Watching the Right Scoreboard
After a loss, a sideline reporter asks the football coach why he lost the game. The coach would reply, “Lost? We won! We had fewer points but we had more rushing yards. So, as far as I’m concerned, we won. After all, everybody loves a running game!”
That coach wouldn’t last long would he?
There are so many numbers being tracked in a football game. Here’s a typical stats box from one of yesterday’s NFL games:
| Carolina Panthers (1-2-0) | Atlanta Falcons (3-0-0) |
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| C. Newton | 15/24 | 215 | 2 | 0 |
| A. Edwards | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
| C. Newton | 9 | 86 | 1 | 32 |
| D. Williams | 11 | 49 | 1 | 13T |
| J. Stewart | 10 | 40 | 0 | 15 |
| M. Tolbert | 4 | 14 | 0 | 6 |
| S. Smith | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| G. Olsen | 6 | 89 | 1 | 34 |
| S. Smith | 3 | 52 | 0 | 27 |
| K. Pilares | 1 | 36 | 1 | 36T |
| A. Edwards | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| L. Murphy | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| J. Stewart | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| M. Tolbert | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| D. Williams | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles | FUM | LOST | REC | YDS |
| C. Newton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Smith | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Hartsock | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Tolbert | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
| J. Medlock | 0/0 | 0 | 4/4 | 4 |
| Punting | NO | AVG | I20 | LG |
| B. Nortman | 6 | 42.3 | 2 | 49 |
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | TD | LG |
| K. Pilares | 2 | 27 | 0 | 28 |
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | TD | LG |
| C. Munnerlyn | 3 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Defense | T-A | SCK | INT | FF |
| C. Johnson | 6-2 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Norman | 5-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Godfrey | 4-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Munnerlyn | 4-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| H. Nakamura | 4-0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
| L. Kuechly | 3-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Beason | 2-3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Edwards | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Gamble | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Alexander | 1-1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Anderson | 1-3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Davis | 1-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Edwards | 1-0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Hardy | 1-0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| M. Ryan | 25/40 | 369 | 3 | 1 |
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
| M. Turner | 13 | 103 | 0 | 27 |
| Jz. Rodgers | 6 | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| R. White | 8 | 169 | 2 | 59 |
| M. Turner | 3 | 68 | 1 | 60T |
| T. Gonzalez | 5 | 51 | 0 | 14 |
| Jz. Rodgers | 4 | 40 | 0 | 15 |
| J. Jones | 1 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
| H. Douglas | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| J. Snelling | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Fumbles | FUM | LOST | REC | YDS |
| J. Abraham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Edwards | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D. Robinson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| V. Walker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | LG | XP | PTS |
| M. Bryant | 3/3 | 41 | 3/3 | 12 |
| Punting | NO | AVG | I20 | LG |
| M. Bosher | 5 | 42.4 | 2 | 59 |
| Kickoff Returns | NO | AVG | TD | LG |
| Jz. Rodgers | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Punt Returns | NO | AVG | TD | LG |
| D. Franks | 2 | 8 | 0 | 18 |
| Defense | T-A | SCK | INT | FF |
| S. Nicholas | 6-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Abraham | 5-0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| W. Moore | 5-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Robinson | 5-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| T. DeCoud | 4-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Babineaux | 3-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Dent | 3-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. McClain | 3-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| V. Walker | 3-0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Weatherspoon | 3-1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Edwards | 2-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Samuel | 2-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Biermann | 1-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Jerry | 1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total First Downs | 21 | Total First Downs | 24 | |
