“Golf…” (by Mel McGuire)

I play golf. Golf breaks down to four basic areas…from the tee to the fairway, from the fairway to the green, playing from around the green but off the green, and finally, putting. As in putting the ball in the hole.

Rarely have I had all facets of my game clicking on the same day in the same round. This is what is known as having your “A” game. I believe I have one, I have just never seen it.

We all have had days we drove it straight and true, avoided the water, the rough, the sand and the trees…off the tee. Then we hit every greenside bunker on the course, or we fly the ball too long or too short, or to the right or left.

Or our short game is money, but we can’t make a putt. We hit it too hard, too soft (Alice), or play too much break or not enough break. And yet, we come back, time and time again, waiting for that day when it all comes together.

My walk with God is a lot like my golf game. It has four basic areas. The Word. Prayer. Worship and Praise, and fellowship. Rarely have all facets of my life been clicking on all cylinders at the same time to the same degree of faith and power.

Sometimes I read the word and it may as well be Greek or Hebrew. Other times my prayers feel as strong as tissue paper. I love the body, but every now and again, I just don’t want to be bothered with people. Since I am being honest, all those areas require individual attention and specialized focus. Just like my golf game.

We all know people who are range masters…hitting long straight shots, fading it, drawing it, hitting it low or high on demand. Then they get on the course and the only time they are in the fairway is to cross from one side to the other looking for their last shot.

Some of us are super saints on Sunday, but struggle the other six days a week. We love church, but can’t seem to find God at home, or at work. We love a good sermon, but our only private revelation is a chapter in the back of our bible.

In order to have a productive walk with the Lord, I believe we must operate in all of these areas simultaneously. We don’t have to be perfect, but we need to be good at something. Two of the four is good, three would be great and four would be, well it would be four.

Take time each day and practice each area. Go to your strength to keep it strong, but then use it to shore up your weak areas. Each one can provide insight and assistance to improving the others.

Finally remember, one great shot does not a necessarily mean a great hole or a great score. Its all about when and where your great shot occurs. Same thing in the Lord. Timing is everything.

The right scripture, song, prayer, or touch can make everything prior insignificant. So just as in golf, you can get frustrated and want to quit, in Christ, the challenges sometimes can seem overwhelming.

Those who make it look easy are like good golfers, they work at it. They practice good habits and they work at it. That is my encouragement to you as a believer. Keep at it. Make tomorrow better than today, make this week better than last, this month, this year, better than the ones before.

Growth may be slow and hard to measure, but progress will be made. The newest greatest technology can make things easier (hybrids, etc.) but you still have to have a good, sound, repeatable swing to take advantage of it.

Getting to God is easier and more convenient, but you still have to want to know Him and be like Him to take advantage of it.

Golf, and Christianity. Simple concepts, but the joy is in the journey

“Practice…” (By Mel McGuire)

Let me say this first…I have been and am still guilty of this one.  I am telling on myself up front…I am guilty of this.

Many years ago as a young high school basketball player, my coach took our team to watch UCLA practice at Pauley Pavilion. This was back “in the day” when UCLA was a national powerhouse in basketball…every year.

As we sat up in the stands observing their practice, I noticed one of their guards shooting jump shots from what would be three point range today (there was no three point line back then).

I don’t know where he was in his routine when I started counting, but when I thought to count, he made 27 shots in a row from the same spot on the floor.  Needless to say, I was impressed, since I could not even dream of shooting a ball that far at my age and ability.

It was a display like I had never seen before, and I was convinced he was the greatest shooter to ever lace up a pair of “Chuck Taylor’s”.

He wasn’t just standing there shooting, but running a pattern that was part of their offense. He would catch a pass, and put up his shot… “swish” . I became an instant fan, and knew why his team seldom lost a game…he never missed a shot!

What I forgot was that this was just practice. Imagine my disappointment when the next game was played and he missed several shots in a row!  Every time he shot the ball, I just knew it was going in, and it didn’t!

His practice did not duplicate the conditions of a real game, and those other factors contributed to him missing shots I knew he could make.

That is why statistics and records are not kept for practice!

When we are at church…that is our practice.  We look good, sound good, we say and do the right things. If our lives were judged by how we are in church, we would never be defeated!

We’d always have joy, love, and friends. Be in a great mood and on our best behavior. Heads bowed, hands raised, and  hearts full.  People would think we are the best thing to hit earth since…well, Jesus!

But our lives are not judged by how we practice, but how we perform in the game of life.  The real game is played outside the church doors, at work, at school, in our homes.

Game conditions cannot be duplicated in church, and God needs “gamers” to step up and show how the game is played, and won.

If you are having trouble in church (at practice) don’t fret.  There are plenty of champions who were notoriously bad “practice players”, but when it was for real, when it counted, they came through time and time again (remember, no one is keeping stats at practice).

Practice is important, don’t misunderstand me, but it should not be our emphasis.  You should not be so worn out from practice that you can’t play in the game.

Pastors (coaches?), your practice regiment should not leave your players too tired or hurt they can’t play either.  Church service is preparation.  Living the word is the real game, but you got to be in it to win it.

“Practice what you preach, and preach what you practice…”

“Driving Range…” (by Mel McGuire)

I went to the driving range after not having played golf for about six months. My main goal was to not hurt myself and try to stir up some muscle memory so I could resume playing real golf on a real course. I began by working on my fundamentals.

There a few basics needed to have a good golf swing. These include, your grip, stance, and alignment…all critical before you even hit the ball.

So I started by checking my grip. If your grip is too tight you lose flexibility and power. You add stress and tension, which makes everything else more stiff and forced. Too loose of a grip and you will lose the club. Grip pressure should be light, but firm enough to hang on for maximum swing speed.

Next I checked my stance, my posture… my position relative to the ball. Again it is important not to stand too tall, and you don’t want to be stooped over either. The key is to be on balance, and so you find a posture that allows you to remain in control throughout the swing.

Then I checked my alignment, which on this day, was off by more than a little bit. I checked my feet, hips, and shoulders…then lastly my swing path, to make sure I was hitting the ball at what I was aiming at, and not just spraying it all over.

As I hit balls, making small adjustments with each series of swings, I was struck by the spiritual lessons involved. How is my grip? My understanding of what I believe. Am I holding on so tight to dogmatic positions that I am not flexible? Am I so legalistic that I am robbing the Holy Spirit of opportunities to bring forth life and demonstrate His power? Is my “grip pressure” causing undue tension and stress in relationships or in my testimony?

As long as I keep the necessary points of contact, who Jesus is, what our condition was, what Jesus did about it, and what we are supposed to do until He returns, I can relax and “free up” my interactions with believers and non-believers alike.

When I check my stance, I am looking for areas of pride that cause me to stand too tall. Then I look for areas of low self-esteem (also a form of pride) where I position myself in a lower or lesser state than what God says about me. I check until I find balance, that place where I stand as a child of God, a prince, a warrior. But I acknowledge that all that I am, or hope to be, it is because of His grace and NOT because of me.

Finally I check my alignment. Am I looking in the right direction? Do I have the right target? Am I “on plane” with God’s will for my life at this time? Are the swings I am making (the things I do) producing the shot I want (the will of God for my life)? If not, I need to make adjustments until they are, and I create new muscle memory. Pros do this every day.

We all could use a little “range time” to check our grip, stance, and alignment. To practice and make sure we are sound in our fundamentals and creating good spiritual muscle memory. See you on the range…