The idea of Net Groups within our church is significant in my life. It all begins with my life growing up in Destin. When I first arrived here, I was fascinated with the water. The sheer expanse of water was a beautiful sight. I loved to fish so my mission was to learn the aspects of saltwater fishing and maybe with some luck develop enough skill to work on charter boats. I studied every boat each day as they came in and got to Know “who was who” as far as the captains went. It wasn’t long before I mustered up enough courage to ask a captain for a job as a hand. Well, I had asked Cecil Woodward, who happened to be the best captain in town. Boy, he really came back with some fish! He asked if I had experience. I told him, “No”. For some reason he hired me anyway. I knew he was taking a chance on a “greenhorn”, but I wasn’t going to let him down.
Hook and line fishing was the majority of our work, but one of the first skills I learned was throwing the net. The whole idea of throwing a net over some moving fish was a thrill, but it took skills and a work attitude. I soon became proficient at throwing the net, but there was something missing. There was a lot about the net I didn’t know. There was a lot about fishing the gulf that I didn’t know—but there was one thing I grew to know. I was working with a man that had a God given talent for what he did. He astounded everyone for finding fish in areas without the use of electronics. That year I really concentrated on throwing my net. Then it came down to giving some maintenance to my net and I was at a standstill. I went to Cecil because I could not figure out when and how the little holes kept forming in my net even though I was careful not to snag it. He explained that as a net becomes “broken in” sometimes the sheer weight of the fish will create bigger holes in the mesh. That brought us to the next step—repairing the net.
Repairing the net was sort of like adding to the net. As I watched him work on it, he would remove pieces until he got to a strong piece, then he would take new material and weave it into the existing net. As he showed me the knots to tie, I was surprised to see how simple and strong each knot was. Simple—yes! Strong—yes. But it took certain amounts of patience and dexterity to tie up that net. Soon the newly integrated net was ready to throw again. The different pieces of twine were invisibly molded together to form one body of a net.
As I apply this to the Net Group concept today, I think back on what that net meant to me. I remember the first time I was invited to St. Andrew’s as a guest in the Youth Group. I stood outside and by the door was a cross with a net draped over the sides of it. I pondered over the significance—there was this net…the burden on the cross…brought in by fishers of men. “O.K.”, I thought, “I am going in.” In that group I met some true friends.
Those people helped me tie my knot to Jesus. Those folks were the mesh for the Church net—many still here today in St. Andrew’s. The net was devised to draw people in through evangelism in the community. Through Jesus’ teaching we all learn how the net works within us. We are all integral parts of the net. As Jesus tells us we must be workers—so we must also know how to mend and add on to our mesh. He teaches us a simple knot—his love for us and He wants us to tie it to each other. A simple knot—yes. A strong knot—yes. But it cannot be applied without patience and dexterity. As a net gets bigger it requires the maintenance from the workers within to keep each mesh tied together so it will become one body. A good net will be the tool for all fishers of Men!
Bob Welniak February 2001