What Soccer Fans Taught Me about the Church

I am a card carrying member of the Timbers Army. (Literally. My card arrived in the mail a couple months ago.)

For the uninitiated, the Timber’s Army is the Soccer Supporters Group (SSG) for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. As a SSG, they’re a grassroots organization that does everything from organizing road trips, creating Tifo, to cultivating an atmosphere of fan support at the games. SSG’s are really a soccer-only phenomenon and have been instrumental in aiding the recent growth in popularity of soccer in the United States. If you’ve ever been to a Seattle Sounders game, you’ve seen their SSGs-- for example the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC--in action: standing, jumping, shouting, chanting, and clapping in the south end of the stadium.

At one time on the FAQ page for the Timbers Army, they answered the question of whether you had to be a card carrying member of the Timbers Army in order to truly belong to the Timbers Army. For the Timbers Army, the answer was simple: No. If you’re a fan of the Timbers, you’re already a member of the Timbers Army. The saying goes, "If you want to be part of the Timbers Army, you already are." They’re not an exclusive club. They exist to support the Timbers, the sport of soccer, and the Portland community in general. Thus, if you support the Timbers, you’re in the Timbers Army.

I love it.

The Timbers Army has one, incredibly simple qualification: support the team. If you do that, you’re in. There’s no questions asked. There’s no quiz. There’s no initiation rite. Go out and root for the Timbers. It isn’t that hard of a concept.

It sort of reminds me of the Church.

I’m a part of First Presbyterian Church. My wife works for the INN University Ministries. For both, their purpose is simple: as people blessed by God, go be a blessing in this world. Or to put it another way, they're all about Jesus.

Easy enough. The Church has a purpose. If you love Jesus you're on the team. Now go be a blessing. It’s not about waiting to be asked or to be told to do something. It’s about people already empowered to go out and be ministers of the gospel. That's it. It's that simple. If you want to be part of the Church, you already are.

Oh yeah. One more thing:

Rose City ‘til I Die!

Oh yeah. One last thing. This is my lasting image of the Church as people who celebrate what God is doing: