If it is July, it is the Championships at Wimbledon, England. If you are a tennis fan and player like me, you were glued during the past two weeks to the television coverage of one of the four major tennis tournaments of the year. And if you have been watching the Wimbledon matches, you perhaps saw ESPN’s Chris McKendry interview the great, eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. As a recently retired professional tennis player, McKendry spoke with “Dr.” Roger Federer, the graduation speaker, and was awarded an honorary doctorate during the June 9, 2024, graduation ceremonies at Dartmouth College.
Federer – who has won 20 Grand Slam titles over his 24-year career, claimed 103 singles titles overall, won 1,251 singles matches, and was the world number one tennis player for 310 weeks – shared four life lessons with the Dartmouth Class of 2024 that leaders of any organization, and undoubtedly congregational leaders, would be wise to follow.
- “Effortless” … is a myth.
Federer told the Dartmouth graduation attendees: “People would say my play was effortless. The truth is, I had to work very hard… to make it look easy. Then there are days when you just feel broken. Your back hurts… your knee hurts… Maybe you’re a little sick… or scared…But you still find a way to win…Most of the time, it’s not about having a gift. It’s about having grit.”
Being an adaptive leader requires patience and grit. Building healthy relationships involves investing in people’s lives over time. Learning the connective systems of the families and individuals of a church entails a discerning eye and ear. Maneuvering the church bullies in moments of conflict demands high emotional intelligence. Navigating those seeking to sabotage a new congregational vision necessitates a missional mindset built on the foundation of personal spiritual formation. Laying the groundwork for transformative change in congregational life takes hard work and time. It may look effortless to the average church member, but congregational leadership involves a significant measure of grit and effort.
2. It’s only a point.
Federer also told the graduates: “In the 1,526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches… Now, I have a question for all of you… what percentage of the points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half the points they play…When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you… This mindset is crucial because it frees you to commit to the next point fully… and the next… with intensity, clarity, and focus. The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’ll lose. A point, a match, a season, a job… it’s a roller coaster with many ups and downs…The best in the world are not the best because they win every point… It’s because they know they’ll lose… again and again… and have learned how to deal with it.”
Not everything goes according to plan in congregational ministry. The sermon falls flat. The interaction with the church member or staff minister leaves much to be desired. The future you see for your church as a pastor is not what other church leaders see currently. Sometimes we do “lose the point” in ways we lead or interact with others. But we must return with a new intensity, clarity, and focus, along with God’s grace and the forgiveness we receive from others and ourselves, to lead with humility and a servant’s heart.
It’s only one sermon. It’s only one staff or committee meeting. It’s only one interaction gone awry. It’s only a point.
3. Life is bigger than the court.
Federer also observed: “A tennis court is a small space. 2,106 square feet, to be exact. That’s for singles matches. I worked a lot, learned a lot, and ran many miles in that small space… But the world is a whole lot bigger than that… Even when I was starting out, I knew that tennis could show me the world… but tennis could never be the world…Because life is much bigger than the court.” Federer told the Dartmouth graduates that, motivated by his South African mother, he started a foundation to empower children through education. His global impact goes well beyond the reach of a grass, clay, or hard tennis court.
Ministry is bigger than your church…and even you. We’re called to be kingdom thinkers, and to deepen that way of thinking in our congregations. It is easy and comfortable for pastors to see God’s work happening solely within the confines of the church walls and property. Yet, kingdom work happens when the parent coaches a child’s Little League or soccer team. Kingdom work occurs when we get our hands dirty and our hearts wounded in that community ministry that changes lives for the better. Kingdom work materializes when our career becomes the conduit to loving people with the heart and attitude of Christ. Pastors need to do a better job of validating the ministries our people lead that lie outside the scope of the congregational system.
4. It’s OK Not to Know.
Roger Federer’s fourth lesson to congregational leaders occurs in the opening section of his graduation speech: “So I never went to college… but I did graduate recently. I graduated from tennis…Like you, I’ve finished one big thing, and I’m moving on to the next. Like you, I’m figuring out what that is..I know what it’s like when people ask what your plan is for the rest of your life. They ask me: ‘Now that you are not a professional tennis player, what do you do?’ I don’t know… and it’s OK not to know.”
Sometimes, congregational leaders do not know what to do next. There is a sense of feeling paralyzed and stuck. We don’t know how to move from where we are to where we want or need to be. And it’s OK not to know. It’s equally the moment when it is wise and useful to invite a thought partner to join us in discerning our next steps. The Center for Healthy Churches has a team of coaches and consultants who would welcome partnering with you on what God has in store for you and your congregation when those moments of “not knowing” come your way.
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