2005/05/25
Dancing with a ball
If England has a state religion, and it does, it is not the Anglican Church (Church of England) as you might think but English football (soccer). More participate in football each week than they do church. Every week they gather in their open air cathedrals and sing, pray and worship. Men like David Beckham, the high priest of passion, lead their followers (fans) in their homage to the pig (the football). It makes no sense to me at all but then neither does golf. Kicking or hitting a little white ball around a cow pasture, howbeit groomed and matured, seems .... well .... better keep it to myself lest I offend sensitivities.
Two seasons ago, Paulo Cezar Batista de Novias, one of the pastors in our church in London, a former Brazilian football star, started a bible study using football as bait to draw young men to hear the Word of God. Each week the numbers increased. First 10, then 20 then 40. In 30 years in England I have never been able to gather that many unconverted men to hear the Word of God all at one time. I now regret not having taken Football at school instead I had opted for the Missions Course. As each week passed and the numbers grew so did the quality of the game and the results of the bible study. Men have been saved and baptized! One evening however a gentlemen stepped up and suggested we should join a league. Later that same evening, on line, we discovered it was the last day to make application for the next season. With the click of a button, on the last day, we were in.
The rules for a new team is they have to start at the bottom, division 3, in the lowest league in English Football. The gentleman who gave us the nudge called the league and told him they really ought to place us in the Premier Division (4 steps up the ladder) as our team was beyond third division. Not believing the man completely but not wanting a team to roll over their 3rd division they moved us to 1st division. Brazilian Football in England was born!
Last year we were top of the league and became Division One Champions. We were thus promoted to the Premier Division. Brazilian Football in England is like sending a Baptist missionary to the Vatican and conducting communion (closed of course) on the steps of St. Peters. Brazilian Football is so different to English Football even I can recognize it. The Brazilians call it "ginga." I call it dancing with a ball.
We now have a reputation! Everyone wants to beat the Brazilians not that everyone on the team is Brazilian it's just our reputation of course. They also now know we are a Christian team and not that everyone on the team is Christian it's just our reputation. Before each game the team gathers on the pitch to pray. They circle up, intertwine arms across their shoulders and pray. I remember a referee calling me over to ask what they were doing when they weren't responding to his whistle to start the game. I said, "They are praying!" "WHAT," he screamed! I repeated, "They are praying. I think they are praying for you." He replied, "They better hurry up or I am going to give God a red card and award the game to the other side." I laughed and said, "I'd be real careful about giving God a red card if I were you." "OK, OK but please tell them to hurry!" Now the referees just politely wait for the Amen. It's pretty reverential!!!
Think of it this way! Our missionary has converted a priest each week for 42 weeks inside Vatican City. The Vatican hates him but CNN, Global TV and two dozen newspapers and magazines cover his progress on a regular basis worldwide, its big news. Our non professional team is covered by the news media more than the majority of the professional teams in England.
This season is not yet finished. As a team, like any team, in fact like any of us our skills and abilities can go to our head. We think we are more than we really are. We easily forget it is all of grace we are what we are and where we are in life. The Cup Competition we played in this season consisted of 74 teams and we made it to the cup semi-final. Our guys knew we could beat anyone. We lost!!! We actually lost!!!!!
How could this be? We are the Brazilians!!!!!! Disappointment became our motto. Why did God let us down, we are the Christian team, invincible!!!! But we needed to loose. We needed to be reminded it is all of grace. It was God who did this to us for our learning. Our team secretary, checking the players fielded by the other side, discovered the other team had fielded two ineligible players in the semi-final and as a result we were awarded the game. What a somber lesson. God wanted us to be in the cup final but also wanted to remind us it is He who put us there. You have no idea the impact this had on out team. Mind changing! I have never seen the boys play better or with a more gracious and humble spirit than they did at the cup final. Final score 2-0, to us. Just before the team was awarded the cup and medals at the close of the game they huddled again on the pitch this time on their knees in prayer to God. All the league officials stood in silence patiently waiting till the prayer meeting was over to start the ceremonies. It was pretty reverential!!!!!!