I walked into the store the other day and I noticed I was within close proximity of five different people who were wearing the colors green and white. For all of you non-Michiganders, they were representing the Spartans of Michigan State University. This was the most public display of that team’s spirit I’ve ever witnessed in a 30-foot radius that I can think of and not be in Lansing itself. If you don’t know, the University Of Michigan Wolverines dominate the general fair weather college sports fan here in the mitten, but MSU is rising in their visible fan base. Why?
They are putting together a culture of winning.
Have you ever met anyone who seriously wants to lose for the enjoyment of not winning? There’s something innately powerful about being apart of the winning team that every single person on earth connects with. The more MSU is winning, the more people are proud to show their support and show they believe in the team.
Winning builds momentum.
I think we could easily cite pop-culture phenomenon Charlie Sheen, and see how even with #winning defined as milking the system catapults movement. Many churches in America have big plans in “forwarding” their initiatives with the end result filling up their buildings and having some level of notoriety. Is this true success in God? Is this the cause we’re looking to champion? Don’t get me wrong, I believe in products, marketing, having a following and the funds necessary to do it things at a high level. It’s all a part of life, but do these things define success in forwarding the gospel? It’s success if your whole goal is only exposure. There are lots of gimmicks we can all do to build awareness that Jesus exists, but if we’ve not given them a taste of who He is beyond words, what success do really have to mention of? Just because I told you about MSU doesn’t make you want to be a fan. You need to encounter them winning to be a FANantic.
How do we measure the success of forwarding the Gospel?
I believe it’s really easy to put the cart before the horse when wanting to build a movement that transcends walls or a specific gathering. The first step the church has routinely taken was to upgrade their infrastructure, communication, budget and marketing. “Maybe if we convince them we’re cool, they’ll want to hang out with us.” I am immensely grateful that we no longer need to speak in King James Version to be spiritual and that those who wore pretentious suits and ties are fading. However, does this mean we are winning a generation over because we’re more agreeable culturally? I believe winning is simple and keeping the focus on Jesus in the midst of all our creative tools-essential. I’m not here to convince anyone of Jesus. I’m here to give them Jesus. When I’ve given a person an encounter with Jesus (His truth, love and power) it gives them an experience that turns them into a fan. They encounter the Win of the Gospel, which is bigger than a one time prayer; it’s the beginning of transformation.
I’m not here to “win souls”. I’m here to see lives completely transformed - body, soul and spirit.
I don’t want people to agree with me in a moment. I want them to be lost for words for what they just experienced, for there to be such a heavy hunger immediately birthed in their life to want to KNOW who and where this came from. A true experience with Jesus will mark a person to want to follow Him all the days of their life. Our #winning is not in our gatherings alone, but should mostly be defined by the story of lives lived out in the workplace, school and home. If we don’t take Jesus with us everywhere we go, what’s the point of sacrificing your life to follow Him? There’s no shame in representing what you would be willing to die for. The motive is not judgment, conversational strong arm or behavior focused fire hosing. If we lead people to the lap of Jesus, He’ll take care of the rest.
That’s a win.
Can you imagine a whole tribe of people who have encountered transformation being a true visible demonstration of God’s truth, love and power? Fans don’t need to “sell” or try to convince people of their team, they just point to the score board. As believers we’re not fighting for victory, we’re fighting FROM victory. It's not striving, it's rest. Jesus paid it all for me to win in this life. Are you merely regurgitating faith based propaganda or are you a FANatic? Let’s build a tribe of believers who actually believe and live out FULL Jesus. The world is watching to see if the church can actually win. They'll notice our culture of winning not when we tell them, but when they are completely surrounded by more fans in a 30 foot radius than they can remember and it not be at church itself.
Written by: Drew Neal
Edited by: Brett Whitefield
