We tend to do a fair amount of our grocery shopping at Whole Foods. (Yes, I know the jokes about “whole paycheck,” but we’re loyal.) One of things I’ve noticed about shopping there is that whenever I can’t find something and ask for help, the employee I ask stops whatever he or she is doing to take me to the item I’m looking for. And this happens even when I say that I can find it on my own if they just tell me the isle. But they insist. Actually, they don’t insist or make a big deal of it. They just take me there. It’s clear this isn’t by accident, as this happens every single time. (And, yes, I seem to have a hard time...

4. Don’t Give Too Much Attention to Troublemakers During the first World Cup match I watched this year, I was struck that when a fan came streaking onto the field to cause a ruckus, the cameras moved away. That is, we didn’t actually see the ruckus, we only heard about it briefly. One of the commentators mentioned that this was per FIFA’s instructions. While I have plenty of critique for the way FIFA is run, they’re definitely onto something here. For when you give troublemakers the attention they seek, you inspire more people to make trouble. I think leaders – in congregations, schools, businesses, and the home – can learn a lot...

3. The Power of Joy The World Cup is about competition, and it is about national pride, and it about team effort and heart, and it is about many other things as well. But when I watch carefully, I’m also struck to the degree that it is about joy. There is a kind of rapturous abandon that you see displayed on the faces of players from time to time – especially after a player has scored a goal 🙂 – that reminds me of the delight expressed by children at play. Which leads me to think that beyond the thrill of competition or the pride of representing your country rests the pure joy of doing something you love with people you respect and...

It’s All About the Story You Tell Wayne Rooney is a striker (forward, goal-scorer) on England’s national team. When he’s not playing for Queen and country, he plays for Manchester United. In that capacity, at age 28 he’s scored 216 goals, making him the third-highest goal-scorer in the history of that storied team. He’s led MU to five championships in England’s Premier League, arguably one of the top leagues in the world, and one title in the EUFA Champions League, where the top teams from all the various continental leagues compete. At age 17 he made his debut on England’s national team, making him the youngest player to don...

My post the other day comparing the competitive market of U.S. sports and the current situation of the Church drew a number of helpful responses. But also some misunderstanding. My fault, I think, as words like “competition” can be highly charged among church folk. So I thought I would clarify just what I meant a bit and invite a continued conversation. Let me start, though, by saying what I didn’t mean. I don’t mean that congregations should try to compete with sports…or theater or television or whatever. I’m not calling for entertainment evangelism or employing flashy gimmicks of any kind. In fact, I was not inviting...

The Church Lives and Does Ministry in a Competitive Environment Even as I watch the World Cup with 25 million other U.S. soccer enthusiasts, taking delight in what many are describing as one of the most thrilling World Cup’s in years, I continue to wonder why soccer has taken so long to grab a permanent place in the hearts of American sports fans. I mean, around the globe soccer – or, more accurately football – is the world’s favorite sport. But even though soccer has been played here for a century – the U.S. actually finished third in the first World Cup in 1930 – it’s struggled for decades to secure the kind of attention and...