Adult Teachable Moments

Confessions of an LSU Convert (With Apologies to Mother)

Dec 05

by Bert Montgomery

My mother met my father about forty-five years ago in New Orleans. Cast aside all those images of French Quarter debauchery! Mom met Dad at a Tulane University Baptist Student Union event. After courtship and marriage came a family (out of two kids, I’m number two; pay attention, that’s important).

My sister and I were raised to love God as good Baptists, and as good Tulane Green Wave fans we were raised to hate all things related to Louisiana State University.

I must confess, though, that I have strayed from what Mom and Dad taught me.

I have a weakness, a serious moral flaw—I LOVE winning. For most of my life I was able to lose gracefully (and even learn how to have fun while losing) by being a Tulane Green Wave fan. In the state of Louisiana, Tulane sports are always number two. We were the minority.

But, I also believed that Baptists could—and would—save the world. Mom and Dad certainly never taught me this, but nevertheless, my need to win found its hope and its outlet in Baptist dominance: we would win the culture wars, the “my denomination is more right than your denomination” wars, the “God loves us more than God loves you” wars, and so on. Yes, my need to win, and my need to be an obnoxious, arrogant, rabid winner, channeled itself into my personal faith and my support of the Baptist church. Yep, we Baptists were indeed number one!

Then in 1986, right after my high school graduation, Mom and Dad moved the four of us to Jackson, Tennessee. I have lived several places since then—Kentucky, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee, but I’ve never again resided in the state of my birth.

Over the past twenty or so years away from Louisiana, I’ve discovered that Tulane makes few waves (pun intended) in the national world of collegiate sports (outside of baseball). On the other hand, no matter where I’ve lived, I can’t help but hear about LSU—in all sports. Yes, in the world of Louisiana sports, even as it’s covered around the country, LSU is undeniably number one.

The longer I’ve been away from the Bayou state, and the more I miss the Bayou state, the more I’ve enjoyed hearing about the Bayou Bengals of LSU. As the years have passed, the hatred I harbored toward LSU has faded, replaced by an unexpected pride: pride for the people of my home state, pride for a team from my home state, and pride at the national attention paid to my home state.

After all, most of my neighbors and friends in school were LSU fans. Some of them even attended LSU. One of my best friends, Marta, went on to play her flute and piccolo in the LSU band.

And today I proudly stand with them and, with obnoxious and rabid enthusiasm, chant, “L-S-U! L-S-U! L-S-U!”

The funny thing is, as my prideful and arrogant fervor for the LSU Tigers has grown, my need to see the church dominate has waned. In fact, I have grown to see that the church’s job is not to dominate, not to win and boast, but to serve, quietly and humbly, as Jesus himself served. The purpose of the church is not to be number one, or even number two, fifteen, or twenty-five. The purpose of the church is to be last. Even willing to die. We are to be the salt, not the main course. We are to be a candle, or a light-bulb, not the sun itself. Perhaps we function best as a minority, not the ruling majority. Our victory is in Christ after all, in God, and not in our buildings, our baptisms, our budgets, and in no way by our cultural dominance.

So, you see, as God has re-focused my views of faith and the church to be more Christ-centered, as God has taught me that Micah 6:8 is not just a sweet little verse but a way to live, my ability to be last and to lose gracefully has transferred itself from Tulane sports to the church. However, my own personal need for greatness and dominance, removed from the important places of faith and church, now resides in a less important place—college sports.

So, you see, Mom, cheering for LSU is actually a spiritual discipline! It channels that nasty need out of the church and away from faith, where it does terrible damage, and into a fun activity like big-time collegiate sports.

And, Mom, since I’m writing this on your birthday, I must say, “I LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!”

And to everyone else, as we approach the college football national championship game, I must yell, “GEAUX TIGERS!”

Questions for Reflection
• Do you have a “need” to be a winner? Does the Church appear to have the same need? If so, in what ways does this “need” manifest itself?
• How does Micah 6:8 challenge this “need” for you? For the Church? What do you think it means for you, for the Church, “to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”?
• Will you join me by practicing the spiritual discipline of cheering for LSU? ;-)