In sports news last week was the recurring theme of the GS Warriors’ “assist streak.” In their last game against the LA Lakers, they “have hit the 30-assist mark for the 10th straight time, which is the second-longest such streak in NBA history.” And this assist streak somehow corresponds to their 10-game winning streak. In other words, the selfless willingness to pass the ball to the “open player” (instead of insisting on oneself making the shot) seems to be a significant factor in the team’s last ten wins.
Reading about this assist streak got me to thinking about how this may offer a parallel truth in Christian ministry. The assist or extra pass helps another player succeed. That is, it helps the other player get an “open look” and be able to make a good shot. Similarly, Christian ministry is not about a superstar doing all the ministry tasks and getting all the credit for ministry successes. It’s about the body working together to accomplish the same goal, the mission entrusted to the church as a whole by the Lord of the church. Ministry tasks are passed to the one who may do the job well at any given situation, and he or she is given the opportunity to succeed in it. There is a certain selflessness involved, all for the common good and for the glory of the Lord.
Scripture urges believers: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10.24 NIV). Also, we are to “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5.11 NIV). Each believer’s concern is not just one’s own spiritual growth and maturity, or one’s own ministry, but that of fellow believers as well.
There is the other side to the play that we should not ignore. That is, the extra pass to the open player becomes meaningful only when the one who receives the pass actually takes the shot (and scores). In the same way, the ones to whom a task or ministry is given are responsible to do what is entrusted to them, and to do it as best they can.
Jordan Clarkson of the LA Lakers, commenting on their loss said: “We [were] shooting it when we should be passing it, and passing it when we should be shooting it.” It is important to learn when to pass and when to shoot, to learn to do one’s task with the whole team in mind and the ultimate goal of winning the game. Similarly, when the church works together for the common good to fulfill the mission the Lord entrusts to her, she grows “in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4.15–16 NLT).
—Keith Y. Jainga