What’s the difference between a casual football fan and a season ticket holder? One significant difference is their level of commitment, both in terms of finances and time, that being a regular attendee at the games requires. You might think of these as external, or input, factors.
However, there will also be internal, or output, differences. The season ticket holder will likely have a greater understanding of the game, of the dynamics of play, of the players on the field, of the dynamics of the stadium (where to buy the best hot chips and which toilets have the shortest queues) and of the appropriate behaviour during various moments of play.
This was all very obvious to me as a (less than) casual football fan, accompanying my son and his godfather to a Sydney FC match for the first time. As a complete novice to the stadium, the team and the game, I had very little idea of what was going on on the pitch and in the stadium.
There was one group of fans that immediately caught my attention. These were the “super fans” congregating behind the goal and creating the most energy, excitement and noise throughout the match. I am led to believe that this group is common across football teams and countries, but in Sydney, they are called The Cove1.
Members of The Cove are not casual football fans. But neither are they “merely” season ticket holders. They play an important role in the club as the unofficial custodians of Sydney FC culture. They are the fans who know the history of the club, who know the songs and chants to sing, whose core identity is caught up and expressed as a Sydney FC supporter.
I put “merely” in scare quotes above because, as you’ll hear in the podcast episode, I’m struggling with language. How do you communicate the level of commitment and identity within the cultural custodians, without disparaging those who do not have, or have not chosen to have, that level of commitment.
This is the struggle that we are currently wrestling with at Soul Revival Church. Commitment has been a key articulated value of our community—both in the years as a youth and young adult community at Gymea Anglican Church, and as a stand-alone church plant since 2012. We actively encourage people to be committed to Jesus and committed to his church. But not just “the church” universal, but to a particular local gathering of God’s people.
Here’s where our concept of The Commitments comes into play. We want to be a church which is open to non-Christians and irregulars. We want people to explore Christianity, discover who Jesus is, and investigate Christians in their natural habitat. We also want to be a church full of “season ticket holders”. The once-a-month definition of regular that is used in sociological studies is abysmal for those who say they are disciples of Jesus Christ. We want regular members to make church a priority on their weekend and choose the local gathering of God’s people over all the other events and activities that compete for our attention in busy 21st-Century suburbia.
And then there are The Commitments. Yes, they are regular in their attendance. But there’s something else, something (I say very hesitantly…) more. They are committed to Jesus, committed to this local church, AND they are the custodians of Soul Revival culture. They know the stories, they have a deep sense of our mission, vision and values. They can guide others in the particularities of our theology, strategy and practice.
Importantly, like The Cove (I think…), The Commitments is an open group. There’s no exclusivity of membership, no test you have to pass, no time or attendance requirements, no secret onboarding rituals, and no special honour within the congregation. What there is, is a self-understanding that this is my church, this is my community, and unless/until Jesus leads me somewhere else, I’m all in.
How do we communicate this well? I don’t know. But if you want to hear me stumble along and think out loud, you can listen along to the full conversation with Joel McMaster on this week’s episode of The Shock Absorber.
Catch the full conversation in the links below or on your favourite podcast app, and if you have comments or questions, please let me know below.
Because Sydney Harbour (objectively the best harbour in the world) was originally called Sydney Cove by the British colonial settlers.