A Peyton Manning Pastor

This is my Monday morning prayer.  “Dear Lord, Help me not to be a Peyton Manning Pastor.”

 

What is a Peyton Manning Pastor?

 

Well Peyton, for those who may not know is the MVP, Super-Bowl Champion quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.  Since he arrived in 1998 he has never missed a game.   Over the past 13 seasons they’ve never played without him.  During this time they have also won most of the time.  They haven’t just been good they’ve been great, even winning the Super Bowl in 2006.

 

All that changed this past week.

 

On Tuesday last week the Colts announced he would not play in the opening game this season due to injury.  Furthermore he had surgery on Thursday that will prohibit him from playing for several more games.

 

The big question was, how will the team perform without him?  The last time they started a game without Manning, Bill Clinton was only half way through his second term and we had never heard of Monica Lewinsky.

 

Well, in the first game without him the Colts were awful.  They lost 34-7 and it really wasn’t that close.  Even the positions that Manning doesn’t play himself were far below par.  The defense was inept, the special teams gave up a touchdown and the offense was stagnant.

 

What has been speculated for years was confirmed on Sunday.  The Colts were ill prepared to play without that one player.

 

So here are a couple characteristics of the Peyton Manning Pastor.

 

–       The team is built on one person or personality.

–       Everyone’s performance is predicated on the performance of that one person.

–       Winning or losing is determined by the will, skill and personality of that one person.

–       When they are present things are good, when gone the church fails.

–       There is little leadership development to replace that one person.

 

In ministry we are called to be leaders, we must lay out the vision and lead the way.  However, we must not build our churches or ministries on our own talent, gifts or personalities alone.  We must connect our people to the one and only person who is crucial to our success, Jesus Christ.  We must also develop others to replace us so that the ministry can go on long after we are gone.

 

Lord, Help the Colts!