Sixth Man and Second Chairs

A basketball team has five players. The goal of being on the team is to be one of the starting five. As the game evolved, we began to recognize the value of the players who were pretty good at several positions but not great at any one thing. These players became known as “sixth man” players. They weren’t part of the starting five, but they were extremely valuable to the team’s success.

What if someone gets hurt? Play the sixth man. Someone in foul trouble? Play the sixth man. Does the team need a little spark? Play the sixth man. While the sixth man is never the best player on the team, the team simply doesn’t win without them. They can do whatever the team needs done. While they may not be great at it, they’re good enough to keep the team in the game.

Orchestras have the same thing. They will have numbered chairs. There will be a first-chair violin and a first-chair trumpet. There will also be second and third seats in the orchestra. Again, these will be talented musicians, but not as good as the first-chair. Yet, the orchestra couldn’t function without all of its players.

I spend a lot of time in churches, and I meet all kinds of people. Most of these people are good and faithful friends. They love Jesus, and they love their church. Most of them have served in every position in the church. They’ve sung in the choir and served in pre-school. They’ve been on every committee in the church and honestly, without these faithful people, most churches would shut down.

But these friends aren’t great at anything. In a culture that celebrates “greatness” at every turn, those with average gifts and “pretty good talents” are taken for granted. They sing in the choir, but they never sing a solo. They’re on every committee, but never the chair. These friends are good at a lot of things, but never great at anything.

What do we do with all of these “average” believers? First, we recognize and celebrate them. We understand our churches would never function without them. As the old preachers say, “The greatest ability is availability.” How many stories in the Bible begin with someone simply showing up? Remember the boy with the lunch of five loaves and two fish? The gospel writers didn’t even write down his name. To them, he wasn’t important enough to the story, but if he doesn’t show up, we have a much different story.

Second, recognize your second-chair musicians could be first chairs somewhere else. With a little training and a little coaching, second-chairs could become effective leaders in another setting. In other words, pastors and church leaders need to understand that part of our kingdom responsibility is to identify those who are called and train them. Once trained, prayerfully see if God can use them in another church. The goal isn’t to draw a crowd, but to train disciples who make disciples.

So, let’s celebrate those who are willing to come off the bench and do whatever is required at the moment. Be thankful for the guy who will run sound in one service and take up the offering in the second. Celebrate the ones who show up with no expectations or agendas, but who are there to see if they can be used in any way.

A lot of great stories begin when these good and faithful folks show up. They may not be great at anything, but they’re pretty good at a lot of things. And sometimes, pretty good is the miracle we need.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.