Good Churches Are Good Coaches

by Reba Collins

I recently read a great book, Sum It Up, by legendary Tennessee Lady Volunteers coach, Pat Summit. Sum It Up proved to be more than a “how to” guide on coaching basketball, successfully building a team, or becoming the winningest coach – men or women -- in NCAA Division I history.

This is Coach Summit’s memoir that chronicles four decades of coaching, leadership, faith, and relationships. Her legacy is one of both incredible wins – two Olympic medals, eight national championships, 100% graduation rate, lifetime friends, and of dramatic losses – six miscarriages, a divorce, player injuries, a diagnosis of early on-set  Alzheimer’s disease.

At the core of her story are the players, her family, and her faith. At the core are the people who made up her teams both personally and professionally.

So what does this have to do with choosing a good church?

A lot, actually. It dawned on me while reading Coach Summit’s story that there are many applications between being a great coach and being a great church choice.  For the sake of space and time, though, I’ve narrowed down this blog to six insights from Coach Summit that I think are worthy of consideration in making a good church choice. You’ll have to read the book yourself to get the rest. And I highly recommend you do.

1. “When you own something, you possess it, live it, and act on it.”Great coaches want to win – not just one game, but the championship game, and they practice, play, and lead their teams with that vision. Good churches, too, own a vision for what God wants to do through their faith community.  When you visit, you hear about the vision. You are given examples of how people are living it out, and the ministries of the church define the action of the vision.
2. “The price of love is entanglement.”Great coaches teach their players to care more about each other than themselves. Team players are willing to let another team member score the winning basket. Good churches love God and people more than they love their buildings, worship styles, carpets, or wall paint. No area is off limits for improvement for the sake of others, including the people.
3. “Great teams explain their failure; they don’t excuse it.”Great coaches help teams use their losses to get better. As part of the team, people in good churches analyze past mistakes of the church and improve because of them. They don’t hide them, cover them up, or never talk about them.  Gains and losses in worship attendance and ministry initiatives, for example, are part of every church’s journey. Everyone sees the losses as natural opportunities for development in their walk with God.
4. “Although we [The Lady Vols] had a system with principles and core values that we didn’t deviate from, strategically we adjusted dramatically over the years as the game changed.” Good coaches make both short-term and long-term adjustments, and so do good church choices. Good churches align their teams with basic values and practices that define a “win,” but the teams change their game plans when necessary in order to achieve the win. Constant evaluation and assessment are written into the game plan.
5. “God doesn’t take things away to be cruel. He takes things away to make room for other things. He takes things away to lighten us. He takes things away so we can fly.” Just as great coaches find ways to win with new teams every year, good churches see opportunities for renewal as people come and go. Good churches move with God’s movements. They don’t hold on to unproductive programs, activities, or ministries forever.
6. “The job of coach wasn’t about being a martinet. It was about preparing people to make good independent decisions. Getting them in the right spots at the right time was as much a matter of understanding them, and talking to them, as it was of directing their traffic.”Great coaching is all about building the types of team relationships that create mutual trust, communication, and confidence. Players operate as one unit of coordinated decision-makers. Great churches equip you to find the purpose God has for your life. They help you know yourself, your God, and your place in God’s story, so that you can make decisions that are good for you, the church, and God’s plans for both.

Somewhere in the middle of Coach Summit’s memories, I realized that great churches are great coaches too. When we become part of a church community, we are joining a team. 

Just like Coach Summit, my hope for all of us is that we will be able to tell our own stories of spiritual teams where we experienced amazing wins and where we were supported through profound losses.