Pastoral Perspective: Going 'All In!'
In 334 BC, Alexander the Great led a fleet of ships to attack one of his most formidable foes, Darius III of Persia. Upon reaching the shores, he ordered the men to burn the ships saying, “We will either return home in Persian ships or die here.”
What does a poker player confidently say when pushing his entire pile of chips to the middle of the table?
“I’m ALL IN!”
What did Alexander Hamilton say, according to Lin-Manuel Miranda in the theatrical production “Hamilton”?
“So there will be a revolution in this century / Enter me, he says in parentheses / Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me / I will lay down my life if it sets us free.”
In other words, Hamilton was ALL IN!
What did I say to my little red-headed girl on Nov. 28, 1992, as we stood on the altar in front of God and our friends and family? I said “I Do,” but what I really meant was “ALL IN!”
What did I say when the tandem sky dive instructor turned around and yelled over the wind, “You ready?” As a pastor, I can’t really tell you what I actually said, but what I meant was “All IN!”
On Dec. 31, 1990, at the age of 22, after attending a retreat in Tennessee, I went ALL IN with Jesus and the great adventure of faith.
You have your own times when you went ALL IN, when you burned the ships, when you pushed your chips to the middle of the table, when you let go of the rope swing and plunged into the water, when you took a deep breath and said, “I love you,” when you said, “It’s now or never.”
The contemporary Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song about this commitment:
“Burn the ships we're here to stay / There’s no way we could go back / Now that we've come this far by faith / Burn the ships we've passed the point of no return / Our life is here so let the ships burn and burn.”
Starting Aug. 28 and running five weeks, First Baptist Church in Chenoa and Eastview Christian Church will be partnering together on a sermon series entitled “ALL IN!”
We will learn how to live our faith with an ALL IN attitude. We will identify the people, places, resources, sacrifices, and mission that God had called us to live out fearlessly, extravagantly, and joyfully in a world that desperately needs hope.
On Wednesday nights, we will meet to dive deeper and encourage each other to go ALL IN as followers of Jesus.
If you do not have a church home, you are invited to join us on this five week journey. Our services start at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday Night Live will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Twelve hundred years after Alexander the Great, Hernan Cortez sailed from Cuba to Mexico to wage a campaign against the Aztecs. Upon landing in 1519, he ordered the men to burn the ships. There was no going back.
Alexander and Cortez both went ALL IN — they were totally committed to the mission and failure wasn’t an option.
Jesus is our greatest example. He went ALL IN on the mission to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins. He committed 100% to saving us and opening the way back to a relationship with God.
Are you ready to go ALL IN?
Rev. Jefferson Williams pastors at First Baptist Church, Chenoa
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Jefferson Williams Pastoral Perspective article All in!
