Win or lose, the San Antonio Spurs’ organizational culture can absorb what happens on the scoreboard like few teams in any professional sports league anywhere in the world.

The reason (and one that goes beyond their ability to consistently attract quality basketball players): Their coach has a worldview and coaching philosophy that expands far beyond the borders of the game he coaches.

In an essay written before the 2016-17 season began, Ben Cohen noted that Gregg Popovich demands more from his players than just court execution. He also expects them to be engaged in both current and historical events, quizzing them regarding headline issues in politics, sociology, and religion.

"It’s in large part because of Popovich’s intellectual curiosity that this basketball team in the middle of Texas is usually acknowledged as the most progressive organization in the most socially conscious American sports league. For years, being an informed citizen has been a prerequisite of playing for the Spurs. But it has become imperative this season...at a time of extraordinary racial and political tension across the country."

How They Get There

During last year’s training camp, John Carlos, the Olympian who raised his gloved fist on the 1968 medal stand, visited and conversed with the team. During the season, they attended and discussed the hugely popular Broadway historical drama Hamilton, and held a private screening of Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” before interacting with the director himself. This year they read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me and previewed “The Birth of a Nation,” a film about Nat Turner’s slave rebellion.

Mandatory. Built into the DNA of what it means to be a participant and player on Popovich’s team. Unapologetic expectations to engage your mind as well as your body. The players, regardless of their intellectual appetites or college GPA, are expected to engage in the issues of the day with one another as part of their team culture—so they do.

Popovich’s perspective is admirable and worthy of reproducing.

However, thinking specifically of Christian players, coaches, and parents, I’m reminded of others in the Bible who preceded Popovich’s modeling by centuries. Where his reasons are probably—and admirably—Humanistic at their core, we can easily find more substantial theological rationale for embracing the approach he models through his basketball vocation.

Some Biblical Examples of Knowing Your Cultural Location

Remember Daniel and his Hebrew friends living in Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon?

They were taught the language and writings of the Chaldean people that they lived among, and God gave them “learning and skill in all literature and wisdom,” such that “in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom” (Daniel 1:17-20).

As young men, they were immersed in the thought patterns of their cultural context and were able to bring God’s wisdom to bear on their cultural moment. God expanded their influence in the power-center of that day as a result.

As a people clan in David’s kingdom, the men of Issachar were engaged in their cultural moment. They were noted for understanding the times and knowing what Israel should do (I Chron.12:32). The text is silent on how they became men like this, but certainly implies that they engaged their moment with their mind, thinking about what was happening and bringing God’s wisdom to bear on their exile society.

Paul, while in the intellectual center of the Roman Empire, referenced the Athenians’ poetry and idols and religious thought. He paid attention to the cultures he visited, again shining God’s wisdom into their moment of darkness by being attentive and aware (Acts 17:22-34).

A Christian Imperative for Players, Coaches, Parents?

A few years ago while coaching my son’s 13-year-old baseball team, I handed out a one page—as in one side of one page—article on leadership for the boys to read between tournament games. A mom said to me, “What’s that?”, and when I answered, she said, “Oh, Timmy won’t read that.” When I asked why not, she replied, “He’s a teenager. He just won’t do that,” said in an unmistakable tone that implied not only that I was naive, but also that I’d be getting no parental help in getting Timmy to read.

Athlete, be the anti-Timmy! You don’t have to be an intellectual nerd to take seriously being moderately educated about the issues that make up the moment you live in. Those issues are influencing your life—or will—significantly more than you probably realize right now, and using your formative years to acquire some basic understanding about the big categories of our time will make you less vulnerable along the way. Don’t wait for your parents or teachers to force you—just do it.

Understand our American history regarding race. Get some knowledge on why gender is such a hugely contended aspect of life. Know the basics of what Republicans and Democrats represent in their philosophies of social life and how we organize ourselves. Understand why different regions of the country see these issues differently. Pay attention to the underlying worldview and messages being taught through pop culture. You’ll feel much more confident about what’s being talked about with just some basic understanding of these major issues.

Parents, is it possible we’ve set the bar too low for our teenage kids? Yes, we happen to live in a moment where we’ve collectively chosen to allow video games and iPhone apps to form the borders of our kids’ intellectual lives, but just because the culture trends in that direction doesn’t mean we can’t get off the road on occasion. Don’t be afraid to intentionally expose your athletic kids to YouTube videos or Facebook articles or Instagram images that will provoke them to think differently about sports, about leadership, about cultural issues.

Use technology to challenge their thinking, interrupting the steady stream of foolishness being produced with some occasional substance. They can and will read a one page article—if you make them and discuss it with them. Of course they’ll resist. Be the parent and help them grow!

Coaches, see Gregg Popovich.

"If I just did basketball, I’d be bored to death. How much satisfaction can you get out of doing jump shots and teaching someone to deny in the passing lanes? OK, that’s cool, that’s my job, that’s how I earn my living, and I have a good living and I enjoy it. But I’m not a lifer. It doesn’t define me. If I win a game, I’m fine. If I lose a game, it hurts, but I’m fine real quick. It’s not that important."

As a coach, you’re an educator, a teacher. Let your teaching go beyond the X’s and O’s of your sport. Take the risk of exposing your players to LIFE outside the game. It will make your team tighter, and your coaching more memorable and substantial.

Why Not Try?

Popovich summarized his approach by saying, “I think it’s sad if a person’s whole self-image and self-worth is based in their job. Whether you’re a basketball player, a plumber, a doctor, a mailman or whatever you might be, why not try your best to live a more interesting life that includes other people, other cultures and different worlds?”

Indeed. As Christian parents, players, and coaches tasked with the Great Commission and a need to engage other humans well, why do we need a professional basketball coach to be the one encouraging us to operate with this worldview?

It’s already built into the faith-history we profess, and certainly offers a more fulfilling and holistic approach to sports than simply trying to win games on the scoreboard year after year.