Doug Rehberg
Ed. Note: This is the second in a series of articles from Doug as he ends his tenure with Hebron. Here he shares a second motivation for ministry and lesson learned.
Twice in my tenure at Hebron the church has graciously extended to me a sabbatical - a time of refreshment, recalibration, and reflection. In 2000, the product was a book entitled, Leadership Jesus Style. The unintended product of the 2020 sabbatical is a book entitled, God, Golf, and Grace. I say “unintended” because it wasn’t until I got to the coast of Maine in late September that I determined to write it. Here is a brief excerpt:
Now whether my father knew it or not, the way he introduced me to the game was, for me, exactly the right way. To my knowledge my father never spent a moment on a practice tee. If he ever went to a driving range, it was an outing planned by someone else...You would never find him practicing his putting on the living room carpet, or sneaking out to one of the greens that were only two blocks from my childhood home. No, for him, golf was a social activity. It was a walk never spoiled by illusions of grandeur. As long as there were others to enjoy the fairways and greens, woods and high rough, he was happy. In fact, it was that singular focus that set the tone for what I would come to find most rewarding about the game of golf - the companionship.
Many decades later, a friend and I were playing with a couple from Florida who often play the game together in their golf course community. In this case the woman was a far superior player. This was something my friend and I observed from the first tee on. The three men would hit our drives, and then she’d tee off from the ladies’ tees. Every time she hit it straight down the middle. Him, not so much. Then it happened. After hitting his second shot he threw down another ball, and hit the same shot. After watching this a few times, my friend politely asked, “What are you doing?” Instantly the man smiled and said, “Oh, we play NATO golf.” “What is NATO golf?” my friend asked. He replied knowingly, “Not Attached To Outcome”.
My father never ever played NATO golf. He counted every stroke, or tried to. Sure, he’d roll the ball over anywhere he found it. He’d gladly take a mulligan everywhere it was offered. But he’d never cavalierly throw down a second or third ball. His primary objective was to play his best. But his performance never determined the pleasure he derived from the day. There was an alternative outcome that drove him; the fellowship of friends. That’s why he teed it up.
As I reflect back on more than fifty years of teeing it up, it’s that one principle outcome that has rubbed off on me. It’s the attachment to that outcome that has caused me to cherish a multitude of memorable rounds. None were based on certain swing thoughts, ball striking, or quantity of birdies and eagles. What marked them as memorable was cherished time spent with people – old friends and new. It’s these events and these stories that live deep inside of me. They are stories of walking and riding with friends, chasing a ball and touching the soul.
That’s my motivation for ministry as well. If all the Christian faith is, is a dissemination of information, then a lecture will do. But it’s not. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s getting under the surface with others in an open, honest relationship where anyone and everyone is welcome, and spiritual growth occurs in all. That’s what we have witnessed so wonderfully through the years of Groves. That’s what we have witnessed so often in the face of tragedy. We’ve seen one person saying to another what Philip said to Nathanael in John 1:45-46, “Come and see.” Need is the only qualification needed! Simply put, spiritual growth occurs on relational bridges. No one comes close to Christ alone, and no one grows in Him alone. Both of my fathers have taught me that!
