August 22, 2011 (Excerpt from the Women's Ministry Leader's Training Camp Series)

Reading the Defense = the act of recognizing defensive formations and keys

Knowing and recognizing what the opposing team is most likely to do in a football game is an important part of the Quarterback’s know-how. He’s got to judge what’s going to come at him on each play.

In women’s ministry, a leader has to recognize what may come at her too. We’ve got to know our opposition and see potential roadblocks in our future. It’s part of planning to pass the ball and move it down the field. Sometimes it requires some quick second thinking to change our route or put new plans in motion to avoid being tackled, so we have to be on our toes.

1.  We Need to Know Our Number One Enemy

Satan is our number one enemy. He’s out there lurking about seeing if he can to do anything to get us off guard.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

Satan is our “adversary”. That means he’s our opponent. He’s on the other side. I see so many Christians who never mention Satan or discuss him. I’m not for delving into the world of Satan or learning more about him than I should, but I think sometimes we downplay the importance of him in the world. He’s still working here on this earth. God’s Word tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 just how sneaky Satan is.

As women’s leaders, we can’t forget to watch out for the Satan. We’ve got to guard against him and all his wicked ways so as not to allow his influence into our women’s ministry.

2.  We Need to Review the Footage

Football teams use films and footage of games for the players and coaches to view, not only to see what problems and things they need to work on as a team but to also watch how the other team reacts and plays the game. Watching their formations and patterns on the field gives them insight.

In women’s ministry, we have to watch what is going on in our meetings, events, and in our church. We have to read body language. We have to see if there are patterns forming every time a problem arises. We have to learn to know our ladies and how they react to different things. We have to use this knowledge so we can reroute our play or change it altogether. We have to learn how to be proactive at avoiding problems.

3. We Need to Know the Weak Areas

When we are reading the defense, we are looking for weak areas on the other team so that we can move in and attack. Problems on the football field always sneak in through the weak areas. Where there is a weak area, there isn’t coverage and that allows a little hole to open up just enough for the opposing team to come plowing through our line-up.

In women’s ministry we have to watch and be aware of how to progress and break through hurdles. Sometimes it may seem as if you are chipping away slowly at walls to come down in order to make progress.

On the other hand, don’t forget about the coverage of your own team. Check for weak areas such as in the structure of your women’s ministry. How about communication, organization, leadership, responsibility, accountability? How about weakness in faith and in prayer lives? What about a lack of unity because of bitterness and an unwillingness to forgive among some of the women in your group? This breaks the group apart causing little gaps to open up and make you vulnerable to attack.

4.  We Need to Know the Defense Tactics

I’ve already mentioned that we need to be aware of Satan. We also need to be aware of some of the common tactics he uses among our women’s ministry groups. After working with women’s ministry for many years, these are the worse culprits that seem to surface to the top across the board in the various churches I’ve been in over time.

• Gossip
• Bitterness
• Pride
• Bad Attitudes
• Rebellious spirits
• Complaining

Not only are the women of our groups susceptible to these but we are as leaders as well. I think that’s why we should concentrate on striving to do that teaching it talks about in Titus 2. When our ladies begin living those godly lives, it cuts down the probability that we will be dealing with these things in our women’s groups. When these types of things do sneak in, they can be very disruptive so when we see one of these issues coming, we need to deal with it quickly.

5.  We Need to Avoid the Blitz

In football, a blitz is where one or more players (linebackers or defense backs) rush the quarterback and try to put pressure on him to make him hurry up and pass the ball. They try to disrupt his pass.

Ever been rushed and tackled in women’s ministry? Have you felt that pressure bearing down on you? Right when you were making progress and things were going great, then all of a sudden several things hit you at once with such a speed and force that you fumble a little? Sometimes it’s not just “things”, sometimes its several “people”. Maybe they don’t agree with you or the way you are running things. Or maybe they have bad attitudes and just like to cause trouble.

Sometimes it’s inevitable that the blitz will happen and it’s something we have to keep our eyes on or it will cause problems. We need to try to avoid conflict before it escalates within our women’s ministry. To help avoid a blitz we need to be doing things like sharpening our leadership skills, communicating wisely, and walking and talking softly.

I know sometimes some of us would like to be able to walk and talk softly and carry a big stick, but that’s not how God wants us to deal with it. We need to learn to handle conflict wisely and in love when it comes to conflict involving other people. One of the ways I’ve found that helps is to have a strong prayer life, stay close to the Lord, and walk in His strength. When you see a blitz coming on, seek the Lord and His direction.

Conclusion

Knowing all about the defense, anticipating their moves, and seeing their vulnerabilities won’t help a quarterback if he doesn’t compensate for his release of the ball as he throws the pass.

In women’s ministry, it won’t help us with our progress if we don’t learn from reading the opposition that may come our way. There are things we can do to prevent problems in our women’s ministry. I mentioned Satan as our number one enemy. To combat him we are going to have to make sure we wear that Christian armor that we find in Ephesians 6.

To prevent other problems, we may need to change things up in our structure. Find new ways of doing things. . We’ll need to build up our ladies and teach them the things in the Word of God, so they’ll be strong and won’t fall prey to the opposition. We may need to move around our players to plug up the gaps of our own team. We may need to squash things like gossip and backbiting before they become issues.

You’ve heard that old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Reading the defense can help us evaluate how we will throw the ball so that our women’s ministry can progress on to the goal. We’ll never be able to avoid all problems or conflict that may come heading our way, but being ready and having a plan to combat it will help us to avoid the outcome of the problems that we face.

As a leader, part of our prevention should just be living a godly life. A life that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord will keep you strong and ready to face the opposing team.

Copyright ©2011 Julia Bettencourt

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