Megachurches and Victor the Wrestling Bear: Lessons from the ABA

Oooo...pretty.

by Ben Howard

They used a red, white and blue ball. It was weird, and it was popular. This decision did not come about because of market testing, or intense analysis, or even any type of vigorous conversation. No, the guy in charge of the league had bad eyesight and couldn’t see the typical brown ball as it bounced around the poorly lit fieldhouses and gymnasiums that served as the home of basketball in the 1960s.

Also, America.

Those are the reasons that the American Basketball Association, better known as the ABA, used a red, white, and blue basketball. It’s the same ball that you’ll see if you ever watch the three point contest at the NBA All-Star Game. It’s called the money ball.

Unless you’re a diehard fan of basketball history, or have been an avid basketball fan since somewhere around 1970, you probably don’t know much about the ABA. So let’s start there.

The ABA was founded in 1967 as a competitor to the NBA. Even to say that it was “founded” is assigning the act much more planning and forethought than was actually the case. Better to say that the ABA “began to exist” in 1967. Their players were essentially NBA rejects, their games poorly attended, and their finances were…interesting.

Despite these limitations the ABA eventually found enough success to force a lucrative merger with the much larger and far more stable NBA. So why did the ABA exist for 10 years (arguably 9 ½ years longer than it should have)?

The red, white, and blue ball. Or, to be more specific, what the red, white, and blue ball symbolized: a willingness to be innovative.

In addition to the colorful basketball, the ABA also introduced the three point line, the slam dunk contest, and turned halftime entertainment into an art form (here's the story of Victor the Wrestling Bear).

We need more afros.

The ABA made itself the league of flash and flair. It made superstars out of creative, high-flying athletes like Julius Erving and David Thompson.

There are a lot of similarities between the ABA and the megachurch model of evangelical Christianity. Both have found popular success through a willingness to innovate, a willingness to modernize, and a willingness to try absolutely anything in a perennial quest for attention (one ABA team famously hosted halter top night in 1975).

If you've read my blog, it’s no surprise that I think the megachurch model of Christianity is ultimately flawed, much like the ABA. The movement has no historical roots, and combined with the quest for popularity, which very quickly turns into a shallow desire for aesthetic satisfaction, the model simply seems unhealthy and unsustainable.

However, the flaws don’t diminish the lessons that other traditions can learn from the megachurch model. This model of evangelical Christianity has re-imagined the aesthetic sensibility of the church with its use of artistry and media.

Traditionally, the church has been known as a great patron of the arts, however, in recent times that idea of the church as a locus of aesthetic sensibilities has been on the decline. Even when the church does value art now, it values high art, not the kind that is able to be enjoyed and discerned by the masses.


Megachurches have done fantastic work utilizing media, graphic design and modern music to re-engage the aesthetic sensibilities of the masses. Granted, the content of this art is sometimes vapid and shallow, but that does not diminish the form.

Additionally, megachurches have done an excellent job of energizing their congregations. Unfortunately, much of the time that energy is directed into growing the churches popularity and/or coffers, but the act of energizing a community to some mutual purpose is a noble act.

Awesome. Just awesome.

These are the things mainline churches can learn from the megachurch model in the same way that the NBA had lessons to learn from the ABA.

The ABA never had the ability to conquer the NBA. The NBA had history, financial stability, and a fan-base, but it did force the NBA to try something new. The NBA adopted the three point line, the slam dunk contest, and started doing more to entertain their fans. The NBA didn’t replace substance, but it added style because sometimes it’s necessary to have a bit of flash.

The ABA didn't make the NBA, but it made the NBA try. Sometimes all you need is someone to push you, to annoy you, to force you to think about things you forgot long ago.

Peace,
Ben

You can follow On Pop Theology on Twitter @OnPopTheology or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OnPopTheology.

Contact us at onpoptheology [at] gmail.com.

Desperation is a Stinky Cologne

by Mark Smith

Microsoft really, really wants me to try Internet Explorer. They’ve been pushing it on me for a while now. They made this really nice commercial and they’ve been putting it all over the parts of the internet I frequent. This is the one I mean:

Doesn’t that look great? All that shinyness and lens flare pulls you right in, there’s a catchy song, and it’s full of bright colors and animations. It takes you all across the board--Facebook, Hulu, even Deviantart. Iron Man was there! He’s so cool. And if all the sensationalism doesn’t pull you in, they’ve got all these quotes from respectable sources talking about how awesome Internet Explorer is. The New York Times? It doesn’t get classier than that.

It’s too bad Internet Explorer is garbage. It’s the cesspit of browsers. The laughingstock of the world wide web. Firefox is much better. Chrome is much, much better. Opera is probably better, but only weirdos and Europeans use Opera. Still, it’s not Internet Explorer.

Have I tried IE9? I mean, really given it a fair shot? Of course not; it’s Internet Explorer. I already know that it’s terrible. I know that in the same way that I know that water is wet and that you should never tell a woman she has gained weight. These are inherent truths that I have such a firm belief in that I have absolutely no need to go back and re-investigate them. I know this so well that I’ve never opened Explorer...or did I? When did version 9 come out? How long have I had this computer? Anyway, I had to open it to download a different browser, but that hardly counts.

I think that many of my atheist and agnostic friends view the church in the same way that I view Internet Explorer. Most of them went to churches when they were younger--some of them tried several different faiths as they grew up. But in the end, they found the experience so profoundly negative that most wouldn’t come back to a church if they were paid to.

