What Ted Lasso Taught Me About My Faith

Or, Overcoming my ‘ick’

I have a thing against bananas. I find the texture to be absolutely disgusting. Revolting. I can’t stand touching bananas. I especially can’t stand touching bananas that have been sitting out for a while or have been touched and are now slick and slimy. It is absolutely one of my strongest “Icks”. 

Unfortunately for me, my one year old son loves bananas. They’re just about his favorite food. Bananas are a Mama food. If he’s getting a banana, it means Mama is feeding him.

Of course, Mama isn’t always around for breakfast, and so I found myself the other day having to suck it up, overcome my ick, and feed my son a banana. And it was just as gross and slimy as ever.

Sometimes parenting calls for you to overcome your ick and do the uncomfortable thing. Maybe it’s the dirty diapers, or the slimy banana, or the surprise throw up that needs to be cleaned. As a parent there’s sometimes no way around it - you have to do those things. And you do them because you love your child. 

I think of this sometimes as I reflect on my faith. Sometimes living out my faith means doing the uncomfortable thing; sometimes it means overcoming an ick (or a fear or phobia) to do the right thing. When we do those things, we model for our children and the people around us what it looks like to do the right thing - something we know because Jesus first came and showed us how to do the right thing.

You’re probably doing it wrong

I’ve recently been rewatching Ted Lasso. While filled with some “salty” language, the show generally has a great message and tons of laughs.

If you’re not familiar, Ted Lasso is an American college football coach who accepts a job coaching an English Premier League soccer team (aka, football). And Ted has never coached a soccer (football) team before.

But from the very pilot episode of the show comes one of my favorite quotes. Ted remarks,
“Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse - if you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”

I love this quote, and it reflects how I’ve long felt about the Christian faith. If it’s comfortable and easy, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Jesus’ Challenges

In Mark 10:8, Jesus sends out his disciples and instructs them, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”

Lepers at the time weren’t even allowed to live in the towns - they would be banished from their community to keep from spreading the disease.

Throughout the Bible, Jesus challenges his disciples and followers to do difficult and often uncomfortable things. Care for the sick and the poor. Welcome the stranger. Submit yourself to serving others. Things that run counter to the natural inclination many people would have for how they live their lives.

But I think amidst all the challenges that Jesus issues to his followers, he also explains a little of the reason behind those challenges.

For years I volunteered in middle school student ministry, including five years planning and teaching Sunday School each week. During that time I became particularly fond of one lesson, and each year I would teach it the first week back from summer break.

During Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he says the following, as recounted in the book of Matthew:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

~Matthew 7:24-27

Our Firm Foundation

I love this passage because in it Jesus says two really important things. First off, Jesus specifically says that it is not enough just to have heard his words, those words have to be put into practice. It is not enough to know your Bible stories and verses; you need to live out the life Christ has called you to, as best as you can. 

Second, Jesus goes on to state that the winds and rain come for both the wise builder and the foolish builder. The wise builder has heard Jesus’ words and put them into practice, but that doesn’t automatically mean that life becomes easy and without challenges. 

Faith in Christ does not make our lives easy or without challenges either, but through our faith in Jesus we have the strength and foundation to persevere through the challenges that face us.

I thought these two thoughts were so important I taught them every single September to the middle schoolers at our church. I’d usually start with an activity where I had the kids draw their dream house and label every feature and architectural element of the house; roof, windows, helipads and all. 

Do you know how many students drew and labeled their foundation? (Hint, it was less than 1)

When was the last time you looked at, or thought about the foundation of your house? If you discovered a crack in your foundation, would you fix it?

Be Curious

Another of my favorite Ted Lasso scenes comes when he’s in a local pub, and ends up playing a high stakes game of darts against his boss’ ex-husband, Rupert. 

Rupert has underestimated Ted, and learns that the hard way.

Funny enough, Walt Whitman never actually said “Be curious, not judgmental.” But here at Grace Chapel, “Be Curious” happens to be one of our 4 Pathways. 

When we are so assured of what we think we know, we close ourselves off from the unimaginable complexity and beauty of God’s creation. “Be curious” challenges us to expand our perspectives, ask questions, and think deeply about what it means to be human and to follow God.

Our perspectives are shaped by the world we live in, but the lived experience of others in our world - those we are called to care for, may vary greatly from our own. Indeed the world Christ lived in was obviously quite different from our own. By deepening our perspective, we’re able to grow in our discipleship.

When we stop being curious, we stop learning - we stop growing. Some folks miss this, but Jesus actually has a job title in the Bible…

Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

~John 1:38

Yup, Jesus was a teacher. His ministry was spent teaching his disciples and encouraging them to not just ask questions, but ask important questions. Questions that changed the way they thought, changed the way they lived.

After high school, as so many young adults do, I went to college and got a degree - then said enough was enough. I was done with classroom learning. But in the (now many) years since leaving the classroom, I have never stopped learning, never stopped being curious.

What did Ted Lasso teach me about my faith? That it should challenge me. That I’ll need to be persistent (maybe bake some biscuits?) And that I should always be curious.

If you need some inspiration to spark your curiosity, our website follows our 4 Pathways, and you can find a wide array of resources and content under "Be Curious" in our main menu!

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