From the Preacherman....
 John
Wooden died last week at 99 years of age. His passing
garnered headlines around the country. The stories chronicling his
life achievements got the major facts correct: 10 NCAA basketball
championships in 12 seasons (1964-75) as head coach at UCLA; a member of
the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach; winner of 885
games in his career. He is often called the greatest coach who
ever lived. It is nearly a certainty that his record of
consecutive national championships will never be exceeded in a major
sport at the collegiate level. These items can be read in almost
any obituary of Coach Wooden.
What most articles failed to mention, however, is
Coach Wooden's life-long membership in the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). The fact of his faith warranted not even a
whisper in major newspapers, both in print and online. His impact
on hundreds of players, his insistence on teaching rather than winning,
his iron-clad insistence on teamwork and his deep moral convictions are
all trumpeted in stories of his life, but the connection to his faith,
learned and practiced in the weekly act of the Lord's Supper, is rarely
made.
I should be. Seldom does a human being make a
lasting positive impact on this world without a sense of being connected
to, and working for, something greater than our individual self.
John Wooden coached his team and players with an eye on their whole
lives, not merely the next play on the court. His bedrock belief
in the importance of teamwork and fundamentals sound quaint in our
hyper-individualized world, but his record mocks any and all who would
try to match it with some other method. I am convinced that such
things are learned over time in the practice of one's faith; perhaps
specifically in a tradition such as ours, that emphasizes the importance
of each person to the good of the entire Body of Christ. Everyone
matters or no one matters.
On the first day of practice, before each season Coach
Wooden did the same thing: he sat his players down in the locker room
and showed them the proper way to put on their socks and lace their
sneakers, so as to reduce the chance of injury or blisters. The
players usually rolled their eyes; they were grown men, champions.
What's this elementary school stuff? But they learned to do the
little things well, and they won championships because of it. Why?
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed....Jesus said that.
Coach Wooden knew it. By heart.
Peace....Chris
ed. note:
Chris Michael is Senior
Minister of Valdosta First Christian
Church, Valdosta Georgia. |
