Pickleball
Pickleball, anyone?
The fastest-growing sport in America has spent the past five years commandeering underused tennis courts and prompting the construction of dedicated facilities. Signs of the sport are now showing up in the back lots of bars in small towns and unincorporated communities. Imagine my surprise at discovering the Skyline Pickleball Club in Kingsland, Texas — population 7,330.
Pickleball’s leap from pandemic craze to mainstream sport provides a starting point for imagining the explosion of Jesus’ popularity as recorded in the Gospels. What began as an obscure movement among a handful of devoted followers quickly drew crowds. Before long, it seemed like everyone wanted to experience Jesus for themselves.
But at the height of his growing popularity, Jesus began to thin the crowd. An open mic caught him saying things that didn’t sit well with people. He spoke of giving his flesh and blood “for the life of the world.”
Not exactly a winning strategy for building a following.
As a result, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Too bad. If only Jesus had taken a different approach and kept building on his popularity, the movement he started might actually have become a global phenomenon.
Oh, wait.
— Pastor Pete
“After this, many of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Peter replied, ‘Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.’” John 6:66–69
The fastest-growing sport in America has spent the past five years commandeering underused tennis courts and prompting the construction of dedicated facilities. Signs of the sport are now showing up in the back lots of bars in small towns and unincorporated communities. Imagine my surprise at discovering the Skyline Pickleball Club in Kingsland, Texas — population 7,330.
Pickleball’s leap from pandemic craze to mainstream sport provides a starting point for imagining the explosion of Jesus’ popularity as recorded in the Gospels. What began as an obscure movement among a handful of devoted followers quickly drew crowds. Before long, it seemed like everyone wanted to experience Jesus for themselves.
But at the height of his growing popularity, Jesus began to thin the crowd. An open mic caught him saying things that didn’t sit well with people. He spoke of giving his flesh and blood “for the life of the world.”
Not exactly a winning strategy for building a following.
As a result, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Too bad. If only Jesus had taken a different approach and kept building on his popularity, the movement he started might actually have become a global phenomenon.
Oh, wait.
— Pastor Pete
“After this, many of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Peter replied, ‘Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.’” John 6:66–69