I’m sure I’ll unpack this idea in more detail in a later post, but for now, as I’m wrapping up a long day with one last ride on the subway, let me simply say that we’d be wise to look beyond the season, and look for the reason.

Culture moves in cycles, and the smart ones in culture take the time to learn about them. Neil Howe and the late William Strauss do an outstanding job highlighting how history tends to repeat itself in their classic book, The Fourth Turning. I remember reading it a few years back, and thinking about how the seasons they described from centuries ago sounded so very similar to the seasons we’re in now.

Sometimes, we’re a little too quick to think that we’re the first generation to do what we’re doing. Or maybe a little too prideful. Or just blind. But culture moves in cycles, and when we take the time to study the why, we might be better equipped to deal with the hows and whats and whos.

Culture moves in cycles, and every season is fueled by a reason. Maybe the generation before was too heavy on information, and so the next generation (or, two) relies more heavily on emotions and creativity.

Learn the cycle, understand the culture. Lean into the reason, and be better equipped to weather the season.

That’s all for now. My subway ride is over.

Reading Time: 3 minutesThis week as I was running in the snow (which doesn’t happen a lot, so it’s nice to do it when I can), I thought about another snowy run that happened a few years ago and smiled. It was the day someone called me the nicest bad word I’ve ever been called.

But first, some context.

I started running almost 10 years ago. Now, I’m not the fastest or the best, but I have been a pretty decent example of consistency over the years. Some years I run more and some years I run less, but most years I’m logging somewhere close to 1,000 miles. The majority of those miles are run on the same roads, and usually alone.

Of course, I don’t run to be noticed by others (except for drivers – I’d like for drivers of vehicles that could potentially hit me to notice me!!), and when you run a lot of miles alone, sometimes you feel like you’re in your own little bubble, unbothered and unnoticed.

But on that snowy run a few years ago, I wasn’t unnoticed. In fact, I was paid an amazing compliment that was one of the most unusual compliments I’ve ever received.

As I was running through the snowstorm past a business near my home, a friend of mine who was in the store at the time said one of the employees pointed out the window at me and said, “That is one crazy *******!”

With that crazy context in mind, let me tell you what that one simple, honest, off-color statement communicates to those of us living out our faith in a rapidly changing post-modern culture.

Extreme circumstances call for extreme commitment to everyday convictions

Want to stand out? Simply stay committed to doing what you’ve always done at a time when no one else is willing to do it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run by that store – surely in the hundreds of times by now – without that comment being made. But one run in the snow – one normal run in abnormal conditions – is what stood out.

There’s a verse in Philippians that calls believers to “shine like stars.” Did you know that stars are ALWAYS shining? It’s what stars do! But you and I don’t see them shining until the sky around them has grown dark. They simply do what they were made to do in an environment that enhances the effect of what they’re doing!

This is a wonderful time to be a follower of Jesus because if we’ll simply continue to do what we’ve always done – if we’ll simply BE who we have been recreated to be – we’re guaranteed to stand out as the culture around us grows darker.

Standing out is simply a matter of shining out when all the other lights are going out!

[Tweet “Standing out is simply a matter of shining out when all the other lights are going out!”]

Extreme circumstances can be vehicles for producing effective change

You and I are living in a culture that can tend to be a little bit entitled, yes? We get participation trophies for everything even if we never really did anything, and so it makes a lot of sense that an entitled culture would fail to see the value in uncomfortable situations.

But growth never happens in a recliner (unless we’re talking about the waistline!). Labor precedes delivery. Working out comes before building up. That amazing feeling you had when you made an A came after that horrible feeling you had studying for the test. Seeds push through the soil as the plant begins to take root and grow.

There’s no way around it. Hard times produce strong people when we accept the fact that easy street is not the best avenue for change.

[Tweet “Easy street is not the best avenue for change.”]

The apostle Paul wrote it this way:

Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4, emphasis added)

Suffering produces. It’s one thing to go run when the weather is perfect. It’s quite another to run in a (Southern) blizzard. Both runs are effective, but only one convinces me (and others) that I’m a runner who will run no matter what.

There is no doubt that the church is facing tough times in America, but there is also no doubt that the tough times can change the face of the church in America.

Shine like stars, and allow the darkness around you to reveal in you and produce through you the brightest light of the Gospel the world has ever seen.

