Tyler Hansbrough and the Church

Ok, 2 reasons for this post.

#1 - The number ONE ranked Tar Heels took down by Bluedevils last night. Yes, I said my Bluedevils. I've always been a closet Duke fan (zero connection to the school though). I think they have THE BEST student section in the country and arguably one of the best head coaches. So in a way, this post on Mr. Hansbrough is a congrats to his team...who controlled the game last night from the tipoff.

#2 - ESPN did a pregame piece on Tyler (affectionately called "Psycho T" by his teammates). In it, they answered the question, "Why is he so good?" And by the way, he IS good. In fact, he's one of my favorite collegiate players. And what ESPN said about him last night is precisely why he's one of my favorites.

a. He never takes a play off.
b. He seeks contact, yet still finishes.
c. "Will" exceeds "Skill".

When I saw that piece, I thought about churchplanting.

Never take a Sunday off. (No, I don't mean the staff. In fact, wisely, some churches demand that their staff take 1 Sunday off a month.) What it means for the church is EVERY Sunday matters. EVERY Sunday the church, the body of volunteers, will give everything they have. Why? There's too much on the line not to. Every Sunday someone visits for the first time. Often, you have 1 shot, and 1 shot only. Plus, it glorifies God to bring your very best each and every week. Worship Him with all ya got.

Be aggressive, Finish Strong. Tyler gets in the mix. He loves contact. Need proof? Check it out:

Last night against Duke, he would go up against 2-3 guys at once, and it looked as if he was just throwing up a prayer shot. But he wasn't. That was his specialty. He's like a tight end in football who loves to run over the smaller safeties and line backers. With ministry, don't be afraid to get in the mix. Hang out with lost people (gasp). Do it a lot. Do it more. Be aggressive. God did not give us a spirit of timidity. And finish strong. The ole "It's a Marathon, not a Sprint."

"Will" exceeds "Skill". Tyler out-hustles everyone, all the time. And then some more. He's not the most talented guy on the court. But he wins, and wins a lot, by his effort. A VERY IMPORTANT message for volunteers to hear is this: will does indeed exceed skill. Think God has ever used ordinary people to do extraordinary things? Uhhhhhh...try reading the whole Bible! It's full of misfit, uneducated, unskilled, untalented people who made themselves available for Kingdom work. And God used them. Christ transformed them into warriors.

So, as much as it pains me to say it....YES, we should be more like a UNC player.

(I'm now going to wash my mouth out with soap.)

:-)