Forward-moving Faith

One of my favorite photos is of my daughter, Chandler, and I riding with two grandchildren, Juliet and Lachlan, on the 1913 carousel at Greenfield Village. Hand-carved animals provide the rides for the kids. Juliet sat on a white pony and Lachlan on a walrus. Chandler and I stood close as they circled under bright lights, with an ornate canopy glittering overhead. It was a grand experience, motivation for forward-moving faith.

…perfect doesn’t exist in this life.

Spinning is fun on a carousel, but not for our faith walk. How often do we pray, “God, let me use my gifts and talents to serve the Lord?” Then, when he speaks to us, we are afraid to move ahead. He confirms the opportunity through his Word and by the witness of trustworthy believers. Yet, comfort holds us back. There are many excuses for not moving forward.

Keep Moving Forward

This past Saturday was proof that when we trust the Lord and move forward in faith, he shows up. It was the first games of the WarrenHope Basketball season. It was a grand experience. We had hundreds of k-4^th grade players, some confident, but most nervous. We had bleachers full of parents, and 40-plus volunteers, but it wasn’t really about basketball; it was about ministry. It was about churches from different denominations coming together to provide reconciliation and healing to a forgotten part of our city.

This project started with me coaching 3^rd grade girls basketball, a year ago. I remember my daughter asking, “Dad, Juliet [my granddaughter] really wants to play basketball, but they don’t have enough coaches.” I had complained to Lizzy, “I haven’t played basketball in forty years.  Will I even remember the rules?” It didn’t matter; these third grade girls knew almost nothing about basketball. 

A goal for the coaches was to share Bible lessons during practices. I remember my shock when I asked the question, “How many of you know of the Apostle Paul?” Of ten girls, only one raised their hand, my granddaughter. Sadly, these girls also knew nothing about the hope found in the Word of God either.

Voice of God

At the end of that season, God spoke to me, “You need to start a league in South Warren, where your church is located.” I had many objections: my church is small, I don’t even enjoy watching basketball, and we have no gym. So, I put it out of my mind. But, God brought it back up.

This past summer, I got invited to the Alliance of Warren Evangelicals leadership meeting. At this meeting, the group decided to stop doing some activities that did not align with the mission. Then, the question came up, “If not these, then what?” Of course, I suggested Upward Basketball. They were intrigued and tasked me with reporting fully at our September meeting. I did and they said the project would need a leader. Then, I had an out-of-body experience at which I heard myself saying, “I’ll do it.”

Many Obstracles

God answered the gym problem by opening the door to using the Owen-Jax Center, a Parks and Recreation building with a beautifully restored gym that has sat idle since the pandemic. It sounded like an opportunity too good to be true. It was. The Parks and Recreation director put up a lot of restrictions on the use of the building and, at one point, even booked a middle school basketball game into our opening night. 

I had people let me down too. One person, whom I counted on, became upset because things were not working out perfectly. He said to me, “Let’s delay this thing until we are better prepared. I said to him, “If we don’t do it now, we won’t do it at all.” Yes, it is tempting to delay until timing is better, but the truth is perfect doesn’t exist in this life.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’” 

—2 Corinthians 12:9

Life is full of challenges, or a better way to look at it is… one grand experience after another. We must keep moving forward. The truth is that I’ve had few days as perfect as that day riding on the 1913 carousel. Ha, actually, it was far from a perfect day. It was hot, the kids were crabby, and I was hungry. The photo doesn’t portray those details, only smiling faces. But, it is a grand memory. Perhaps, with time, Upward Basketball will be a grand memory too.

Also see, Don’t Hesitate.