All In

My wife and I attended a leadership class last night at our church.  The jist of the class seemed to be to present the direction the new pastor wanted to go and to get buy in from the lay leaders.  To me, the call of the pastor was for all of us to be "all in" as we set in motion the new direction.

Butt what does it mean to be "all in?"  And, can a group of 20 or so people really be expected to be all in at once?  Well, let me say first what "all in" is not.  It is not all in perfect agreement on everything.  I doubt any two people could be in  total agreement on everything.  Are you and your spouse in total agreement on everything?  Not!  But are you "all in" your relationship together?

When you married, did you not vow to live life as a couple, to be "all in" together as you approached life?  And, even though you know that you don't see eye-to-eye on everything, does that mean that you are not all in?  I can tell you that my wife and I are all in as a couple for life.  But I can equally assure you that we do not always see or agree on everything.  We are both intelligent, driven individuals with strong opinions that do not necessarily align.  But we are in it together regardless.

We choose to walk the same path because we love each other and we love the Lord.  Even when we don't see eye-to-eye, we walk hand-in-hand.  Our being all in is a commitment to muddle through life together, whether we are in full agreement or not.  It isn't always easy and it doesn't always look pretty, but it is a beautiful thing we have together because we are both "all in."

Not every marriage lasts.  Not because the couple couldn't agree on everything, but because there was a lack of commitment on one or both's part.  Someone or perhaps both were no longer, if ever, all in.  Do you remember your wedding vows?  Were they "until debt do we part" or "until disagreement" or "until dis-ease"?  No, you promised "in good times and bad...until death do we part."  That's being all in: commitment.

Our group, last night, was not being asked to commit until death but for the next six months.  At that time we can reevaluate and decide if we need to alter the direction or, indeed, can some even continue in the walk together.  The question is, "Can we agree to be all in for six months?"  If not, can we really continue the journey together?  Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" (Amos 3:3).

I can't say I agree with everything I heard.  But, I can say I will try to be "all in" for the next six months.  The fact that I have some misgivings is not the determining factor on whether it is the right direction, "...for a tree is recognized by its fruit." (Mt 12:33).

In six months, we can check the fruit.  It may not be fully ripe and ready to be picked, but we should be able to tell if it's good fruit or bad.  Jus' Say'n.