The spirit of victory and the agony of defeat is felt daily in sports. The catch phrase was used for many years by ABC during the opening of its "Wide World of Sports" broadcast. In their opening, they used images of the agony and joy from both team and individual sport. They made certain those watching could rest assured that no matter what occurred on the broadcast, you would feel emotion along with the athlete(s). To this day, I still see a tumbling ski jumper every time I think of the agony of defeat.
Sadly, this is what the church today is beginning to look like. Well, maybe look like just a little. Seriously, I'm not joking. The church is following in the footsteps of society in more ways than one, and somehow we have to fix this. More than divorce, greed, gossip, pornography, apathy, self gratification and hypocrisy, I'm talking about competitiveness. No, being competitive is not wrong (just sit at the table when my family is playing cards and you'll see how competitive one can get). Being competitive can produce good results when applied at the right times. It can make people stronger mentally and physically. It will make a team work that much better together. It can be the iron that sharpens iron. But, competitiveness can also tear down a team when egos start getting in the way. Competitive coaches on the same sideline might accidentally step on each other in hopes of making their players better, all the while destroying comradery.
How is this relevant to the church? Bear with me for a second. Before I explain, take a second and think about your church, your youth group, your favorite artist, your local concert promoter or anyone else in your circle that influences your community. What are they doing to influence the community. How well are they playing with others? Is it just them in their sand box? Or, are they working with others to build the sand castle in the sand box? Not sure? I'll give it to you that you may not know. You may be in a spot where you don't see or hear about those influencing your church community. Or, maybe you are that person and have never thought about how you are playing in the sand box. For me, I have thought about it a lot recently, based on what it is I do for a living away from my job that keeps a roof over my head.
Let me start the explanation by confirming my imperfection. This is something I need to work at a lot, and hopefully my thoughts will encourage others to think about their place in building the church as a whole, and not just their ministry. This reflecting came via a source I wouldn't have ever imagined. Thank you Natalie Grant.
A while back, Natalie posted about the competition aspect regarding some of the things that were said to her by leaders in the Christian community. When I read this, I was naturally floored. But, upon second look, I began to realize this is something that happens every day in Cheyenne and across the country. I can see it and hear it in the words and actions of those I listen to. There are youth pastors here in Cheyenne I see this in them. Senior pastors aren't exempt. Nope, they have to have their youth, their congregants, their events, etc. and make sure that they do it better than everyone else in town. They "have" to give their lessons/sermons just to prove they can preach/teach better than the pastor down the street. Their outreach events are great, but the Baptist church has to be bigger and better than the Nazarene church that is bigger than the Methodist church. And so the cycle goes no matter the church, band, promoter, guest speaker or youth conference. Everybody has to "win."
I implore you though to think about why The Church would be in competition with each other. Last I checked, we are a body. One body, Christ's body. If we are one body, then indeed we should be working for the common good. So what if each part of the body operates semi independently, it is still God in control. Take for instance your local high school basketball team. They practice tirelessly before the season starts, and then every day there is no game. Before the season, they run 5 on 5 drills to get into the game mode. Then, once the season starts, even though not as much, they still have intrasquad games. Additionally, they have a scout team that runs their opponents offense and defense to simulate a game. Not once do these kids have a win at all cost mentality when going against their team mates. Sure, before the season these games may have an incentive if they win, but the coaches make sure that tempers are maintained and there are no fouls that are harmful. If sports teams can do this (with a few instances as an exception), then why can't The Church act more like sports teams?
One body, one team, that is what the church is to be. So, instead of competing, shouldn't we be cheering each other on? When we go to a concert that we love, shouldn't we be prepared to go to a concert where we may not like the music, but we go just because it is the right thing to do, and the ministry is just as good as the band we do like? If the Nazarene church has a Thanksgiving outreach, shouldn't we support that through sharing despite the fact we go to the Assembly of God church on the other side of town? If the Berean church had a weekend youth event that saw 20 youth have their lives radically changes, shouldn't we celebrate that even though we attend the Missionary Alliance Church? If we listened to Paul and his writing in Phillipians 1:15-21, we would realize that petty competition isn't what we should be concerned about. Our concern should be like that of the shepherd, find the one even if it means leaving ninety-nine.
I'm guilty. I have failed many times over in being competitive. As a promoter, a music fan, a youth director, I have failed. I say I want others to succeed, but not always have I actually put my words into practice and supported. I try, just as much as others try. Trying though isn't always good enough, especially when there is no action. I commit to fix this personally. I challenge you to fix this as well. Let's be intentional to support each other. Let's cheer on our brothers and sisters in Christ. Go to the concerts that you may not like the music, simply so you can support the ministry of the promoter and the band. Go to an Easter production at a church you don't attend so you can show their pastor there is not competition between you and them. If you attend a church that isn't down the street, cool, but when your neighborhood church has an outreach, stop by and introduce yourself. Surprise that church by your presence.
Remember, you don't have to like or agree with how people have that radical encounter with God, you just have to like the fact that heaven gains another citizen. Each church, pastor, band, promoter, evangelist, etc. has their own methods. They do the best they can. Let them do their best, and lets promise to do our best to support their best. Remember, they may be the hands while you and I are the toe nails of this awesome body of Christ.
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