Seahawk Style Church

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11)

I brought it up a few months ago in a sermon, but as Greg Yee shared with us this weekend I was reminded of a blaring discrepancy that exists in my life (and probably yours.)

What if we were as excited about Jesus as we were about the Seahawks playing in (and winning) the Superbowl? Thousands of complete strangers were dancing, singing, hugging, and high-fiving until the early hours of the morning in Seattle last night; they literally took over the streets with their celebration. Even if you hate football, you can’t really ignore the energy in the city right now; it’s manic. The challenge doesn’t stop at the Seahawks, or football, or even sports. The likelihood is that you have something or many things in your life that when you put the screws to it, you spend more energy, time, devotion, emotion, and worth on than on Jesus and His kingdom. Let’s be honest with ourselves, Jesus isn’t first in our lives.

Maybe the answer is in my original question: “What if we were…?” Take the Seahawks for example: they set out with a specific goal in mind, they asked “What if we were: the best football team in the NFL, Superbowl champions?” That question led them to dedicate their lives, bodies, time, energy, and complete focus towards achieving their goal. If you have followed the Hawks at all this year, you know that they fostered and incredible climate of trust, love, and urgency amongst their teammates, they described themselves as a “family.” They were a family of no-compromises, taking every day, every practice, every game, and every play as an opportunity to move towards their goal whole-heartedly. Anyone who was around them would say that they were relentlessly hard workers (“Strive!” says Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.) Their unity was so successful that they defied the odds and beat what nearly the entirety of the USA thought was the best football team, with the best offense, with the best quarterback in current existence. The win was so thoroughly a team effort that picking an MVP for the game was almost impossible: you could have made a case for almost anyone on the field.

What if we hugged and high fived at church in response to God’s gifts poured out on us? What if we saw every moment as an opportunity to work towards our goal: living the incredible way of God’s Kingdom? What if we had the kind of urgency and devotion that football players do, the kind of love and trust that they form on their teams? What if we were a family, a family of no-compromises that had each other’s back at every turn, that knew what the mission was and what the plan was to achieve it? What if we danced and sang like we were fans of and part of the best and most victorious team ever? What if we strived for full restoration, encouraged each other, had unity, were of one mind, and lived in peace?

What if? What if? What if?

I’m a person who lives and dreams in “what if” questions. I feel like the answers to “what if” questions could be the fuel that we need to realize what it means to live, as the Bible says, “In Christ.” For me the answers to those questions lead to the actions that define and describe the Church. May we ask, answer, and eventually live, all the “what if” questions.

Noah can be reached via email here.