By Justin Polythress, TGC.
Learning about athletes’ early years is always fascinating. How did they get where they are? What set them apart? If I’d taken a different path, could I have become an Olympic shot-putter? Doubtful. Virtually all superstar athletes have two things going for them that most of us don’t—freakish innate athleticism and mentors who guided them into the right opportunities.
Think about it. Nobody told a kid Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, or Serena Williams, “Go out there and play your own way! Come up with whatever training routine you like. Create your own game you can win.” No, they got plugged into sports (and sports communities) with histories, rules, and icons. They found coaches and trainers to help them learn the specific skills necessary for their sports and positions. Even star athletes need such communities to refine them into their full potential.
While you may never be in the Olympics, your spiritual life can be guided by a coaching community. You need a church to help you become all God has made you to be.
Identity Formed by Community
Our culture says, “You should create your own identity with minimal, if any, outside influence.” Not only is that a recipe for disaster, but it’s not possible. Your identity is your sense of self that connects who you are as a product of your past with who you wish to be in the future, and as Carl Trueman argues, identity is always formed in dialogue with community. You lose your ability to understand yourself without other people who respond to the self you present.