Mobile Ministry Magazine (MMM)

I’m a sports fan, however, I don’t pay as much attention to hockey. I’ve got this adversion to being cold. But, there’s this neat statistic that I’ve been hearning more of in basketball circles (much warmer there) that makes a lot of sense in refering to someone’s contribution to getting the ball in the hoop and assessing their effect on team chemistry. Its called the hockey assist.

The hoceky assist can be simplified in saying that its the pass that leads to the pass which leads to the score. In the same effect, on defense, its the block, diversion, or screen that isn’t the primary reason the offense was stopped, but it allowed another defender to make the play on the ball.

Last night, a brother mentioned that he was blessed by my mentoring him. Let me be really clear, I don’t have more than a passing friendship with him, and we’ve rarely done those longer convsersations and relationship building that would characterize mentoring/discipliship. However, he felt it very clear to mention that some things that I’ve said, not directly to him, provided timely Godly guidance towards his life. He spoke a brief mention, but said he was grateful. Me, I cried on the spot (its been a heavy week), because it was mentorship by hockey assist, not by (too much) direct interaction.

Unfortuntely, I think that many in the Body see that if they are not directly administering the fruits of the Spirit to another, that they are not having much of an effect on the concept of “spreading the Gospel,” or discipling/mentoring. They miss the point that not all of our actions are ment to be direct cause and effect – there is some facilitation, or positioning that we must do so that others are positioned to feed the sheep.

And then there are others who get the ball in position to make a play, but never move because they want that direct effect. They marginalize their own effectiveness, and the efficiency of the Gospel simply because they want to be lauded for creating the score.

In both cases, whether with the rock (slang for “ball”), or setting the screen, we have to take a similar position to every apostle – we are positioned to plant, water, and give room for the Spirit to score (1 Cor. 3:1-15). If we don’t do our part, whatever that is, then we prohibit the Body from growing.

And no more is this true than in this digital domain. There are those people skilled to create content, others who are skilled at training or strategy, still others who are skilled in relating to logical or abstract content in various contexts, if in using these digital toos we do not push the ball forward, then we don’t score. And if we do, then we see what amounts to a victory (in Jesu’ name).

One of my favorite teams to watch in the NBA is the Lakers. I don’t care for the stars, I care about the offense. They run what is called the Triangle Offense. Its basically a set of actions based on getting the highest percentage shot by reading and reacting to the environment that the defense wishes to dictate. In its purest form, the triangle is designed so that even a team who is physically less talented, can exercise mental and stragetic advantages and overcome a “better” team. And this idea of a hockey assist is key to it working. Every passer has to understand that each pass, each screen is designed to be the pass that makes the next pass easier. In such a set, if all players are paying attention, the game looks easy.

Consider then mobile technology and how it can be used and what the goal is. Mobile enables us to read and react more personally to changing conditions of communication by providing varrying ways to connect. There are applications, websites, voice, and text components. And you don’t have to know how to use any of these extrodinarly well, just enough so that you know how to pass the Spirit.

For ministries and organizations wishing to use mobile as a part of the communication, evangeltical, missional, or educational strategies, consider how your adeptness in mobile is made that much better when you take advantage of the strengths of those others who are on your team. Yes, you have the connections, but maybe not the developers. Or, you have the teaching, but not the publishing stage. Consider that what you have been given is simply meant to enable another to take the ball and score.

What does the game look like when we do our part by making that extra pass? Ask Kobe Bryant, he’s gotten a 5th championship because he embraced his skills within the context of the greater goal. And in many cases, this meant a lot of hockey assists for him. I encourage you to leverage your strengths for the betterment of the Body, so that when the game is over, we all will share in His benefit.