Tradition
These are my notes from our awesome MCRemix Graduation last night.
We carry on the tradition of making disciples. We are here tonight to celebrate that process. There are 28 disciples of Jesus Christ that dropped their nets, walked away from everything else, made huge sacrifices, all to follow Him. But they didn’t make it here alone. We have the staff, parents, home-openers, and many others who have played a significant part in this process of becoming a disciple.
2 Timothy 1:1-5 [MSG]
I, Paul, am on special assignment for Christ, carrying out God’s plan laid out in the Message of Life by Jesus. I write this to you, Timothy, the son I love so much. All the best from our God and Christ be yours! Every time I say your name in prayer - which is practically all the time - I thank God for you, the God I worship with my whole life in the tradition of my ancestors. I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion. That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith - and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you!
THE GOD I WORSHIP WITH MY WHOLE LIFE IN THE TRADITION OF MY ANCESTORS.
Tradition. We live in a world where tradition is getting lost. Now let’s just be honest, there are some traditions, that just need to go… but tradition is important.
The NBA Finals just finished between the LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics. What you need to understand is that this rivalry is between 2 of the most storied basketball franchises in the NBA. They have met a total of 11 times in the NBA finals since 1959. The Lakers have only won in 2 of those 11 meetings. Many people don’t realize that prior to the 80’s the NBA was having some serious financial issues with low attendance and TV ratings. It was this rivalry that fueled by greats like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson that contributed mightily to the success of the league. Can anyone tell me what else helped making basketball one of the dominant sports in the US?? Michael Jordan. Did you know that I’m originally from the Chicago area, have I told you that?? Just checking…
These are franchises with a ton of tradition. I think about Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen… and I’m reminded of the days of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and of course Bob Cousy and who could forget the legendary Bill Russell.
If any of you saw the NBA finals you saw a scene that may not have meant that much to you at the time, but you saw an emotional Kevin Garnett hugging Bill Russell saying thank you. He whispered in his ear, “I got mine.”
I got mine.
What you don’t know about Kevin Garnett is that he wasn’t always a world class athlete. In fact his past is riddled with failures and short comings. Many believed his entrance into the NBA was a disaster waiting to happen. He was too immature! The only reason he made himself eligible for the draft in the first place was because his grades weren’t good enough to make it into college. He failed 4 times to gain a score on his ACT Entrance Exam that would allow him to play college ball. Yet he shocked everyone when this passionate, young player was not too immature, but instead he has established himself as one of the classy young players in the league.
The cool thing about this program is it is a safe place to fail. If the church ain’t a safe place to fail where is?? Now as pastor says, “We’re not as bad as some people think we are.” But we’re not perfect. This class will be the first to tell you that they are not perfect, but they’re trying. They are worshipping God with their whole life as in the tradition of their ancestors. MCRemix you carry on the tradition of those that have gone before you, and what a grand tradition it is.
Pastor and Harvest Time: I want to say how grateful we are that you believe in this generation. Thank you for taking a chance on all of us and seeing past our imperfections. Thank you for seeing past our flaws, past our mistakes (and there have been many) to what we could become. Champions. Hopefully one day, many of these students will be able to come back and whisper in your ear, I got mine. (At this point I gave Pastor an authentic Bill Russell jersey and said, “Thanks for telling us we could win.”—It was really cool.)
As I close, there is another famous basketball tradition. It started in 1947 with NC State after they won the National Championship where they proceeded to cut down the nets from the basketball hoops as a souvenir, a reminder of their victory. It is a tradition that has continued in every single NCAA National Championship since. Yesterday I had the privilege to spend some time with our wonderful home-openers and parents and I talked to them about John Wooden. A remarkable man and coach, I won’t get into everything I talked about yesterday, if you want to be privileged enough to be a part of that experience, be a home-opener next year… Was that ok to say?
But he had led UCLA to a remarkable 88 game win streak. January of 1974 they faced Notre Dame who the last time they played them UCLA won by 58 points. Notre Dame was the definite underdog facing the legendary UCLA Bruins and 88 straight wins. But Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps decided that his team was going to beat the National Champs. The game was on a Saturday. At the end of Monday’s practice, he told his players to cut down the nets from each basket. The players we a little puzzled and reluctantly cut down the nets. After Tuesday’s practice, he again told the players to cut down the nets, and every day after that. By Friday they were cutting the nets down with confidence and enthusiasm. And on Saturday, with 27 seconds left in the game Dwight Clay sunk a jump shot to beat UCLA 71-70. Notre Dame was able to cut down the nets for real, after beating UCLA in the game Notre Dame was certain to lose.
MCRemix you cut down your nets in practice long before you win a Championship. Church you want victories in the kingdom of God they come not from the pulpit but from the consistent quiet times with the Lord.
So what we did to remind you of the tradition of your ancestors of worshipping God with your whole life, is we got you some basketball nets. Some people may say you’ll never make it, that you’re an underdog. But we as a church stand behind you and say…
Go and cut down your nets!!!!