| By Rushing | 11 | By Rushing | 6 | |
| By Passing | 10 | By Passing | 14 | |
| By Penalty | By Penalty | |||
| Third Down Efficiency | 4/11 - 36% | Third Down Efficiency | 5/13 - 38% | |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0/0 - 0% | Fourth Down Efficiency | 0/0 - 0% | |
| Total Net Yards | 404 | Total Net Yards | 426 | |
| Total Rushing/Passing Plays (includes Sacks) | 63 | Total Rushing/Passing Plays (includes Sacks) | 66 | |
| Average Gain per Offensive Play | 6.4 | Average Gain per Offensive Play | 6.5 | |
| Net Yards Rushing | 199 | Net Yards Rushing | 121 | |
| Total Rushing Plays | 35 | Total Rushing Plays | 19 | |
| Average Gain per Rushing Play | 5.7 | Average Gain per Rushing Play | 6.4 | |
| Tackled for a Loss (Number-Yards) | 3–4 | Tackled for a Loss (Number-Yards) | 0-0 | |
| Net Yards Passing | 205 | Net Yards Passing | 305 | |
| Times Sacked (Number-Yards) | 3 – 10 | Times Sacked (Number-Yards) | 7 – 64 | |
| Gross Yards Passing | 215 | Gross Yards Passing | 369 | |
| Pass Comp-Att-Int | 15 - 25 - 0 | Pass Comp-Att-Int | 25 - 40 - 1 | |
| Average Gain per Passing Play (includes Sacks) | 7.3 | Average Gain per Passing Play (includes Sacks) | 6.5 | |
| Kickoffs (Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks) | 5 - 5 - 4 | Kickoffs (Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks) | 7 - 7 - 5 | |
| Punts (Number-Average) | 6 - 45.2 | Punts (Number-Average) | 5 - 47.0 | |
| Blocked | 0 | Blocked | 0 | |
| Net Punting Average | 42.3 | Net Punting Average | 42.4 | |
| FGs Blocked – PATs Blocked | 0 - 0 | FGs Blocked – PATs Blocked | 0 - 0 | |
| Total Return Yardage (excludes Kickoffs) | 44 | Total Return Yardage (excludes Kickoffs) | 17 | |
| Punt Returns (Number-Yards) | 3 - 23 | Punt Returns (Number-Yards) | 2 - 17 | |
| Kickoff Returns (Number-Yards) | 2 - 55 | Kickoff Returns (Number-Yards) | 1 - 27 | |
| Interception Returns (Number-Yards) | 1 - 21 | Interception Returns (Number-Yards) | 0 - 0 | |
| Penalties (Number-Yards) | 9 - 64 | Penalties (Number-Yards) | 2 - 15 | |
| Fumbles (Number-Lost) | 3 - 1 | Fumbles (Number-Lost) | 0 - 0 | |
| Touchdowns | 4 | Touchdowns | 3 | |
| Rushing | 2 | Rushing | 0 | |
| Passing | 2 | Passing | 3 | |
| Interceptions | 0 | Interceptions | 0 | |
| Kickoff Returns | 0 | Kickoff Returns | 0 | |
| Fumble Returns | 0 | Fumble Returns | 0 | |
| Punt Returns | 0 | Punt Returns | 0 | |
| Extra Points (Made-Attempted) | 4 - 4 | Extra Points (Made-Attempted) | 3 - 3 | |
| Kicking (Made-Attempted) | 4 - 4 | Kicking (Made-Attempted) | 3 - 3 | |
| Two Point Conversions (Made-Attempted) | 0 - 0 | Two Point Conversions (Made-Attempted) | 0 - 0 | |
| Field Goals (Made-Attempted) | 0 - 0 | Field Goals (Made-Attempted) | 3 - 3 | |
| Red Zone Efficiency | 3/3 - 100% | Red Zone Efficiency | 1/4 - 25% | |
| Goal To Go Efficiency | 1/1 - 100% | Goal To Go Efficiency | 0/1 - 0% | |
| Safeties | 0 | Safeties | 0 | |
| Final Score | 28 | Final Score | 30 | |
| Time of Possession | 30:06 | Time of Possession | 29:54 |
Now that’s a lot of numbers! I’m a huge football fan but even I think this is overkill. The only numbers that ultimately determine success are the final score which is virtually lost in this avalanche of statistics.
Just like in football, there are a lot of numbers you can track in the church world. Numbers like: attendance, attendance within certain demographics, attendance within certain ministries, offering, mission’s giving, building fund, event participation, percentage of attendance vs. full-time pastors, the numbers of the church across town, how high your church ranks on the perceived “cool meter”, etc. These are all important to track (except maybe the last two) but . . .
What’s the scoreboard!?
Jesus said the church’s scoreboard is making disciples.
There are many numbers that factor into the church’s effectiveness. The danger is replacing the scoreboard (making disciples) with one of those factors.
The fastest way to unity is agreeing on the scoreboard. The fastest way to chaos is losing sight of the scoreboard.
Do you feel your team agrees on the final scoreboard? Is your entire team watching the same scoreboard? Do all of your ministries and steps move people toward this scoreboard?
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