I started with lots of good ideas for writing today.  Then the Dallas Mavericks went and won the NBA championship this evening.  It is the first professional title for the Dallas area since the hockey team won the Stanley Cup.  Basketball is not really my thing.  Not being able to jump or shoot were always held against me while growing up.  Turns out that these are important skills for a player.  But if there is any team that matters to me then it is the Mavericks.  I still remember the very early years when they were not very good.  Then the team began to make the playoffs with limited success.  Lately, the team is usually pretty good but never could make the final step.  Tonight the Mavs won their first championship after thirty years or so of trying.  My mind's eye can already see the merchandise on the store racks tomorrow.

Winning a championship is not easy no matter the sport.  My current town was fortunate to earn two consecutive state titles a few years ago.  Accomplishments like this come at the end of a very long road.  You need the right pieces in place along with a little luck.  We can say much the same thing about being a good church.  One would think that every congregation would be healthy since we are in the God business.  You know full well this just isn't so.  Just wanting to be a dynamic church is not enough.  Ask the average church member and you would find most saying they want to be alive or thriving.  Wanting something is not the same as doing what is needed for it to happen.  Even praying for this may not get a church where it wants to go.  Being a champion is the byproduct of doing the right things.  I say the same is true for the average congregation. 

Great coaches may not always come home with the trophy.  Even the best can fall short.  But just know that the ones we remember the most are the ones who put their players in position to win.  Strategy sometimes is second place to knowing your team.  Surely the people of God would listen to the One who makes this happen?  You know as well as I that even believers don't always listen or do as taught.  We can know full well what scripture says without building it into our daily lives.  We can quote the Bible without allowing it to produce real change in the heart.  What made the first church explode was this ability to simply carry out the directions of their divine leader.  They did not have all the bells and whistles we possess but they were obedient.  Pointing fingers at everyone else is far easier than being serious about God's will.  Churches move past the status quo when they follow God in ways large and small.

More could be said but time is the enemy tonight.  I do believe there is a divine process to this idea of being a championship congregation.  Nothing is more amazing than a church that is discovering this truth.  Few things are more depressing than a church talking about everything under the sun except for what counts for eternity.  Too many ministers spend too much time dealing with the sinful tendencies of too many people.  Behavior such as this is self defeating before you begin the contest.  Let's just end by saying congratulations to the Mavericks.  Maybe we will follow up on some of this during the week.  Some of the stuff may be familiar to you from past blog posts.  Perhaps we can uncover some new information to remind us of the people God intends for us to be. 

Bro. Trey