It probably isn’t hard for most of us to understand that. Those of us who grew up in the church have had our share of negative experiences--some minor, some life-shatteringly huge. The church body is not flawless, and we certainly recognize its flaws.

You see, not only have I had bad church experiences, but I’ve been bad church experiences. I grew up in a deeply evangelical church. “All you have to do is get them in the door,” they told me, “and we’ll convert them.” I spent my teenage years either fruitlessly inviting my friends to church or feeling guilty that I wasn’t doing it more often. If someone did come, they didn’t stay, and I couldn’t understand this. I was doing my part, why wasn’t God?

I was Internet Explorering them. I realize now what a waste of time and effort that was.
There is a part of me that remains evangelical. And Jesus did say to go forth and make disciples, right? Even so, I find it hard to imagine that his intention was for me to coerce my friends into being miserable on Sunday mornings. I would love for all my friends to have the peace of mind, sense of community, and support that comes from a strong church family. I don’t think I will get them that by “just telling them about Jesus” as I was told to in my youth. They know about Jesus, and me telling them that church and Jesus are better than they remember won’t change their minds.

So now I’m in a place where I focus on my own walk, not others. I do my best to love my neighbor and help my fellow man. I think I’m doing okay, but I have a long way to go. And I’m doing my best to respect the views and beliefs of everyone I meet because that seems to be a big part of loving them. Is that enough? I sure hope so.

As always, feel free to leave comments. You can subscribe to our RSS Feed or via email on the right side of the homepage and if you are interested in writing for On Pop Theology, feel free to contact me at benjamin.howard87 [at] gmail.com or on Twitter @BenHoward87.

On Selling Beer and Jesus

by Josh Kiel

This Thursday the college football season will be upon us. Upon its commencement, I will rejoice and be glad because I am a college football junkie. I can't get enough of it and hence my television viewing is going to increase exponentially. As with any televised sporting event this means my mind is going to be bombarded with a slew of commercials telling me exactly which beer will make my life the most amazing. This is convenient because I love beer, so Here We Go.

There will naturally be an onslaught of the "Lite" varieties of cheap tasteless crappy beers which claim that I am committing an atrocity against everything sacred if I do not drink their beers while grilling on a Saturday. Others will suggest that wherever their beer goes a party with beautiful people a plenty will follow. Some will even suggest that my choosing another beer as opposed to their brand will require me to relinquish my "man card" because drinking Domestic Swill Lite B over Domestic Swill Lite A is supposedly unmanly. 

A step above those beers, though not by much, are the imports that suggest that their beers are more sophisticated and will enable me to be a jack-of-all trades leading a woman on a crazy high pace date whilst destroying property, and that no one will care because of how cool they know I am by the green bottle in my hand {Heineken}. Or I can be a touch more like the Most Interesting(/Pretentious) Man in the World. Or, with the twist of a bottle cap, I can convince myself that my hectic loud surroundings throughout the rest of the week can be transformed into a serene beach with waves lapping upon the sand and a hot woman in a bikini lounging next to me. 

If the concept was not so ridiculous people could express outrage that they should notify the consumer "Actual results may vary". They don't need to though because they know that we know that those results won't actually happen. We are merely being reminded of the variety of different beers available for our choosing and are whimsically being prodded to buy one brand over the other. 

Since we don't actually expect those results there's little harm in the ridiculousness of the commercials. Our goal when drinking a beer is to relax and enjoy the flavor of the beer (if possible with the brands alluded to above) so we don't expect it to solve our life's problems, it's not like their marketing Christianity or something.

Is how we market Christianity all that different though? Are there any of us who have not heard it at least alluded to that Christianity is a simple and straightforward solution to all of life's problems. Follow Jesus and he will lead you to the promised land of a wife, 2.6 kids, a dog, and a house in the suburbs. Follow Jesus and we have a four word mantra to walk you through all possible decisions you may ever face. Follow Jesus and all of your troubles will disappear because the God of the universe will then be on your side and what could possibly go wrong after that. 

If only it were so simple.

What Would Jesus Do? It's simple and it conveys a point just like Here We Go, Stay Thirsty, or Life's a Beach, but it's a coverall and would rarely satisfy us in the ways we would like to be. WWJD is a difficult proposal if you find out that someone is embezzling money to pay for their children's cancer treatment. The fact that Jesus would just miracle that kid back to full health doesn't help me in making a moral judgment in how to evaluate such a situation. 

In reality, the call would be that I should assist that person in caring for their child and paying for his treatment. This could be poorly received because that would set back my savings for the house in the suburbs that I'll get with my Christian wife and 2.6 kids which, as I was raised to understand, is the standard Christian life path. 

The disconnect here is more profound and more disappointing than the resentment I may feel when after drinking a few beers I am still not the most interesting man in the world and a party or beach has not overtaken my present surroundings. The fact is that if I view Christianity as a path to something I will be left unfulfilled.

In keeping with my beer laden analogy perhaps we should view Christianity as a craft beer. The beers which have no advertising because their quality is inherent when consumed and experienced. Those that have no presuppositions that they may lead you to additional enjoyments because they are sufficiently enjoyable in and of themselves. 

I guess my primary point of all this is whether we view Christianity as a means to an end or the end itself. Whether at the end of the day our identities as Christians fulfill us regardless of where it may lead us or what it may cost us because our fulfillment is in that identity and not in the supplemental benefits that our culture has come to associate with it.