Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Basketball

a Jesus thought...
Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice. (John 18:37)

a Godly thought...
The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When Jesus called them they found their peace, for He is their peace. (p102 Bonhoeffer)

a leading thought...
As a leader, develop close friends. (p108 Newman)
a Dave thought...
Last night it was great to be a part of the Salvation Army Basketball Association Victoria's end of year dinner. As 37 teams & over 300 people are involved every Monday night Lt. Graeme Mawson has done an awesome job keeping the competition running so smooth over the last 3 & a half years.
Sports ministry is an area we are really yet to make the most of in Australia. Melbourne itself is known as the sporting capital of the world and as our culture is saturated with sporting teams & competitions I often wonder how we can make the most of this area. Stories of marginalised young people who find value and acceptance by just being part of a sporting team are always great to hear, and something I'm sure we need to continue to provide.
In Melbourne as we welcomed more people into the church in the 60's churches would build tennis courts next to their buildings, then in the 80's it seemed basketball courts were all the go. Now in the 21st century cafes are being built next to or as part of our establishments, but from basketball for teens we now have moved to cafes for the twenty-somethings and older. I love cafes and have even been a part of the creation of Cafe Salvo but wonder why we continue to market the church away from young people today.
We build beautiful halls that often only get used for 1 or 2 hours a week but maybe we are building for ourselves and being a little selfish. Maybe the best option is to bring back the basketball court & then add a cafe at least those spaces would get used everyday and by all ages. As you can't play basketball in the sanctuary but you can always do church on the court.

Just a thought.

1 comment:

Eleanor Burne-Jones said...

I might be tempted to comment here that surrounding yourself with close friends as a leader does not mean only listening to those who consistently agree with everything you say, and quietly dropping the rest?

Blessings
E.