Good Rec Ministry

We are blessed at Temple with great leadership in our rec ministry. Tonight I personally saw it in action. I played a basketball game in the new summer league as a team member of the Monsters. We won. But that's not what I will remember the most from tonight. Two things stick out....

1. The gym was full of guys I didn't recognize. These were dudes. All sizes, colors, and skill-levels. I made several new friends tonight on my team as well as on other squads. I was able to invite them to church and introduce myself to them. Our basketball league is a great place to connect with dudes who need Jesus and a local church. 

2. The league was ran by a top-shelf rec minister: Eddie Baker. Eddie led a devotion during halftime that included a story about Robert O'Kelly, a former Wake Forrest player, who was a strong Christian leader. He also quoted Tim Keller on humility saying, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of your self less." Eddie then went to Philippians 2 and talked about the humility of Christ in the incarnation and his subtitutionary death for sinners. He captivated these guys, four teams, all hot and sweaty. They came to play. But they heard the good news in about five minutes. 

I'm thankful for all of our staff, and thought I would give a special shout out to Eddie. I must also say that his associate, Ben, will be missed badly, when he leaves in a few weeks with his wife and daughter to go to central Asia as IMB missionaries. Ben is truly a missionary who doesn't have to start doing something he's not already doing: showing and sowing the Gospel.