Building the Right Culture

Another season of college basketball officially starts this Sunday, and as we look across the country, many schools have a new head coach taking over the reins:

• Former NBA head coach Michael Malone now leads North Carolina.

  
  

• Mike Boynton replaced Dusty May at Michigan (the reigning champs) after May left for the NBA.

  
  

• Justin Gainey takes over at NC State after Will Wade left for LSU.

  
  

• Gerry McNamara is now the head coach at his alma mater, Syracuse, where he won a championship as a player.

  
  

• Ronald Nored played at Butler when the program was playing in back-to-back National Championships, and now he returns to his alma mater as head coach.

When coaches switch teams, take over as the head coach, and step into new situations, they set out to establish their culture. Sometimes that means reviving a school's previous winning culture or building a new one.

Ultimately, each coach wants to build a thriving culture around their core values, basketball philosophy, and the pillars they emphasize.

Schools hire coaches based on alignment with what they're known for, what they stand for, their style of play, and the identity of their previous teams.

Some coaches build a culture for star players preparing to leave early for the NBA. Other coaches build a culture around defense and teamwork or emphasize speed and scoring. Many coaches want to recruit players who value staying in college and winning an NCAA Championship.

Once coaches build their rosters, they must teach players what they value most, what they want to focus on in practice, and what the team must represent to win. Sometimes, these traits are excellence, commitment, trustworthiness, or selflessness.

Ultimately, players must buy into the culture the coach is trying to create and believe his way of playing and acting off the court is best.

Often, it's tricky when a new coach comes in, and players used to playing for the last coach must adapt to the new coach's different values and focus.

These coaches know what it takes to win, but players must be willing to listen and embrace the culture and character the coach is trying to establish.

It will be fun to see how these teams do this season and how far they make it in March! 

In our lives, we have opportunities to "create a culture" on any "team" we lead, in our homes, work, churches, and neighborhoods.

How are we setting the tone? What values are we living by? What do we find most important and emphasize? What are we known for? What is our identity? How do we get others to buy into a “winning culture"?

As followers of Jesus, we look to Him as our example. We want our lives to look more and more like His, so we must consider what He stands for, the "culture" He wants to establish, and what matters most in the kingdom of God.

Jesus valued love, sacrifice, humility, and serving, among other things. Usually, that goes against the "previous coach" or our former way of thinking and the influences of a losing culture.

Just as a new head coach comes in and tells his team what winners do and what it takes to win, Jesus tells His disciples what it means to be blessed and what His new “culture” looks like.

Winning (being blessed) as followers of Jesus means being spiritually prosperous, peaceful, joyful, and content, and living as He encourages us to. To be truly blessed, we must embrace different characteristics, mindsets, and attitudes.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares what is known as "The Beatitudes" in Matthew 5:3-11 (ESV):

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (verse 3).

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (verse 4).

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (verse 5).

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (verse 6).

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (verse 7).

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (verse 8).

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (verse 9).

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (verse 10).

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (verse 11).

Through Jesus’ teaching of the Beatitudes, we are led to a “winning culture.” Today, let's value what Jesus does and align our understanding of what it means to be "blessed" with His words.

Let's buy into the culture and character He's trying to create in us and through us, and believe that His way for "the team to play and act off the court" is best.

I'm Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to live a perfect life and set the best example of how to live. Please help me embrace what it truly means to live a blessed life and understand the values I must emphasize most. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.