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NFL & The Church Part 6 of 6

The Church (capital C) is my number one passion after God & family and the NFL is my number one hobby.  Throughout my history with each of them I've noticed some common things between the two of them, but in some cases it SHOULD be common but it usually isn't.  I'll post them all in no particular order.

Excellence

The NFL bleeds excellence.  The casual observer may not notice, but from the TV production all the way to the details in practice, excellence is prevalent.  The parity in the NFL is so great that the worst team one year can make the playoffs the next year.  One reason for that is because the level of excellence across most of the teams is very close which leaves little room for error.  It's the reason a winless team could beat an undefeated team 5 weeks into the season. 

Churches are rarely seen as excellent.  Plus, excellence is a word/label that can be abused or sought after at the expense of more important things (like people).  For the purpose of this post, I'll borrow a definition of excellence that says it is "doing the best you can with what you have, in a sustainable fashion."  (Thanks Troy Fountain via Rich Barrett).  Churches definitely have a great disadvantage when talking about excellence in comparison to the NFL, or any business, because the vast majority of their "staff" is volunteers.  But, they should do the best they can with what they have, and not settle for mediocre. 

A big reason why the NFL is so excellent is because of focus.  All throughout the NFL they apply great focus which allows them to pour the necessary resources and time into the most important things.  Churches typically dilute focus by doing too much.  NFL teams take this to an extreme, constantly preaching one game at a time.  John Harbaugh brought an acronym to the Ravens that drives what they do every week, and it's What's Important Now? 

If the churches would choose to focus on a handful of things, and trim out everything else, we would see a dramatic difference in the level of excellence in the things they continue doing.  Unfortunately the pain from a lack of excellence doesn't feel worse than the perceived pain of cutting programs or events. 

NFL & The Church Part 4 of 6

The Church (capital C) is my number one passion after God & family and the NFL is my number one hobby.  Throughout my history with each of them I've noticed some common things between the two of them, but in some cases it SHOULD be common but it usually isn't.  I'll post them all in no particular order.

Great Systems

The NFL has amazing systems.  Systems for how the linebackers will practice on the 8th day of training camp and systems for how expansion teams are added to the league.  Systems for massive things and systems for small things.  Each week during the season NFL teams execute their system for game planning, practicing, conditioning, coaching, critiquing, evaluating, scouting, etc.  I don't think I need to make a strong case for the quality of the NFL's systems.  But, there is a great example.

John Harbaugh showed up to his interview for the Baltimore Raven's head coach position with way more than just experience, a great resume, great references and the pedigree.  He brought a system.  Andy Reid's influence led to Harbaugh coming in with a huge book, that was essentially a detailed plan for how to lead an NFL team from day 1.  John has executed that play book since he arrived and the results have been great so far, especially for a team with a rookie QB and 16 guys on injured reserve.  That book is really just documented systems, and the processes that make up those systems.

The Church neglects systems for many reasons.  Unhealthy schedules, little margin, lack of systems thinking leaders and a general bias against systems are all examples of reasons why most churches have bad systems.  Andy Stanley says that "systems create behaviors" (I think that was borrowed from a book called the Fifth Discipline).  Most churches have serious behavior problems.

Just imagine if every church had a "book" like the one Harbaugh has.  A detailed plan for how everything in the church takes place.  Sure, the plan will change constantly, but documenting it forces leadership to think through the current systems and identify opportunities for improvement.  With detailed systems it's easier to recruit volunteers and develop leaders.....because the play book is already made. 

If you want to have great systems at your church, Nelson Searcy at Church Leader Insights is the first place to look for help.

Trust, Leadership & Agendas

I've mentioned before that I'm a huge NFL fan, so I follow aspects of the game that most people would be bored by.  One such thing that came up recently was Matt Stover (best kicker ever, for my beloved Ravens) wrote an email to the NFL Players Associate (executives and team reps).  What I wanted to highlight was how he concluded his email:

As I make this suggestion, I will only hope that every one of us will put any personal agenda aside and remember who each of us represent. Both the old and young players in our locker rooms have voted us in because they trust our judgment. This is about the future of our organization. Not now ... not 1 or 2 years from now, but 5, 10, 15 years from now. Thanks.

I think we all need a gut check every now and then to remember who we represent, what our agenda is, and how far into the future we're planning.  I liked how he said that the players voted them in because they trust their judgment.  Everybody has people who are trusting in them in some way.  Are we setting our personal agendas aside and setting them up for success 15 years down the road? 

By the way, if you follow the NFL as closely as I do and want to read the rest of Matt's email, click here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3336021

NFL Offseason

Anybody who knows me well knows that I love the NFL.  I don't really watch any other sport, but I follow the NFL a lot - probably too much.  As happens every year during the offseason of the NFL, they debate possible rule changes and policy changes.  You can read about some of them here.

There's one that's up for discussion again this year, that I hope passes.  If the proposal passes, it will allow one defensive player to wear a radio in their helmet to communicate with the sideline during the game.  The offense already has that, with the quarterback being the one to wear it.  In my opinion, the only reason the defense hasn't been allowed to have one is because the NFL is offense-bias.  Offense sells - long runs, deep touchdown passes, quick scores, etc make it exciting for most people. 

Well, I'm from Baltimore, we like defense.  I'd rather see an interception, forced fumble or a "Jacked Up" tackle than most offensive plays.  I mean, it would be great if the Baltimore Ravens could score a touchdown or 2 every game, but I'm definitely defense-biased.  I'm really hoping that 2 more owners vote in favor of that proposal so this year our defense doesn't have to be 4 steps behind an offensive formation or audible.