Passing the Baton

This year is an Olympic year. The 2026 winter Olympics are right around the corner. They will take place in February. The Olympics is the sporting event around the globe. Athletes from all over the globe will go to Italy to compete in the winter Olympics this year. They will flood L.A. in 2028 for the summer Olympics.

One of the most impressive events to me is the baton relay race. In case you don’t know what that is, four racers per team are positioned around a track, where each runner runs a segment of the race. The active runner must successfully pass the baton to the next runner before they can begin running. The goal is for all four runners to run their segments of the race faster than the opposing teams. The team that completes the race the fastest wins. Simple in concept, tough in execution.

These teams make this race their life. They spend countless hours practicing running, and especially the baton pass. It is the most critical part of the race. Teams practice the pass repeatedly because milliseconds matter, and if you miss, it is unbelievably difficult to recover.

Whether you realize it or not, we are in that race. The Christian life is a baton relay race. The baton has been passed from runner to runner since the time of Christ to the present day. You and I have been carrying the baton since the start of our race, the day of salvation.

Every race comes to an end. There comes a time in which the runner has to stop running. The question is whether the runner is prepared to stop and prepared for the hand off.

Genesis 25 is the story about the hand off. Abraham had been running his leg of the race for one hundred years. He started when he was 75, and he dies at 175 years old. The time has come for his son to step in and carry on the legacy.

The chapter begins by stating Abraham remarried and had a bunch of sons who went on to have sons themselves.

Pop quiz: How many children did Abraham have? The answer is eight. One with Hagar, One with Sarah, and six with Keturah, his second wife from verse one of this chapter. How many grandkids did Abraham have? The answer is 21 grandsons. The promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky is beginning to take shape.

Abraham knows the time has come to pass the baton. His leg of the race is over. We would be wise to anticipate the end of our race and look forward to the passing of the baton in our own lives. If we are going to be successful in passing the baton of faithfulness, we need to recognize two essential truths.

Passing of the baton is unavoidable.

This chapter is a turning point in the narrative. Two chapters ago, Sarah died and Abraham purchased the first portion of the Promised Land. In this chapter, Abraham reached the end of his life.

Genesis 25:5–6 NASB95

Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; but to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

Remember that Abraham had a son through Hagar named Ishmael, but Ishmael, though a son, was not the son who would inherit the promises of God. God showed up to promise Abraham that Sarah would have a son. That’s where Isaac came from. After Sarah’s death, Abraham remarried, had a bunch of sons, yet none of them are recipients of the promises of God.

But the fact of the matter is that Abraham is going to die. Everything that belongs to him is going to pass to Isaac.

We all know that nobody lasts forever. One day you are not going to be here. Let this be your reminder that as a steward of everything God has given you, there needs to be a plan to pass it on. If you do not have a will, this is your sign to get one.

As a church, however, there is a passing of the baton as it pertains to church roles. I don’t enjoy thinking of the church as an institution. It’s much more than that. Yet, there are roles and responsibilities that must be carried on or the church ceases to function.

There will come a day when I can no longer do this. I might get too old, suffer a catastrophic accident, or any number of things that would result in my inability to function as the pastor of the church. Joe has been in the music minister seat for a long time and he can’t do it forever. Those teaching Sunday School can’t do it forever. Shawn can’t run the sound room forever. There is coming a time where the baton of leadership or responsibility must be passed from one to another. The trouble is that churches hope and pray that a competent person with the desire to serve will step in and provide.

If something happens to me this week, you will be looking for a new pastor. It would be unavoidable. The passing of the baton will happen. The runner with the baton cannot run every leg of the race. He must pass the baton to the next runner if he wants to win. A critical component to the success of the mission is the ability to pass the baton from one person to the next. It will happen whether we are ready for it or not.

Passing of the baton must be intentional.

Verses five and six told us that everything Abraham had was given to Isaac. But then there was a separation between him and all of his half brothers. But I want you to pick up on a very important phrase in verse six. Let’s look at it again.

Genesis 25:6 NASB95

but to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

Did you see that? While Abraham was still alive, he was dividing assets among his sons. First, we need to recognize that that Abraham did not give every single thing he owned to Isaac, down to the one sock in his sock drawer that didn’t have a match. He was a very wealthy man, and determined what would be an inheritance for his sons, but everything else, the land, the livestock, the possessions went to Isaac. So the brothers didn’t leave empty-handed. But Abraham did this while he was still alive.

Before I continue, this is your public service announcement that if you do not currently have a will, you need to go get one. It should be a top priority. If you love your family, get a will. It is your way of having a say in what happens to your assets upon your death. You don’t want the state to make those decisions. Your family won’t want that either.

An author named Bill Perkins wrote a book called Die With Zero. The book advocates for a life focused on maximizing experiences rather than saving for a hypothetical future. The result, in theory, is that you would die with zero dollars in your bank account. There seem to be two approaches when it comes to passing on an inheritance. The typical expectation is that when a person dies, then all their assets pass on to their inheritors. That’s when the scene in the movie comes and someone found out they had a rich uncle and they are about to receive a large inheritance. The other follows the ideas of Die With Zero where a parent strategically hands over assets to his or her children incrementally over time. There are benefits to both, and which one is right for you is for you to determine.

It would seem that Abraham chose the latter. He chose to divide his assets while he was still alive, allowing him to bless his children while he was still around to experience it. There was an intentionality behind the decision.

The church is not too different. We can wait until a role is vacated and then figure out how to fill that role, or we can choose to be intentional in handing off responsibility in a strategic way. One of them is intentional, and the other is not. I vote for moving with intentionality to the best of our ability in handing off responsibility to the next generation of leaders. This is referred to as training your replacement. What if we could move to a position as a church where every leader is investing in a future leader?

To be successful, we have to ask two very scary questions.

What baton in your life is it time to pass?

You’ve been holding onto something for a long time. You’ve been afraid to let it go. You’re wondering if there will be anyone there to pick it up. You can’t let it die. You’ve put too much time and energy into it. It’s too valuable. You want to let go, but you either can’t, won’t, or don’t know how. Regardless of which one fits you best, you’re coming around the turn and your leg in that race is almost over.

I’m not talking about the end of your life or your career or something like that. I’m talking about a thing you have been holding on to that you are having a hard time letting go of. It could be a role you play to other s around you. It could be a role you play here in the church. It could be a volunteer role you play in the community. Is there a baton you are running with that you need to pass to someone else?

What action can you begin to take so you can hand that off to someone else?

The second question is this.

What baton do you need to receive from someone else?

You’re either running with the baton or waiting to receive the baton. There is something God would have you do, but you have not stuck your hand out to receive it. Now is your invitation to do that. Ephesians 2:10 says you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that you might walk in them. What work is he calling you to open your hand and receive?