Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV)
I recently watched a CBS documentary concerning life of the PGA Tour. It really impressed me how much this Tour life has changed. It is a team effort today. Modern players have swing coaches, psychological coaches, trainers, statisticians, corporate sponsors, golf club and ball manufacturers, caddies, financial consultants, agents, and business managers who help plan their schedules—and most importantly, wives and family who can be so influential in their ultimate success.
It was so different 40 years ago during my time on the PGA Tour. Then it was an individual sport with a caddie and a wife, both hoping you made the cut. My wife is quick to remind me that my gallery of followers on the golf course did not rival Arnies’s Army or Jack’s Pack. She said they were Randy’s Relatives, or most often just “Wolff’s Wife.”
I do believe that the current team model is best. Golfers need help along the way. This truth was epitomized as I watched a player’s entourage following their man from the practice range to the putting green at a Players Championship in Florida. Winning players also give credit to the team when they are victorious. I reflected upon the merits of a team effort in golf to our spiritual journey. I have become more convinced that the spiritual journey for all of us is best lived with a supporting cast.
I experience this team concept each week as I live life with a bunch of Links Players through Bible studies, dinners, lunches, prayer, phone calls, golf trips, and home and hospital visits. I have been transformed through seeing this team concept lived out in real time through Links Fellowships over the past nine years. Someone once said that there are no Lone Rangers in the spiritual journey as we follow Jesus. Communal fellowship and a team concept is not just a good idea; it is one of our most important needs.
We do have our personal Bible study and quiet times, but it is blended with our Fellowship meetings, our family, our local church, our small group within the church body, service missions, and outreach projects. My life has been strengthened by the support and encouragement of my Christian brothers and sisters. The Christian life has always been a team effort, and we have the early church as our model (see Acts 4:32-36).
I recently received an encouraging note from one of my Links Players who has been involved in a local Fellowship for six years. He said, “You don’t know how much it means to me to know that my brothers are praying for me. I am challenged every day, and I really need your support. I have never forgotten that Jesus is my Savior, but I need guys around me who understand our daily challenges. Thanks for always being there for me.” And that is exactly one of the major reasons our Fellowships exists. We are a team of believers who surround and support one another at all times. May it always be so!
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Randy Wolff
November 6, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.