Sunday night the San Antonio Spurs won the National Basketball Association Championship by beating Lebron James and the two time champion Miami Heat four games to one.

The Spurs are being widely credited with playing some of the best basketball ever. They won four of the five games played by more than 15 points each game. The Heat won only one game by two points.

It was a very one-sided series. The win means that the San Antonio franchise has won five championships, all since Tim Duncan came to the Spurs. They have won those five championships in the last 15 years.

How did they do it? Tim Duncan gave a telling response to the question of how they were able to win those five championships.

Duncan credited Coach Gregg Popovich (widely recognized as the best coach in the game today and one of the best all time) with three contributions which led the Spurs.

First, Duncan noted that Popovich had a “fire” and determination that would not let the Spurs quit or settle for less than their very best.

Second, the Spurs played together. They were the epitome of a team. Each player had a role and carried out their responsibilities.

Third, Duncan said that Popovich reinvented the team by changing as the game of basketball changed. Duncan meant that the team that won in 1999 could not have won in 2014. The game of basketball had changed and the Spurs had to change with it.

All of these recognitions by Duncan, Popovich, and the Spurs organization has huge implications for the church.

The church needs a fire and determination to make a difference and to communicate the message of Christ with the world. How can we settle for good enough when the world needs and Christ demands our best? Why should we let basketball teams demand excellence and the church accept mediocrity?

We must be a people who give our very best to God.

God’s church was created to be a team. We each have been given specific gifts. Those gifts must be used for God and His kingdom. If we are a collection of Lone Rangers we will never carry out the mandate of Christ to take the Gospel to all the world.

The church needs to recognize the world has changed and that we must adapt to that change–not by changing the message but by changing our attitudes and our methods. The world of 2014 is different than 1999 and certainly 1969. We cannot be perceived as outdated and out of touch.

My guess is that the Spurs didn’t really want to be reinvented. No one really likes change.

What the Spurs had to ask is whether they liked the status quo more than winning.

The church has to ask the same.

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