New Wineskins
Before the memory of one of the greatest Superbowls and perhaps the greatest comeback in American sports recedes from our memory, let’s pause and leverage an event that half of America watched together as a teachable moment for the church. For just as Patriots had to do several things to win that game, the Falcons had to do several things to lose that game. Here are seven lessons from the Superbowl for today’s church leaders:
1. Play calling is important (Falcons). By the third quarter, the Falcons seemingly had this game wrapped up. They were up 28-3 with their feet firmly on the throats of the Patriots. At some point you would have expected the Falcons to begin calling running plays to eat up valuable clock time, give their defenders a chance to rest and force the Patriots into a desperate situation. And yet after going up by 25 points, the Falcons called only four running plays. They didn’t eat up enough clock and gave the Patriots one too many opportunities to come back.
As a church, it’s critical for the leaders to keep the eyes of the organization on the prize: fulfilling the Great Commission. The leaders of the church call the plays, set the offense and provide the direction. With the programs and priorities we put in place, are we calling the right plays to win the game?
2. The poise of the leader under duress is crucial (Patriots). Down 21-0 at the half and 28-3 halfway through the third quarter, no one would have faulted Tom Brady for cracking under the pressure. Yet one of the reasons he’s considered the G.O.A.T. is that his poise under pressure is other-worldly. In post-game interviews, several of his teammates took notice of Brady’s poise under pressure when they were getting killed out there.
As a leader in your church, there is pressure from within (dissension), from without (culture) and from beneath (spiritual warfare). The pressure on the leaders of a church is constant and overwhelming. Yet how do you react? If you want to win a Superbowl, you need to have incredible poise under pressure.
3. Don’t kill your team with self-inflicted wounds (Falcons). Many will look at the drive the Falcons had halfway through the fourth quarter as where it all fell apart. Still up 28-20, the Falcons were looking at first and ten on the Patriots 22-yard-line, well within field goal range. Already up 8, a simple field goal with 4 minutes left would have put the game on ice. Yet in that critical moment, the running back missed a block and allowed Matt Ryan to get sacked, losing 12 yards. On the next play an offensive lineman was called for holding, tacking on an extra 10 yards and forcing the Falcons out of field goal range. In that moment, the Patriots didn’t beat the Falcons. The Falcons beat the Falcons.
For a church, the moral and spiritual health of your leadership will make or break the success of your organization. Every inch of forward progress can be erased with a moral failing. Ministries can be set back years with the wrong hire. Sometimes the enemy doesn’t beat us. Sometimes we beat ourselves. Don’t kill your team with self-inflicted wounds.
4. The pace of the game matters (Falcons). One of the huge disparities of the game was time of possession. The Falcons controlled the ball for 20 minutes in regulation, while the Patriots controlled the ball for 40 minutes. When the Falcons were cruising, none of that mattered. And yet the reason that the Patriots torched the Falcons for 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter was because the Falcon’s defense was gassed out. They had been on the field too long. There was nothing left in the tank.
The pace of your church matters. You can hit the ground running and charge hell with both guns blazing, but the Christian race is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re not doing ministry at a sustainable pace, you won’t persevere to the end. Too many churches overload their schedules and then wonder why people keep dropping like flies. Pace matters.
5. Play all 60 minutes (Patriots). One of the things that makes the Patriots so successful is their ability to leverage all 60 minutes in a game. Several of their Superbowl wins have been come-from-behind. It’s flashy to put up points in the first half, but it’s the second half that wins games.
Too many churches start out well but then start coasting in the afterglow of their glory years for decades, not fully comprehending that there is still time on the clock. If a church starts with promise but then fades into irrelevance, it’s because they didn’t leverage all 60 minutes. If your church is alive, then there’s still time on the clock. How are you taking advantage of the time you still have? What is something strategic you’re doing in 2017? Play all 60 minutes.
6. Utilize your critical resources well (Falcons). Even with all the mistakes the Falcons made, they still had the ability to win the game at the end. They got the ball back deep in their territory with 50 seconds left. If they could drive 50-60 yards they could kick a field goal and win it. All they needed was a timeout. But they’d squandered their timeouts earlier in the half, wasting one challenging an earlier play. When they needed a timeout the most, there were none left.
Your people are your greatest resource. Don’t waste them on unnecessary programs and then discover that there’s nothing left when you need them the most. Steward the financial resources you have so that when opportunity comes your way to expand or grow, you have the ability to take advantage. Utilize your critical resources well.
7. Never give up (Patriots). The greatest deficit overcome before Sunday’s game was 10 points in a Superbowl. The Patriots overcame a 25 point deficit. Put simply, they never gave up. As Christians, we know how the end of history works out. We win. Jesus reigns. We go to heaven.
There should be no reason, ever, under any circumstances, where a church throws up its hands and gives up on reaching the world. Never, ever, ever, ever give up.
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