The Extra Point

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
As virtually everyone in Georgia knows, this year’s epic contest between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets came down to a missed extra point.

It had been a back-and-forth game with neither team playing their best. Still, Georgia appeared likely to cinch its next win in this storied rivalry. Tech was trailing as the fourth quarter ground to a close.

Then Tech mounted an impressive drive and scored a touchdown with 4:57 remaining. Once the extra point was made, the game would be tied. With the momentum in the game seeming to shift,  ever hopeful Yellow Jackets believed they were poised to eke out a victory.

But then Scott Blair, the place kicker, missed the extra point. After hitting 77 straight extra points, he chose that moment to miss. The ball wobbled wide of the uprights as Tech fans looked on in disbelief and Georgia fans erupted in wild jubilation. There was a last gasp effort on Tech’s part to come back and win, but after that missed extra point, the game was essentially over.

Extra points are the gimme putts of football. No college or pro kicker is supposed to miss an extra point, ever. But to miss that extra point at the end of a hard fought contest between two bitter rivals, is unthinkable. Sadly, that mishap is likely to be the defining event of Scott Blair’s football career, if not his life.

As our church approaches the end of the year, financially speaking, we are trailing in the game of income and expenses. As December began, our checkbook was in arrears about $23,000. That is not surprising given a floundering economy and the tough financial year many in our church have faced. And fortunately, we have the reserves to keep a one-year shortfall from being catastrophic.

Still, I hate to see us lose a game we have it within our power to win. And I don’t want our history of balancing the  church family checkbook by strong year-end giving to lull us into complacency. This year, more than most, we need very strong December giving.

So here’s what needs to happen if we’re to avoid flubbing the game-winning extra point:

• Don’t assume someone else is going to ante up. This is a team effort and we need everyone doing his or her part if we’re to meet our goal.
• Curb your Christmas gift-giving, if necessary, to make sure Christ and his kingdom gets its fair-share of your hard-earned dollars.
• If you are in a position to give over-and-beyond what you pledged or intended, this would be a great time for some  Jesus-style, grace-intoxicated excess.

The defining kick of Scott Blair’s life is over and I’m sure he’d give anything to have that one back. For us, the game is still within our grasp.