Professional Wrestling & Church are Synonyms

How the politics of WWE function more like our churches than we want them to

In 2011, CM Punk put John Cena through a table and took a microphone atop the entrance ramp. Punk opened his promo by saying he respects his upcoming opponent John Cena, but hate what he represented within the company. He says Cena is better at kissing CEO Vince McMahon's ass than he is. He talks about being the best at everything within the business - Commentary, In Ring, on the Microphone... Punk's hottest take of all - He says WWE would be better if Vince McMahon was dead. Shortly after he mentions McMahon's death, his mic is cut off. After a short suspension, Punk went on to defeat Cena at that months Pay-Per-View, Money in the Bank in extraordinary fashion. It's a night that any wrestling fan can tell you about in excruciating detail. Many people saw Punk's victory as a glimmer of hope for what was a mediocre wrestling product at the time. However, many people aren't fond of what happened in the following months.

Punk lost his title only a couple months later to (somewhat) rising star, Alberto Del Rio. It cooled down the hot streak that Punk was on, and the fire he had never really returned. He did go on to have a 434 day title reign with the WWE Championship, but he never main evented the show. It would often go to anything that was building to John Cena and The Rock's second match against each other. A couple of years later, CM Punk would leave the company and was very outspoken about his frustrations with WWE. He was miserable, burnt out, and lost his passion. He hasn't returned to a wrestling ring since.

While the deciding of who wins a wrestling match are in fact scripted, the politics that happen behind the scenes are not. Wrestlers try to convince writers to give them the title, or a star refuses to be pinned by someone they don't see as worthy of beating them.

Church politics are no different.

CM Punk's summer on top of the company was fueled by his distain for the product, and it was not scripted. Our churches often have people who are cutting the same promos as CM Punk did, they just take place at a smaller scale.

"Did you hear Pastor John's message yesterday? He went on and on about nothing for 17 more minutes than he usually does. I'll tell you what, if I was pastor, I would know how to preach the right way. I think John's losing his touch, and he just keeps phoning his sermons in because he's surrounded by yes men who tell him what he wants to hear! I think this place will be better when John hits that golden age where his 401k kicks in."

People who talk like this about ministers are often ministers themselves. They think they'd be the better fit at that pulpit. They go start a church plant that they think will have more success. And sometimes, those plants even end up being successful. But how do we define success? Numbers? Converts? Volunteers? Are any of these metrics worth a damn if the ground that the church was planted on was made with soil of bitterness?

I write this piece mostly to myself - To remind myself to get over it. To not be the person that CM Punk was, who whined his way to the top of wrestling. Even though this method worked for him in terms of numbers and popularity, he now has a large base of wrestling fans who think he is a cry baby who surfs on the tides of controversy. I don't want to be a minister who grows a mega church off of complaints and angst. I also want to be diligent in making sure I don't fall into the same mistakes that fellow churches made.

On the other hand, I don't want to be the minister who is scared of the change that's coming. When a CM Punk shows up, I want to make sure I push them to the moon before they get bitter that they weren't being utilized. When young people show up who have different ideas than me, I want to be the first person who listens and the first person who implements. I should keep the championship on the young person, even if it means I'm the one who has to get pinned.

Wrestling is also like Church in that it sucks. However, when it is done right and built in the right way, it can be a magical medium that brings people together. All it takes is the willingness to believe that you don't always have the best answer, even if you're the one who's been doing it the longest.

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