It was as if – if she prayed hard enough – God would fly the right person through her window. And she never went out to parties or other social gatherings, she never approached interesting people to find out about their lives, she never participated in events where she might meet someone. I have a friend who used to pray for a husband. And yet on the big questions in front of us, we act as if there’s nothing worth working toward. When a Hail Mary is the strategy, you’ve already lost. In the words of entrepreneur Yancey Strickler (yes, that guy again): And while I’m a big fan of hope, God gives us what we need to be The Church but we don’t always acknowledge those gifts. Instead, we sit back and hope that a miracle lands in our laps – that young families will magically come, that a great pastor will show up to lead them, that they will be able to do life-changing mission one day. Most of the congregations I know will not do those things.
Sell their building and property and give all their money to start a jobs-training program.Decide to take its underused parking lot and build affordable housing in that space.
Generously increase the pastoral salary package in hopes of calling an especially gifted leader who will help move them forward.Use the last of its endowment to start a much-needed preschool,.And what we Protestants also do alongside our Roman Catholic siblings is throw proverbial Hail Marys. Protestants often join our Roman Catholic siblings in praying during sporting events although this is theologically shaky. It’s a mouthful to pray while throwing a football. My favorite Hail Marys happen during college games but the term became more common after Roman Catholic QB Roger Staubach confessed to throwing and praying “ Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” during his professional career. Not surprisingly, the term “Hail Mary” – meaning a go-for-broke football pass – originated at the University of Notre Dame.īasically, when time is running out and choices are limited, the quarterback in a football game decides to throw what is essentially a desperation shot.
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