Plays Or Principles

My sixth grade son just concluded the winter basketball season. As I watched his team practice and play over the last few months, it was interesting to see how the players approached the game.

Most players at this age and stage of development are looking for “plays” — specific instructions about what exactly they need to do in a particular situation. “Stand here,” “Move here,” “Pass the ball here.” But as these boys continue to grow, they will need to move beyond plays, to the principles that underlie the plays. “Get between your man and the basket.” “Don’t turn your back on the ball.” “Run to the open spot on the floor.” “Look for the seam in the defense.”

The difference is that plays direct exact behavior and only work in specific situations, while principles guide personal decision-making and can be generalized to a variety of situations.

As we work to develop leaders in ministry, are we just running plays, or are we also teaching them principles that explain the “why” of the “what,” help them think for themselves, and minister successfully in a variety of contexts?

 

 

Title IX

This year is the 40th anniversary of Title IX, a 37-word sentence that was inserted into a large Educational Amendments bill and signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon in June of 1972. Title IX states:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

While Title IX never mentions sports, those 37 words have come to stand for female opportunity in athletics. In the past 40 years, the number of girls playing high school sports has increased 1079 percent, compared to a 22 percent increase in male participation over the same time period. College athletics programs have witnessed a similar explosion. Forty years ago, who would have imagined prime-time television coverage of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, or that UConn and Tennessee’s women’s basketball programs would bring more than 12,000 fans per game?

I was born two years before the establishment of Title IX. By the time I entered middle school, the schools in my town had an equal complement of girls’ and boys’ athletic teams, and I didn’t know it had ever been otherwise. In high school, I remember reading an article in the library that listed colleges offering basketball scholarships; again, I had no idea that this was a revolutionary concept, or that there had been no NCAA women’s tournament until just a few years earlier.

Now, though, I understand, and I am deeply grateful. I owe my own athletic and educational opportunities to the men and women who advocated for both the words and spirit of Title IX over the last 40 years. I appreciate my own coaches, who never treated my teammates or me as second-class athletes or citizens. I delight at young boys wearing Mia Hamm jerseys or imitating Hope Solo. I thrill at the national exposure provided women’s college basketball, and at the existence of the WNBA. And I know that these opportunities on the field have led to greater opportunities off it as well.

Yes, some people have taken Title IX to questionable extremes, but by and large I believe these 37 words of legislation have brought immensely positive cultural change to sports, to education, and to society as a whole.

For more, read this fantastic article over at ESPN.com. 

Linsanity

Like sports fans across the country, I have been following the emergence of New York Knicks’ point guard Jeremy Lin, who handed out 13 assists against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. An undrafted graduate of Harvard, the 23-year-old Lin scored 136 points in his first five starts — better than any player since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976.

There’s a lot to like about Lin. He is articulate, a pleasure to watch in interviews. He is humble and teachable, constantly seeking to improve his game. He is a sincere follower of Christ, speaking easily about his faith. (Read more about his InterVarsity background here.)

Because of these characteristics, Lin is also a great leader. In just a few weeks he has earned the respect of his teammates, all of whom are clearly having fun again on the basketball court with Lin in the lineup. It will be interesting to see how the Knicks respond to the return of talented but individualistic Carmelo Anthony, who is expected to return as early as tonight after suffering a groin injury.

Basketball Liturgy

In anticipation of tonight’s battle between UNC and Duke (look for me in Section 228 Row N!), I am re-printing a column I wrote that first appeared in Leadership Weekly on March 13, 2006.

In February last year, one of best friends flew down from the Midwest for a delightful, week-long visit. While she was here in the Carolinas, I introduced her to one of my most favorite experiences in the world: a Division I college basketball game. The home team shall remain nameless, except to say that its arena now features a 2005 NCAA Championship banner.

Anyway, I was thrilled to have my friend join me and share my passion for an evening. It was her first major college game, so I made sure I explained as much as I could beforehand about what she could expect from the experience.

I could tell she was a bit overwhelmed when we entered the buzzing arena, but we soon found our seats and settled in for the event. As the horn sounded after warm-ups, the house lights were dimmed to focus attention on the court, and the players readied themselves for the opening tip-off.

For the next two hours, I stood up, sat down, shouted, sang, jumped, raised my hands, swayed, and clapped with 22,000 other devoted fans. I grinned as I participated in rituals and chants that had become so familiar to me over the years. And after the victory, I joined the band, the team, and the rest of the crowd in a devoted rendition of our alma mater, which ends with everyone lustily condemning our bitter rivals (appropriately named the Devils) to eternal punishment.

I was so energized, I barely noticed the chilly night air as we hurried to catch the park-and-ride shuttle. While we stood waiting outside of the arena, I turned and asked my friend, “Well, what’d you think?!”

“I wonder if that’s how people who don’t go to church feel the first time they visit somewhere,” she replied.

My friend, who is also a pastor’s wife, went on to explain: she had a great time; she likes basketball, and it was fun to watch the game. She enjoyed experiencing the emotion and enthusiasm of the crowd. Still, she felt like an outsider because she didn’t know our “liturgy.”

At first, I felt disappointed. I was so excited for her to experience the same thrill that I feel when I enter the building, greet friends on my way to my regular seat, and cheer the celebrities on the court during what is essentially a large-scale worship experience. But my friend’s observation begs important questions we probably don’t ask ourselves enough as ministry leaders:

• How do “outsiders” view our church if they’re not familiar with the tradition, routine, and ritual?
• How do we treat newcomers? Do we look at them as “foreigners” or even “opponents” if they don’t dress the right way or know the songs, the cheers, the physical expressions, and the lingo?
• What does a visitor experience at church? It may be an excellent event in every respect, but the experience is still foreign to most people outside the church’s walls.
• How do other people view us, the dyed-in-the-wool fans? To me, my cheers are an expression of my passionate devotion. But to the uninitiated, my loyalty can be viewed as fanaticism; to those who root for other teams, it can be construed as outright snobbery. Even when I know my team is better, is that the way I want people to think of me?

My friend’s response to the game reminded me that at one time I, too, found my experience of basketball to be foreign. While I had a longstanding relationship with the game, I married into this particular expression of the religion. (And believe me, where I live, basketball is a religion, and it is a powerful influence in a marriage.) The colors were different; the cheers were new to me; the rituals rooted in the familiar, but on the surface strange. However, it didn’t take long for me to adopt my new team and to cheer as fervently as those who were born into this “faith.”

Given time and a generous welcome, newcomers to the true faith, and our expression of it in our local congregation, will take the resident fans and the new locale to heart as fervently as those who have been there all along.

Interestingly, by the end of her visit, my friend had become a true-blue basketball fan. It didn’t take her long to dress the part and talk the talk. Still, her experience—from our invocation (The Star-Spangled Banner) to the closing hymn (the school’s alma mater)—served as an effective reminder to me: In the sanctuary as in the arena, everyone needs an intentional introduction to the liturgy.