I just spent one of the greatest evenings of my life in front of the television watching the Boston Celtics slaughter the LA Lakers to win their 17th NBA championship.  It was an absolute killing.  The Celtics played tenacious defense, their star players performed at the top of their game, the fans were deafening, and I felt like I was 13 years old again watching Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish do their stuff against Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul Jabar, and James Worthy.  But this is not a reflection on sports, it is a reflection on the church.  Basketball just happens to be the example, specifically this season for the Celtics.  Allow me?  Thanks!

The church in America finds itself in a precarious situation.  We no longer get a free pass as the respected and revered institution of the 1950s.  All major denominations are in decline, both in membership and conversions.  Younger generations are not just walking away from the church; they never came in the first place.  Church is NOT irrelevant to most young Americans.  It is NON-EXISTENT.  Get defensive if you want to, but these are the indisputable facts.  The churches that are making a difference with the gospel all have different styles and structures, but the ones that are engaging people and culture with the salt and light of the gospel have some things in common with the Boston Celtics.  Read on, this might take a while.

1.  EMBRACING CHANGE, NOT LIVING ON LEGACY

The Celtics are THE greatest team in NBA history over the decades.  Bill Russell won 11 titles as a player, and Red Auerbach won 9 titles as coach.  But it had been 22 years since Larry Bird led them to their last championship.  They have been a pitiful team over the past decade, having losing seasons 6 of the last 9 years.  So what did coach Doc Rivers do?  He spent last summer planning a trade.  He switched things up!  He got rid of dead and expensive weight and brought on 2 older and seasoned; Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.  And tonight, they won the championship.

APPLICATION - The church (speaking collectively) remembers the glory days when we held the preferred place of priority in America.  But those days are OVER and they are NEVER coming back.  We need to move on and do the work of the kingdom and quit watching old tapes of better days when men who are now old were in their prime.  It is our day now.  Let’s not throw it away cursing the darkness, hating the innovators, or killing our brothers over theological minutia. Let’s change what is wrong internally with the church and move toward our mission of knowing Christ and winning the world to Him.  Let’s honor our heroes and mentors and work with them, not against them, for the purpose of the gospel.  And if a seasoned veteran or a young lion refuses to work with you, move on and bless them in Jesus name.  AMEN.

2.  STAYING HUNGRY, NOT FAT AND SATISFIED

The Celtics had one goal this year; win the championship.  Nothing else would satisfy veterans like Sam Casell or Kevin Garnett.  I watched Garnett play at my rival high school in SC, and everyone knows he is passionate and selfless on the court.  He was just voted MVP of the game tonight by the fans after spending years on a mediocre team that could never close the deal.  Garnett brought a hunger to the team to WIN even though he was a previous league MVP and an 11-time All Star.  He could have easily played a few more years, made another $20 million and made the Hall of Fame.  But he was TOO HUNGRY to be satisfied with those selfish accomplishments. 

APPLICATION - As soon as the church becomes apathetic, it becomes nostalgic and it begins to die.  Soon it rots until it is nothing but a monument to the past.  But when the church stays hungry for souls, for serving others, for making disciples that will change the world, the church CANNOT BE STOPPED!  And as a footnote, when apathetic lazy leaders who have no hunger for the gospel and the lost hold all the authority in the church, the church will become as spiritually fat and lazy as they are.  Reality Check: Followers always reflect their leaders.

3.  STAYING FAITHFUL, NOT FLASHY

Paul Pierce is the heart and soul of the Celtics.  He earned that role.  He is the only player to have been there since before 2003 and has played his entire career in Boston.  Lots of other players came and went, but Pierce stayed, for less money than he could have made somewhere else.  And while fans were calling for him to move on and for Doc Rivers to be fired as coach after a couple of losing seasons, all those fans were riding the Boston bandwagon tonight celebrating the victory that faithfulness won.  Thank God nobody listened to those fans 2 years ago.

APPLICATION - The church does not have to be flashy, fancy, or frenetic.  We don’t need to listen to the holy haters or hire expert consultants to tell us how to successfully do what they never successfully did.  We just need to know the gospel, believe the gospel, and live the gospel according the culture and community we exist in.  Many think that because a church has been around for 100 years that means it has been faithful.  Not necessarily.  In the same way, just because a new church has a cool name and sweet video intros does not mean it will be around in 10 years or even 10 months.  Faithfulness is blessed when it revolves around Christ and His mission to redeem the world, not our attempts to be successful, cool, or relevant. 

4.  KEEP IT SIMPLE

The Celtics won the same way any team wins any championship.  They played defense.  It has always been that simple; defense wins championships.

APPLICATION - When the church gets subverted into anything other than the gospel, discipleship and community, we move away from our simple mission of being the presence of Christ to the world around us.  Politics, the environment, and boycotting theme parks are all noble things in themselves, but in the words of Leonard Sweet, the church chases after causes and mission statements because we don’t like the one that was given to us by Jesus.  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  Make disciples and teach them to obey me.”  Simple enough to keep us all pretty busy.

Thank you, Boston Celtics, for making this 35 year old basketball lover feel like a kid again.  But mostly, thank you for reminding me how fierce, relentless, and effective the church CAN be if we know who we are and what our mission is.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 1:02 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.