Monday Memo

by Steve May

Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who turned 99 this year, was once asked his opinion of former Indiana coach Bobby Knight. Wooden would only respond, “I think Bob Knight is an outstanding teacher of the game of basketball. I don’t approve of his methods, but I’m not a judge, and I’m not judging Bob Knight. There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us, it hardly behooves me to talk about the rest of us.”

I think he understands what Henry Kaiser once said, “When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.”

Wooden has shown us what a legend looks like. He not only was a gentlemen on the court, he holds records that may never be broken. His 10 national championships, his 88 game winning streak, his phenomenal winning percentage, the players he groomed for stardom in the NBA — this is his legacy; he has no reason to add the title of “outspoken critic” to the list.

In your life and mine, in your work and mine, there are a number of potential (even “worthy”) targets of our own outspoken criticism. If we’re not careful, they can take up all of our time. If we’re not careful, we can be sidetracked into thinking our opinions are more important than our actions.

It’s what you do that ultimately makes a difference. Talk isn’t enough. Opinions aren’t enough. Criticism, no matter how on-target or well-articulated it might be, isn’t enough. You prove who you are by the way that you live.

Paul asked, “So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.” (Romans 14:10)

Let’s strive toward leaving a legacy built, not upon our estimation of others, but upon our own measurable accomplishments. Criticize less, do more. That’s what a legend looks like.

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When comedian Bob Newhart stood in front of a live audience for the first time — it was at the Tidelands Motor Inn in Houston — he performed the only three comedy routines he had: one about Abe Lincoln, one about a Driving Instructor, and one about the Navy.

The crowd loved him, so as he exited the stage, the manager grabbed him and told him to go back out for an encore. “That’s all the material I have, ” he said. It didn’t matter; the crowd was cheering and the manager wanted him to do an encore.

Newhart went back onstage and waited for the applause to die down. Then he asked them, “Which one do you want to hear again?”

He had three routines; if they wanted to hear more, it could only be more of the same. The story goes that Newhart repeated part of one sketch and got laughs all over again.

Preachers feel this way sometimes, I think — like we’ve got only a certain number of messages and we repeat ourselves too often. I feel this way especially when I’m preaching through a book that addresses the same topic chapter after chapter. I also feel it during December; how many ways are there to talk about Christmas?

In preaching, there are certain themes we turn to again and again. Sometimes it feels as though we’re saying what’s already been said by countless others countless times. This is OK, to a certain extent. C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that “people need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” Returning to the simple topics of how to pray and have a devotional, the importance of loving others and sharing your faith, accepting God’s forgiveness and forgiving others — these are things we need to be reminded of again and again.

Peter told his readers, “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2) Milk is food for beginners, but we never get past the need for milk. Neither do we get past our need for the basics of the Christian life.

While it is important for us to strive always to be fresh in our approach to presenting the gospel, we must also remember that our people (and we ourselves) need to hear those same wonderful truths again and again — they never lose their power. — SM

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