to put what they learn into practice.

As a reporter I wasn’t qualified to play in a Packers game, so my rightful place was on the sidelines. I wasn’t fast enough, good enough, strong enough — all legitimate reasons.

Sadly, many Christians use lame excuses to justify standing on the sidelines in the eternally significant game of life. Some don’t think they’re qualified to serve, even though God has a purpose and place for everyone to lend a hand. Some are too busy, or lazy, or preoccupied with other things.

Now is the time for Christians to stop standing around, looking on from the safety of the sidelines. It’s time to get in the game, not out of obligation, but out of a sense of gratitude.

We don’t have to serve. We get to serve. 

Mike Vandermause is communications director at Green Bay Community Church