The Play-Action Pass

The play-action pass has got to be one of the greatest plays in football. It works only when a team is patient, disciplined, and understands timing.
(For those who may not know, the play-action pass in football is a pass play that looks like a run so it lures defenders up to play the run, when in reality a pass is coming. When it works the play makes big gains).

For those of us whose team (like UGA) runs the play-action, we understand how frustrating it can be. The Coach calls boring run play after boring run play. The Crowd gets frustrated and maybe even boos. They wonder what he is up to. But the Coach is patient and knows that boring run plays in the 1st quarter will set-up bigger plays (like the play action) in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The Coach is seeing the big picture ... he understands that football is not just about one play ... but about an entire game.

In leadership, we have our own sort of play-action pass. We do things now that hopefully will pay off later. We are patient now doing things that some people may question, but later will pay off big. As a leader anytime we make decisions today with tomorrow in mind, it is similiar to the play-action pass.

For example, at RBCC we are changing some things today while our church is running 900-1000 to set us up for success when our church is running 1500+. It involves change, patience, and vision but it is worth it.
For example, we are changing our membership class (Inquirer's Lunch) to get people more involved faster. We are restructuring our Children's Check-in because what worked at 500+ is not working now and certainly won't work later. We are revamping all of our hospitality and usher/greeter processes to better greet, direct, seat, and treat the people coming to RBCC who need Jesus. We are retraining and rethinking our small groups to make them easier to get into, improve the overall group experience, and rapidily multiple new groups for new people.
Why?
Because we believe we are in the 1st quarter of an awesome, God-thing. We are thinking about the 2nd quarter and how to get better, how to score more points for the Kingdom of God, and how to be more effective in fulfilling our God-sized vision.