You’re Doing It Wrong (Bot9 #370)
Ted Lasso is great, in part, because it calls on the “fish out of water” story archetype. An author can take a well-established character and put that character into an entirely new situation that may or may not fit. For Ted Lasso, it’s taking an American football coach and putting him onto the pitch to coach what the rest of the world calls “futbal.”
Another story in this vein is the classic 1980s comedy, Mr. Mom. An executive in the auto-making industry is laid off and he’s left at home to take care of the kids. Mr. Mom is actually doubly clever in that the mom in the story trades traditional gender roles with the dad by getting a job as an advertising executive. You’ve got an American couple both figuring out how to swim in their new environments.
One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when Jack, the dad, is driving his kids to school for the first time. Any parent knows how important the rules are in the carpool line (just thinking about being in a carpool line makes me so grateful that my kids are in high school and driving themselves). But not Jack. He’s fighting through the traffic to various beeps and honks until one of the parent volunteers stops him. Very simply, kindly, and with a smile, she says, “Hi, Jack. I’m Annette. You’re doing it wrong.” It’s the sweetest rebuke I’ve ever heard.
Have you ever thought about Jesus in this way? A person coming up to you, gently putting his hand on your shoulder, and telling you “you’re doing it wrong” with a smile. No judgment, a new thought to guide you, and sending you on your way to the path of freedom. Pretty beautiful thought isn’t it?
In many ways, this has represented my journey in creating our Sport as Worship concept with Coach Jess Caldwell. Early on, it came on through personal conviction that there had to be a better way to experience sports for athletes, parents, and for me, as a coach. There’s no way the constant grind of this work was representing worship, but there was a hunch it could. Then, as we started presenting it to coaches and our teams, a shift in focus became apparent. Don’t focus on the barriers people experience, but teach the restorative elements provided for us. Since that moment, what we’ve experienced in the athletes we teach and coach, in the coaches who have chosen to adopt the ideas, and in ourselves has been some of the most extraordinary moments of worship I’ve experienced outside of a church service.
One of those experiences has come through coaching softball this fall. We had to take over after a difficult decision following a difficult set of circumstances, but I’m amazed by what the team is experiencing on the backside of the change. It’s worship every day. Win or loss, we experience worship. Practice or game, we experience worship. In so many ways it represents one of the best things I’ve ever learned - when you seek to restore things with God, He joins you in the process. Instead of trying to fix things with our own strength or will, we invite him into the process and follow His lead.
This is the essence of the disciples asking Jesus how to pray. It’s something that we all think about. “If God’s out there, how am I supposed to engage with Him?” Jesus provides the Lord’s prayer as a model. There are plenty of acronyms passed on through the generations that also help. But how should we pray as we enter competition and during competition? Our Sport as Worship model for prayer, also called the Daily Practices, comes through the acronym IMGC (think IMG Academy, one of the highest examples of athletic excellence in the country, with Christ) - Invitation, Meditation, Gratitude, and Celebration.
The prayer begins by inviting Jesus into the moment. This can happen before the competition or during the competition with a statement as simple as “meet me here.” That idea of invitation may be one of the most powerful, deeply Scriptural concepts I’ve encountered and was inspired by Skye Jethani’s book, With. The second step is meditating on a piece of the Word that speaks to a piece of eternal truth that helps you. For example, when I think about IMGC, I go to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” It’s IMGC in a set of three verses. From there, give gratitude for the current circumstance. The game ahead of you, the deficit you have the opportunity to overcome, or the comfortable lead you’ve been given in that moment. We are grateful in all circumstances. Lastly, we celebrate our circumstances, no matter what they might be. We celebrate the little victories that lead to the greater victory that is to come.
This is an expression of Sport as Worship - practicing IMGC through prayer before, during, and after competitions. This practice leads you into the restorative elements we can practice through sports starting with With, leading to Rest, providing fuel for Perseverance, and allowing us to approach all things with the proper Focus. By inviting Jesus to do things with us, we’re not relying on our own strength to accomplish the tasks at hand. When we do this, we experience spiritual rest while working with Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30). This perspective allows us to persevere through the many things that come our way as we maintain focus on Jesus (Matthew 14:22-35) as we partner with Him in the restorative work happening throughout sport and all of creation.
I can’t speak for every coach who engages in this work, but I know I’ve hit the wall many times wondering if I’m doing this whole thing wrong. We all feel like a fish out of water at times. But, in seeking to experience sport as an act of worship and restore these games to their created order with His help, it sure has felt like I’m swimming in the right stream in the right direction.