The Game Has Changed. So Change The Way You Play It.

In 1979 a new fresh player was coming on the scene in the NBA. He was the talk of the league and all around the country there was excitement as the NCAA Championship winner, and most electrifying basketball player since Dr. J, was entering the draft. His name was Earving Johnson, but the world would know him as “Magic Johnson”. At that time, the NBA was built around a post-play approach. Put a big man under the goal, give him the ball, and get out of the way as he pushed smaller people around, dunked the ball like Wilt Chamberlin, or floated it over their heads with the famous “sky hook” like Kareem. But, as every player was getting bigger and bigger players, the need to score differently became a necessity. This was exactly what Magic Johnson was there to do. Fast running, flashy moves, spin dribbles, and no-look between the leg and around-the-back passes to his teammates were common. It took the game and put it in the hands of a passer who was always finding his teammates in ways that electrified the crowd. When it came to basketball, Magic had… well, the magic. One thing was for certain. The game had changed. 

Then it happened again in 1984 with a new player out of Wilmington, North Carolina named Michael Jordan. This tenacious, daunting, unrelenting competitor would take no prisoners, and create false rivals just to hate his opponents. With the ball in his hands, you stood to your feet because you knew you were about to see something great. He was a high-flying, fast-cutting, athletic powerhouse who would not be denied his greatness. He would be known as Air Jordan. He would eventually go down as one of, if not the definite, GOAT (Greatest of All Time). Six championships later, one thing became clear when Michael Jordan came on the scene. The game had changed, again.

Then in 2009, a young, short, scrawny, barely known kid named Steph Curry entered the NBA draft. He didn’t come from the University of North Carolina like Jordan, or Michigan State like Magic both winning a National Championship. He came from a relatively unknown university called Davidson College. He isn’t in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) debate. He isn’t physically intimidating like Lebron James. He isn’t psychologically imposing like Kobe Bryant. He isn’t striking fear into other players like Michael Jordan. He isn’t dominating space on the court and tearing the rims off backboards like Shaquille O’Neal. He’s playing a different game. He’s shooting the ball like no one we’ve ever seen. He’s shooting 3 point shots from places on the court that would have gotten a player benched 20 years ago. Moreover, he’s making them. In 2013, he set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season with 272, then surpassed that record in 2015 (286), and again in 2016 (402). He’s won four NBA championships and received two NBA MVP awards. Once again, the game has changed. In barbershops and backyards, on couches and barstools, by office coolers, and in break rooms there is a lingering question between the different generations of basketball fans, “Is this good for the game of basketball?” Phrases like, “It’s changed too much”, or “It’s not like the old days” from the older guys are common. Responses like, “Who cares”, and “That’s the old days, those are gone” are all too common. At the end of the day, there is a prevalent and necessary reality that all players have to embrace, all coaches have to plan for, and all of us as fans have to realize. “The game has changed, so you can complain about it or change the way you play it”. 

The Reality Check

This is a necessary reality check for pastors and leaders across the country who have fallen too in love with their models at the demise of their message. Churches are more infective than they’ve ever been and yet they are more determined than ever to stand as captains of sinking ships than make the changes necessary to plug the holes, hoist the sails, and start moving forward again. “That’s not the way we do it” is a common phrase in churches. My response to them is, “That’s not the way you’ve done it, but it can be the way you do it now”. Here’s the truth, you can’t defend what’s not working. Every church is different and nothing is “one size fits all” in ministry. Every city, every church, every pastor, and every environment is different and requires subtle inflections of culture and vision to fulfill the call God has given us. But the calling isn’t rooted in your method, it’s rooted in your message. The Gospel of Jesus Christ should be a non-negotiable for every church. We won't change the message, it will stay the same. But the model we use to deliver the message should be fluid and adaptable. It should be an effective environment of hope for a dying world, not a place of oppression for people who don’t have it figured out yet. It should be a place of development and discovery of people’s gifts to equip them to be ministers of the Gospel, not for us as leaders to sit on a throne as if it’s our personal kingdom to rule. It should be a place where people show up to find God, not a place where they only see us and our church agenda. The last 30 years of the church were led by a generation of pastors and leaders who knew how to do church one way. They were preaching to a generation of people who grew up in church, knew the Bible, had a praying grandma, understood our “Christianese” phrases, and embraced an idea of God. But those days are long gone. You’re going to need to adapt your model if you’re going to make it in this league. It’s time you realized that the game has changed, so you can complain about it or change the way you play it. 

Coaches To Lead You

One thing that every player we mentioned had was a great coach. Pat Riley with the Lakers bringing Magic and Kareem together, Phil Jackson leading Michael Jordan in the “triangle offense”, and now Stever Kerr with a patient sharpshooters offense with an unselfish extra pass approach to finding the 3rd open man on the court leaving defenses scrambling. All of these coaches understood that you had to embrace the way the game needed to be played, not just be fixated on the way you used to play it. At Pastor to Pastor, we have coaching for you. If you need resources we can point you in the right direction. If you need one-on-one coaching, we can provide that. If you need a network to belong to as you change the way you “play the game” of ministry, we can connect you. No matter what you need, we’re here to help. We believe in you! We believe in your church. The local church, mobilized and effective, is still the hope of the world. So, regardless of what you decide, just remember that the game has changed. So change the way you play it!