The Missing Man...

The following is a clip from an article titled "Missing Man" by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. The article is about how the Redskins took the field yesterday against the Buffalo Bills after losing one of their teammates in a tragic murder.

So here were Taylor's old teammates trying their best to honor him. They quietly decided the defense would line up on the first play against the Buffalo Bills with just 10 defenders. Doughty would stay on the sidelines; if Taylor couldn't take the field, then no one would.

"It wasn't one less man, it was playing with 10 and Sean," Doughty said. "We had all 11 out there. That is what we designed. I was sitting out the first play because Sean was going to be in there."

They were willing to concede what inevitably happened, the Bills' Fred Jackson running 22 yards against a defensive alignment with a hole in it. Then Doughty jogged onto the field to make the defense complete. The Bills threw to Josh Reed and Doughty flew to him, wrapping him up after just a two-yard gain, playing safety in a manner of which Sean Taylor would have approved.

It was perfect, the perfect football tribute at the end of a horrible week. The ideal on-field compliment to the moment of silence and the video tribute and the No. 21 towels waving in the stands.

As I read that article this morning, and as I deal with loss myself today, I wonder what the implications of this type of mentality are for the church...Our church lost an MVP last night. My friend, Roger Taylor, left this earth and went home. Please pray for his family in this time of hurt and loss. He will be sorely, sorely missed. I use the term friend because that is exactly what Roger was to me. As a minister, you can only develop most relationships to a certain level...Either people put you on a pedastal or they are looking for fault in you to bring you down...Not Roger. Roger just loved me for me, untucked shirt, goatie, and all...When I found out that Roger only had weeks left on this earth I journaled a tribute about how much his friendship affected me that I will post later this week. But today, I just want to say that I lost a friend. One of my biggest encouragers, supporters, and teammates is gone...And as a church, we will definitely be "fielding a team" one man short...You cannot replace a Roger Taylor. A man who, on his death bed, brings in his employees to share his faith with them one last time. A man who made it a priority every Monday night to go share his faith and share about our church with people in the community. A man who would grow a goatie just so that you're not the only one and make you feel more comfortable about it. We will be taking the field one man down, but heaven just added an All-Pro to their squad. Roger, I will miss you my brother...I will miss my friend...