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His Name Is
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Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2007

Grace Church of Burlington October 7, 2007 Some lessons from good ole #4             I’ve always believed that when you’re wrong, you’re wrong...so just admit it. After all, they do say that “Confession is good for the soul.” So I’m fessin’ up. I was a naysayer. I didn’t believe that it could be done. I believed that he should retire, go out with some dignity and just go home to Mississippi.             Obviously, I’m talking about Brett Favre. After the last two seasons I thought that good old number 4 should hang up his cleats while he still could and  walk off the field with his self-respect intact. I even had the guts (maybe it was lunacy) to suggest that to the local chairman of the I love the Pack no matter what club, our church secretary, Patti Hall. (Just in case you’re new at Grace, Patti is such an avid Wisconsin sports fan that she almost bleeds cheddar cheese). But the greying, good-ole-boy from Mississippi playing the toughest position in professional sports and playing it harder than nearly anyone else who has strapped on shoulder pads has, has made a believer out of me. He’s now in his 16th season with the Packers and 17th in professional football. He’s the league's all-time leader in pass completions and last Sunday broke Dan Marino's record for career touchdown passes with his 421st in the first quarter and just to make sure that there would be no need for a recount, fired off another one in the fourth quarter.             In a culture that has more quitters, more excuse-makers, more people who, when the going gets tough, just go – Brett Favre is an example to us all. He’s the epitome of perseverance. He’s like the Energizer Bunny who just keeps going and going and going. His injuries over the years read like an orthopaedic surgeon’s wish list. When he didn’t receive the support from management and was handed a second class O-line, he still stuck to the stuff. I  know that he makes bucks deluxe but it’s obvious that that is not what makes Brett Favre tick. The man loves the game. He’s committed and determined. He’s truly an American hero, one of the great ones. And he’s an example to us all on how to persevere when we don’t want to, how to keep going back and getting hit again and again and again...and still getting up. His life is a wonderful example of what a Christian should be when it comes to perseverance. The sad truth is that too many of us quit almost before we start, we get discouraged over hangnails and a little heat. If we get knocked down, we want them to send in the EMTs. But if Brett Favre can hang tough for fading earthly fame, how much more should we who serve the King of Kings and anticipate a heavenly crown.             But not only does Brett endure, he enjoys it. Someday we’ll miss his “aw shucks” smile, that Opie look. His grin last week as he hoisted Greg Jennings on his shoulders after he caught Brett’s 421st touchdown pass was priceless. There are Christians who faithfully persevere in difficulty, who stay in a bad marriage or horrible job or stick by a wayward child, when others would bail...but not many of them still enjoy it. They’re in the grin and bear it crowd...and I have to admit that sometimes I’m one of them. I’ll persevere and I’m sure hoping that the Father notices that I’m sticking to the stuff but I’ve lost my joy. And Brett Favre is an example to us all, to not only be faithful, to not only persevere but also to enjoy it, to let God’s joy that is indestructible flood our souls.             So thanks Brett! In the physical world, in this temporal world you have done what we who are focused on eternity must also do, persevere and enjoy doing it. And the wonderful thing is that you don’t have to be a professional quarterback to play in God’s game. You don’t have to be a superstar...in fact none of us are. You just have to have a personal relationship with the Coach and let His power flood your life. So while I’m not quite ready to go out and buy a Packer’s jersey, I’m close...and I might even buy one with a #4 blazoned on the back.