But I gonna talk about a not-so-known player for non-soccer fans, he is Javier "el Pupi" Zanetti who plays as a right defensive winger in Argentina and in the Italian club Internazionale (Inter). He is currently 38 years old, which is at least 3-4 years above average of retiring age, but he still plays consistently well.
What is cool is that I have seen him play since I followed soccer in 1994. So it has been 18 years! So what else is cool about him? Why am I talking about this player?
Zanetti holds some pretty impressive records and honors:
- Most games played with the national team of Argentina (which is impressive considering the so many talented players that Argentina has, yet Zanetti played over 145 games!)
- Most games played with Inter with 560 games
- Most games played on an Italian club by a non-Italian
- Oldest played to scored a goal on a UEFA Champions League game (this record has been broken by other legendaries like Ryan Giggs and Filippo Inzaghi)
- Captain of Inter since 1999
- Recognized by his charity work
- Known to behave professionally with humble and gentlemen character (he has only gotten 1 red card in 560 games in the Italian league!)
He is nicknamed "the tractor" because of his resiliency, stamina, consistency, and coverage on both defense and offense. He works hard consistently so that even at his old age his performance is very respectable. He has been playing for the same team for 17 years, and being its captain for 13 years. It shows great commitment he has for Inter as a member of the team. And I like that.
It is easy to take lightly the concept of membership with a church or fellowship. Often the church's or CCF's members' meeting tend to be not of much interest for its members. Often in CCF, only committee, some of the leaders, and a few upper years would attend. It is during member's meeting when both committee and fellowship members come together to discuss how we as sinful people can make this fellowship a better place under God's grace. It is a way for committee to get direct feedback which can be either an encouragement or some constructive criticism to improve. During this meeting, the fellowship members can keep the committee accountable for their leadership. I think it is a precious time to discuss as a family how we can be used by God to move CCF closer to where God wants to be.
Usually people only become members because of elections, since it is a requirement to vote for the committee candidates. Outside of that time, I think not many people really think about membership.
I don't think we should look membership in a legalistic way, as in "if you are not a member, you are not cool", but we should focus more on understanding why membership is important. I can think of a few points:
- Official act of expressing your commitment towards CCF
- It is a formal way for you to express that you are committed to participate in fellowshipping with this Christian community, and this is glorifying to God.
- Agreeing to represent as a individual the vision that CCF drives.
- In the CCF membership form, it asks you whether you read and agreed with Article 2 and 3 of the CCF constitution which includes the common main Christian doctrines that we believe in, and the purpose of CCF. By becoming a member, I am agreeing to these things, and I will make an effort to walk in alignment with these things.
- Reminder of remaining committed to this fellowship in spite of good or bad times.
- All of us are sinners so fellowship is not a perfect place. There will be conflicts, struggles, discomforts. But by God's grace we are able to be forgiven and forgive one another. By becoming a member, I need to remind myself why I am going to CCF in the first place and not just bail out when life is tough.
- Right to vote.
- Self-explanatory. As a member you can influence the direction of CCF through the election process.
I understand that membership seems more a mere formality, but there understanding the meaning behind it helps to see why it is important.
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