Reading Time: 4 minutesIt’s hard to live anywhere in the Charlotte region and not be aware that the Carolina Panthers are enjoying a pretty unique season.  As the last undefeated team in the National Football League this year, they’re only the 8th team to ever start a season 13-0, and that’s got a lot of people talking about how good they may or may not be and how their season could end.

But we’ll leave all that talk for the football analysts, because I think that there are much more valuable lessons that the church – and specifically, church leaders – can learn from the Panthers.  Here they are, in no particular order.

Next Man Up

Back in training camp, on a hot day in Spartanburg, South Cackalacky, Kelvin Benjamin ran a route against air and slumped to the ground holding his knee, and just like that, the best wide receiver on the Panthers team was gone for the season.

For Panthers fans, the season seemed over before it had even begun. But the Panthers knew that “Next Man Up” was more powerful than “Best Man Down,” and so instead of dropping their heads, the other receivers raised their game.

[Tweet “As leaders, we’re called to equip believers to do the ministry, not to watch the ministry.”]

Churches would do well to adopt a “next man up” mentality. As leaders, we’re called to equip believers to do the ministry, not to watch the ministry, and so it’s on us to make sure that there’s always a next man up in every ministry position. If we don’t, then we’ll find members sitting down when they should be stepping up.

Culture matters

One of the players who was the next man up is wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr.  Ginn is an interesting case study about the power of organizational culture, because the only team he has ever really thrived on is the Carolina Panthers. In fact, he’s played his best football in black and blue, because he just “fits” on this team.

No one would ever argue that Ginn is a better receiver than Steve Smith, but Smith was traded for one reason: organizational culture matters more than individual talent.

[Tweet “Organizational culture matters more than individual talent.”]

Once we understand that, we’ll spend less time chasing talent and more time creating culture.

Celebrate the wins

There are 200 days between the first day of training camp and the last play of the Super Bowl. It’s a long, grueling season with ups and downs at every turn, and success isn’t quite as common as the New England Patriots have made it look over the last 15 years.

In fact, since 1990, the most wins any team has averaged in a season is just under 10 (and that’s the Pittsburgh Steelers).  How rare is this 13-0 start by the Panthers? 0.59%!

That’s all the more reason why wins need to be celebrated, especially when they come in bunches like they are for the undefeated Cats. So they dance, and jump, give tons of footballs away, and take selfies on the sidelines (when the games are out of reach). In short, they’ve learned that we celebrate what we appreciate.  They appreciate the wins, the fans, and each other, and it shows.

[Tweet “We celebrate what we appreciate.”]

Let’s learn to celebrate again in our churches!  Let’s rediscover the power of parties! The prodigal son’s father could have scolded his son’s failure, but instead he celebrated his return! Start celebrating people and the change that God’s grace is bringing to their lives and you’ll rediscover the joy that is so often lost on the long journey of ministry.

There will always be critics

Know this: no matter how good it is, someone will always look for the bad. Not everyone loves a party, and so there will always be critics.  The Panthers have had their fair share of them this season.  From a mother thinking Cam Newton’s dancing was worse than half-naked women to other players and even referees, there have been plenty of people who have criticized the celebrations.  Add to that all of the “they’re the worst 5-0, 6-0, 7-0, 10-0, etc. team” posts that happen every week, and the criticism can seem unending!

[Tweet “Success is celebrated by some and hated by others, and we need to stop being offended by that.”]

Church leaders and church members alike need to get this: success is celebrated by some and hated by others, and we need to stop being offended by that. If we don’t, we’ll find ourselves preaching mad, leading with a chip on our shoulder, and creating a culture that is nothing like the church Jesus loves. Never let what a critic says about you be louder than what God says to you.

Instead, just do what the Panthers do…

Keep Pounding

No two words sum up the Carolina Panthers team and culture more, and they came from a speech delivered by one of the greatest players in Panthers history on the night before one of the greatest games in Panthers history.

Sam Mills – middle linebacker-turned-coach – stood in front of the team and delivered these words:

“When I found out I had cancer, there were two things I could do — quit or keep pounding. I’m a fighter. I kept pounding. You’re fighters, too. Keep pounding!”

Keep pounding is about endurance, yes, but it’s about something a lot bigger than that: it’s about perspective, and when you’ve got the right perspective, it’s easier to move in the right direction.

The Panthers get it. Hopefully, the church will, too.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)