It’s hard to miss the student-athletes of Union University.
It was a loud and crowded Wednesday afternoon at Brewer Dining Hall, affectionately called Cobo. My friends and I came just a little too late and every table was full. So we squeezed at the end of the long picnic tables, right next to the cross country runners, who laughed and chatted with hard earned comradery.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed some tables appear to be saved for the student-athletes; the well built band of students sporting red, white, and black uniforms that seem to cluster together everywhere they go.
But are they noticed on Sundays? Or are we too busy grouping them together to see how they are serving a greater community, namely the local church?
“When people think of the athletes, they don’t necessarily think of people who passionately follow Christ,” Riley Garrison, a senior business major and cross country runner said. “We are just normal people. But there’s definitely perceptions like, ‘Oh, they’re other. They do these things and they practice in the middle of the day and they travel.’ But with that, the connotation is like, ‘Oh, they don’t really follow Jesus at all.’”
The narrative was quite different when I asked Garrison about his church.
“What do I like about it? There’s so many things. Namely, the gospel is preached,” he said, his face lighting up at the question.
Camille Burnette, a senior business major and golfer, previously lived in Jackson and attended West Jackson Baptist Church until her family moved. But coming back as a Union student, she said: “I immediately just bounced right back in and it felt like I never skipped a beat.”
Garrison, who also attends West Jackson said, “I think that the community got me in the door, and then, honestly, the community in Christ is why I’m still there.”
Even in such a tight-knit group of teammates and other student-athletes on campus, they recognized the need for the community of the church. In order to reap the full benefits of committing to the local church, plugging in and serving wholeheartedly is necessary
“I think just knowing that you’re serving beside a group of people who are all doing it for the same purpose is so beautiful,” Burnette said.
It’s not unlike competing with a team, except with a much more glorious reward to come.
“Whether that’s serving on a Wednesday night in kids’ ministry, or being a door greeter or just staying late after the service on a Sunday morning and meeting three other families. He really just challenged us to do that,” Garrison said, explaining how his local college pastor encouraged him to do more than just show up, but to get involved in the broader congregation.
But in order to serve, it often takes a tremendous sacrifice for a student-athlete to even show up.
“I think just showing up is something that most people just don’t do because it is hard. It’s hard to balance church, school, social life and golf,” Camille said, her red shirt emblazoned with the word ‘Golf’ and the Union bulldog, having just come from practice to this interview squeezed right before her team dinner.
Even after an exhausting day of practice and the anticipation of 6am lifts the next morning, Burnette excitedly described the value of attending Wednesday night church.
“Wednesday nights for me are so refreshing… I think because I don’t realize how bad I need to hear from the Lord until I get there, and then you leave and you’re like, ‘Man, I’m so glad I went.’ Like, I wouldn’t want to miss that for anything. Even sleep,” Burnette said smiling.
There is a strong community and need for discipline built into athletics, but these athletes realize that sports will not ultimately satisfy and that pursuing the church will.
“As you do serve the body, as you do get involved, you do start to know people in your congregation. Then you’re really gonna be formed there and that formation that impacts your sport a lot,” Garrison said.
He acknowledges that it doesn’t always mean you get faster and stronger. “As you know Jesus more, you’re going to feel more free in your sport,” Garrison said. Two other things that he has learned are to trust the relationships the Lord has given him in his sport, and how to truly serve the Lord with gifts that he has been given athletically.
The hours of sweat and work poured into athletics can be poured out into the church as well.
“Motivation is powered by discipline,” Garrison said, explaining how running cultivated an intense discipline that carried over into his faith. “So the discipline to wake up for practice is the same discipline I bring to reading scripture. And then the Lord honors that because his Word doesn’t return to void, you know?”
His discipline in reading the Bible was obvious just in the interview. (He referenced at least three different passages of scripture in less than 30 minutes.)
Garrison boldly pushes back against the common excuse of being too busy, saying that you make time for what you prioritize. “If your sport is the most important thing to you, you’re not gonna go to church and you’re not gonna serve.”
He had a choice in what to prioritize. He chose the church.
“What I’ve learned in the church is: When Christ is our primary love, everything else is going to flow out of that,” he said, “The discipline flows out of that, the motivation flows out of that. So, loving Christ more has helped me have a lot of freedom in my sport.”
Despite having a group of friends, a common goal, and the hope of future rewards in athletics, Garrison and Burnette run towards the cross in weekly acts of sacrificial love in serving the local church.
I know we all love our churches, but I honestly think we could love them a little more. It’s worth it.
Be the first to comment