Alone

“You can’t win alone, but you can practice alone.”

You may or may not follow Football (the real name, but we call it “Soccer”), but the picture above is of Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player alive and – many believe – the best to ever play the game. When Leo was a little boy, he was smaller than most kids and youth his age. But he was fast. Very fast. And he had a natural talent with the ball at his feet. He couldn’t play as physically as the bigger kids, but he did learn how to use his diminutive size to his advantage.

He has built up some impressive stats:

• By the age of 21, Messi had received a FIFA World Player of the Year nomination. The following year, in 2009, he won it.
• He has won FIFA World Player of the Year the last four years in a row.
• He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
• At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona’s (his club team) all-time top scorer in all official club competitions.
• At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 goals in the world’s toughest league – La Liga.
• Messi has won five La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
• In 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match.
• He also matched José Altafini’s record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season.
• Messi became the first player to top-score in four successive Champions League campaigns.
• He set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.
• In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals.
• On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal.
• On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in 19 consecutive La Liga games, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in the league.

But what I find most fascinating about Leo is his reported work ethic. The worlds’ best athletes often work hard – but generally don’t have to work as hard as those without their legendary talent. Here’s a guy who has arguably the most talent and he’s still working harder than almost any other athlete. That list of stats above is directly proportional to his work ethic and the level of commitment he inspires for his teams (both club and national).

A scant few of us have the chance to be world-class at something. Yet I firmly believe that we are unique creations, each with a destiny for the greatness of God’s plan for our lives. While work ethic is important, what is speaks of is a diligence for never-ending improvement – even if we’re already very, very good at something.

QUESTION: What kind of work ethic do you apply to your spiritual walk and in your relationships?

Tradition Prefers Failure to Innovation

I remember the first time I heard of IDEO - a famous firm that seemingly few have heard about – a company that helps others innovate. It was at a company meeting with Fellowship Technologies where CEO Jeff Hook was inspiring us to help innovate in the church market. I was surprised at the number of products that we use today were actually birthed at IDEO on behalf of the company that gets all the credit. Notable examples are Apple’s first mouse, Microsoft’s second mouse, and the Palm V PDA. Major clients have included Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Microsoft, Eli Lilly, Ford, and Steelcase.

What struck me most about them was that they’re not an invention firm, but an innovation firm.

I think innovation is the art and science of taking something that exists and improving on it in a significant way. This, of course, has huge implications for local churches, who have the timeless message that never changes but innumerable methods for applying that message to culture. Where I think churches trip up along this journey is when traditions become more important than the teachings from the text.

Traditions begin as personal preferences. I made this simple statement in a blog a couple of weeks ago:

“I have preferences. We all do. Some of these preferences have meaning to us, so we create a consistent pattern around them. Before you know it, we’ve told others how to operate within our preferences. One step removed from us, what was once a preference is now a tradition. I think traditions are a lot like money: they’re neither good nor bad – it’s all about how you approach it. If a tradition gets in the way of loving people, it’s a clear sign that the tradition has to change or go.”

It is my personal experience and opinion that the main reason mainline churches are failing and dying is because they’re holding onto denominational or local traditions at the expense of connecting culturally with their communities. Further, they hardly ever bother to acknowledge the other Christian denominations (or non-denominational churches) in any of their community efforts. Even in (perhaps especially in?) small town, rural settings, the row of various churches along main street fight to keep their own and avoid being associated with – much less collaborating with – these other faithful flocks. Even Jesus himself said “if they’re not against us, they’re for us”.

Traditions are powerful and can be helpful – as long as they follow the heart of the Father and not merely the letter of the law. I do not believe traditions are inherently bad, but the very nature of perpetuating traditions eschews innovation. We live in a time when change is constant and communication is real-time. At what point can a tradition offer itself on the altar and die to facilitate needed innovation?

Our culture is moving on. Perhaps for the sake of the Gospel we can move on and innovate, too.

QUESTION: Is tradition really in the way of innovation? What say you?