20 meters to great success or failure

20 meters to great success or absolute failure by Dale Coad

USA 4X100 relays teams in the 2008 Olympics-both disqualified!

Great runner failed to pass the batons-everyone loses.

I take you back in time where a hero of the faith was facing imminent danger.   The praying folks back home are crying out to God for his release from solitary confinement in a military prison.   The year if 1963.   The place is Cuba.   The hero's name is Floyd Woodworth.   His Call to serve God and the National Church is being tested by the political upheaval of a revolution and his fate is unknown.

After 20 days of incarceration, on April 5th, he is released.   The new government monitors his reaction.   He bravely proclaims, "I have no complaints of my treatment."   That is all he disclosed about his detainment although there is so much more he could have alleged.   His heart to shield his host church from any secondary backlash authenticated Floyd's deep love of God and His Church.   He carried this level of commitment all of his life.

On March 23, 2017, Floyd was released once again, this time from the captivity of his failing health.   Our great loss is heaven's gain.   But what of Floyd's intense burden he carried for God's work and the church?   He effectively passed on this legacy to National Leaders and to his own children, including two of our LAC Area Directors, David Woodworth and Sandy (Woodworth) Kazim.   Their lives testify to the reality of Floyd's legacy being passed on.   As 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (TLB) says, "With all these things in mind, dear brothers, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the truth that we taught you in our letters and during the time we were with you."

If living out our Call is likened to a great race (2 Timothy 4:7), Floyd successfully passed on the baton to his next generation.   We can never take this marvelous handoff for granted.   The passing of the baton is crucial to winning the race.    Take for an example the 4X100 meter relay.   Few events in the Olympics give athletes more chances to fail than this race.

The basic structure of the 4X100 relay involves four sprinters per team running one at a time in a single lane, with each athlete doing a 100-meter leg.   There's a special area on the track where they're required to hand off the baton to the next runner.   This area is known as the "changeover box."   The handoff in the 20-meter changeover box makes or breaks the race.

In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, the men and women's relay teams from the USA were strong but both dropped the baton on the final handoffs in their preliminaries, disqualifying them from the race.   The passing of the baton is a non-visual exchange.   The responsibility of the incoming runner is to place the baton firmly in the hand of the outgoing runner.   No matter how strong each individual sprinter was in 2008, the entire team lost the race when one of the team members fumbled and dropped the baton.

Much like the 4X100 meter race, we all have a baton to pass.   The 20-meter pass zone gives the previous generation a limited space to bring the next sprinter up to speed and to ensure that the baton is firmly in their hands.   Floyd's race is over.   He ran it well.   He passed on the baton.   He can rest now.   He should also rest assured that his next generation will be intentional about doing the same for the Glory of God.