As everyone knows, in basketball the same people play offense and defense, but in football there are two different squads; one for offense and another for defense. Now let’s talk about church: are the efforts and focus of each local church more like the basketball model or the football model?
Here’s a warm-up question: can a basketball player excel at both offense and defense? Usually not. Consider this: there are many all-time offensive players in the NBA, but Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon are also among a much smaller group of MVPs who, in addition to great offense are also among the very best defensive players as well. It’s rare.
Let me define church defense this way: whatever is good for the believers is defense. Offense? Whatever is aimed at outreach. Churches have used the basketball model for discipleship and worship (defense) and for evangelism, but they mostly delegate outreach to occasional special meetings (offense). Are we really pretty good at both? Just as with the typical MVP in the NBA, I think that the typical church plays one role much better than the other, and our better role is defense. I’d say that until the 1960s, churches playing on the basketball model were extremely common, but however good they might have been at defense, they were not good on offense.
Enter Willow Creek with a focus on offense, and a generation later many large churches have switched to a clear focus on offense. They seem to leave discipleship (defense) up to home groups.
The defense model churches scorn the offense model churches as having abandoned theology and the Bible, plus they refuse to sing songs about the finished work of Jesus. Offense model churches scorn (actually ignore) the defense model churches as being irrelevant…counting toes on the beast.
Many churches should probably play defense by equipping the saints, preaching the word, and training up children and youth. Other churches should focus on mission and outreach. Defense churches focus on the Bible and theology, while offense churches focus on the context and touchpoints of the lost people they hope to attract. The differences are real, but not contradictory.
Why not both? It turns out that the larger offense model churches also have pretty good defense. Programs for children and youth and small groups for adults. Andy Stanley says that the main reason they have Sunday mornings is to get people into small groups. Two squads like football.
Let me finish by saying it another way. Let’s not use a theology-first approach to ministry to hinder the work of those who are theology-last people who have a context-first approach to ministry.
Why? Because Jesus has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:16-21).