Student POV: Intramurals are an Opportunity to Grow your Faith (and Humility)
Last Tuesday night, Institute students attended a draft party for Intramural Volleyball!
Students arrived, excited to be chosen by team captains (comprised of alums), ready to cultivate their power team. One alum, Mitchell Buchanan, emceed the night, prefacing the draft with an ice-breaking, hilarious encouragement that spoke of his experience in sports. One by one, students were quickly drafted onto teams- and the night ended in a collective spirit of readiness and healthy competition.
President Garner shared from his own experience as a college basketball player, then a novice soccer player, as well as the role sports has played in on the mission field on countless occasions.
Intramurals are the first of a new series on “Institute Values” presented to students by President Garner
The following day, President Garner led the Institute's first "Values Talk." These talks are designed to help students understand the 'why' of their college experience. The first talk covered "Why do we value Intramurals?" We discussed how without understanding why we do what we do, it's challenging to find value in what we’re doing. And, the more we understand the value, the more we’ll enjoy it! As students who came to college to grow closer to Jesus, understanding the “why” behind the intentional activities at The Institute is paramount.
Professor Garner began the discussion by conversing about the major role sports plays in the development of communities. Sports promote a sense of community which is very important for people training in ministry. Speaking from his vast experience on the mission field, Professor Garner noted: “You can’t always get people to your church services or your programs, but if you get a soccer ball out there to play, people will come. We as Christians can meet people on the proverbial pitch and begin to have a conversation.”
This week kicks off the first intramural season at The Institute. First up: Volleyball!
One of our mottos this year is “faith in any context” - a phrase from our mission statement. In the values talk, Mr. Garner helped us to see the sports field as a new ‘context’ – especially for those of us who don’t normally play sports. A sports field can bring something new out of us - for better or for worse. We discussed who was competitive, who wasn’t, why, and how the Bible doesn’t consider competitiveness to be a bad thing.
Sports not only play a significant role in the development of communities, they are also crucial to the development of our character. Intramurals largely exist to put students in situations that are unfamiliar, to participate in activities that we aren't inherently good at, in order for our character to develop. In our lack of comfort, we call on Jesus rather than rely upon our own strength.
Sports are great preparation for mission. Above, students play a volleyball match in El Salvador as a part of their first experience abroad, Summer Internship.
“Intramurals is a wonderful place for you to find out what’s in you” was another thing that stood out to me from the Values Talk. Intramurals at the Institute are for both the athlete and the non-athlete. It is more than just participation in sports, it is an opportunity to develop and to be more conformed to the image of God. We play several different types of intramurals – volleyball, soccer, a dance competition. Because of the variety, no matter who you are, there will likely be a moment when you’ll feel humiliated, and that’s ok. Intramurals give us the opportunity to see the ‘ugly’ come out of us. Doing that in the presence of a loving community is an opportunity for growth.
Without experiences like these, our generation runs the risk of being fully grown adults who reveal our underdeveloped character when we're stressed or put in a situation we're not used to. Your character is developed when you learn how to have the mental grit to endure, tell the truth, give it your all, and still lose, but walk off the field feeling okay because you know you gave it everything you had. That’s the goal of intramurals.
Mr. Garner helped us to see that sports are an avenue for people to overcome those things that prevent them from expressing themselves and trying new things. We are called to be servants of God who, According to Paul, are “all things to all people.”’ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). If we can’t try something new on the sports field, where can we try it?!
We live in an anti-excellence generation (everyone gets a trophy!), but the Bible never discourages greatness. It’s quite the opposite. Jesus says that the way we are to become great will be through becoming a servant. In intramurals, you’ll have to find what you’re good at and then serve your team through offering what you have. You’ll also be able to rest in the security of knowing that you're accepted by just playing your part. Mr. Garner encouraged us: “You may find that there is a greatness in you that is dormant for no other reason than you don’t want to fail, you don't want to be uncomfortable, and you don't want to be subject to anyone else’s criticism.”
One of the best parts of the Intramural experience is that staff and alumni join in on the fun. Liv Lasater (this blog writer), second from right alongside President Garner’s wife Tara (far right), Professor Shaun Galford (center), and Mitch Buchanan (second from left) — mentioned several times in this blog.
On one side of intramurals, you have the team-focused lessons. But there are also lessons to learn about having an opponent. One of our non-traditional students at the Institute, former MLB player Ryan Roberts, says that sports are 95% mental. In discussing the need for competitiveness, Prof. Garner reminded us that what God has called us into is a life or death vocation. He said: “You’re engaged in a battle for souls and those soul’s fullness in life. You have an enemy that you're coming against… you have to be ready, disciplined, prepared, well-rehearsed, practiced, developing the kind of grit and perseverance that a person needs to win something because there’s a world out there that wants to beat you.” Sports are our practice field for becoming an “overcomer” – something Jesus told us he did, and promised we could do as well.
At the end of our Values Talk, Prof. Garner charged students to see how intramurals can be an analogy used to relate to other areas of life, including the future plans God has for us. In order to develop the necessary capacity to walk out this vocation faithfully, being obedient to what the Lord asks us to do, we have to put ourselves in positions of uncomfort and unfamiliarity so God can develop us into articulate, competent people with capacity who can tell the truth, and run this race with endurance while depending on the Lord for our strength.