The Infinite Game: Play to Outlast

“We can’t choose the game. We can’t choose the rules. We can only choose how we play.”

- Simon Sinek

Over the past few years, I’ve been thinking about how to be a nimble leader, and leading my church to be more connected to each other and our community. The events of the past few weeks have thrown the need to be nimble into high relief.

Two years ago, Simon Sinek began talking about the concepts of “Infinite Games” and “Finite Games,” borrowed from Professor James Carse.  The basic concept is that most of modern life has been defined by the Finite Game - endeavors with set rules, clear sides, identifiable players, and declared winners.  Examples abound, such as marketing campaigns promising results through set formulas, or WWII involving combatants with different uniforms, defined battle engagements and one side was declared winner by brute force and numbers. Granted, when the civilian population was targeted, we began to see the old order was slipping away. 

The new era is defined by Infinite Games, where anything is possible, there are no clear sides, players include ones who are not even known, and the goal is to be the very best, outlasting everyone else. We see this at play in internet commerce, where anything goes to get ahead of competition. Or a flashy example can be found in Steve Jobs-era of Apple, where an innovative company sets the trend, and everyone else defines themselves as over against the trendsetter, a partner, or a copycat.

Now, Simon can do a better job explaining this than I can (see short YouTube link below, other Ted-type talks are out there as well), but I immediately resonated with his presentation. As a member of the Gen X generation, I have lived my life in the shadow of the Vietnam War, where the US won in terms of numbers killed and domination, but Vietnam played the long game, the infinite game, the game to outlast and live. They utilized non-traditional war methods, unknown players, and a commitment to outlast oppressors for millenia.  Ask any military strategist, warfare is now defined by the Infinite Game. Online retailers can give you similar stories.  

As a Christian, I have watched the church lumber through the postmodern age, expecting rules of engagement to remain the same. Church leaders rage against culture as if it should remain static, as if it is the enemy. Rail against it all you want, culture is what we all live within, and it’s neither good or bad. As a pastor, I’ve witnessed countless congregations refuse to embrace such developments as electronic giving, newer styles of worship, more visual/nonverbal evangelistic efforts, and more. Culture doesn’t even look back over its shoulder at those who engage in resistance. Let me be clear, there are important traditional aspects of Church life that go back millenia, but automatic suspicion of the “new” prevents authentic engagement with the “why” of the changes (Another great Sinek book “Start with Why”)

As I look to Jesus Christ, I see him adapt to every situation. He lives as an orthodox Jewish man with his peers. He welcomes Roman soldiers and treats them as companions in the Journey.  He touches the untouchable. He holds society’s littlest members. He uses everyday images, bringing to life the Good News, the news that God loves the world and grieves over the world’s brokenness. And God still desires to walk in the cool of day with each of us, just like he did with Adam millenia ago.  Everyone is a player and there are simple rules such as love God and love your neighbor. While there are expectations of how a transformed and loving life should look, no winners are declared except the One, the Alpha and Omega, who outlasts to the end. And while such a way of living feels like losing, one actually thrives.

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You cannot win at relationships. You cannot win at marriage. You cannot win at business. You cannot win at living.

If you think you can, you are playing the Finite Game. And you will ultimately fail.

If you wish instead to thrive in this new era, I highly recommend placing Sinek’s book, Infinite Game, on the top of your list. While I cannot share all his great points, I will share a summary of the first chapter.  

The finite player plays to win, to end the game. And the infinite player plays to keep playing, to outlast. An organization built for the Infinite Game doesn’t think of itself alone. It considers the impact of its decision on its people, its community, the economy, the country and the world. The infinite player expects surprises, even revels in them, and is prepared to be transformed by them. When we play with a finite mindset in an infinite game, the odds increase that we will find ourselves in a quagmire, racing through the will and resources we need to keep playing. In the case of Vietnam, the United States played a finite game where they fought to win. The North Vietnamese fought for their lives.  Strategic choices were made through those mindsets and the results speak for themselves (pp 9-16).

For the person of faith, what does it mean for us to consider the Church through the lens of the long game, the Infinite Game, the game of lasting and thriving? Consider the church’s long history of innovative artwork, of sacrificial healthcare, of new ways of sharing the cosmic Good News in relentlessly local ways. 

For the person who is done with church or not a believer, what happens if you consider the person of Jesus Christ through the lens outside of the bounds of institution? What if you consider the Sunday gathering church is just 1/7 of the whole picture? What if your relationship with God has been bound up in old perceptions and traditions, and needs to be freed up by a vulnerable and personal relationship with Him.  

Consider moving from preserving the status quo to the posture of nimbleness and adaptability. Consider how a game of rules, boundaries, and winners may into a game of grace, justice and thriving for the long haul. Consider how events such as pandemics and wars, strip away what is unnecessary and cumbersome, revealing opportunities to improve relationships, processes, and outcomes. They reveal for us what truly matters and invites us to be creative and nimble in our responses.

In the weeks to come, I might come back and revisit this theme, but in the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts, even disagreement, on this idea of “The Infinite Game.”