Midweek Check-in (May 7, 2025)

Good afternoon, church family!

Many of you know of my love for sports and even my past as a sportswriter before I answered a call to ministry. Well, today marks a milestone for a certain press conference. I did not attend, but I heard about it. In fact, the world heard about it. It has become, perhaps, the most famous sports interview of all time.

23 years ago today, a sportswriter dared to ask NBA point guard Allen Iverson a question about practice.

You can watch Iverson’s famous response online (it has 15 million views), but here’s the transcript:

I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talking about practice. We talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We talking about practice. Not a game. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last. Not the game. We talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that? We talking about practice. I know I’m supposed to be there. I know I’m supposed to lead by example. I know that. And I’m not shoving that aside like it don’t mean anything. I know it’s important. I do. I honestly do. But we talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice? We talking about practice, man. We talking about practice. We talking about practice. We ain’t talking about the game. We talking about practice, man. When you come into the arena and you see me play, you see me play, don’t you? You see me give everything I’ve got, right? But we talking about practice right now. We talking about- man, I hear you. It’s funny to me too. It’s strange to me too. But we talking about practice, man. We not even talking about the game. The actual game. When it matters. We talking about practice.

Today, let’s talk about practice. Allen Iverson inadvertently put even more of a spotlight on practice and, as any good coach will tell you, practice is essential to athletic success, regardless of the sport.

For followers of Jesus, practice is just as essential.

“A baseball player who expects to excel in the game without adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian who hopes to be able to act in the manner of Christ when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living.” -Dallas Willard

To put things simply,

Basketball players practice shooting free throws.

Baseball players practice hitting curveballs.

Football players practice tackling and getting tackled.

So what do followers of Jesus practice? Here are a few:

Prayer. Reading God’s word. Regularly gathering with other believers. Giving. Serving. Forgiving. Loving.

That’s a great start!

And, of course, you can’t do this alone. This isn’t a lesson of willpower or determination. And Jesus doesn’t expect us to do this alone.  

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. … The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.” -John 14:15-16,26

So don’t forget to practice today! You are loved!

Your pastor,

Billy Byler

BAPTISM: THIS SUNDAY we will once again celebrate the holy sacrament of baptism! If you would like to be baptized, please contact Pastor Billy as soon as possible.

TRUE NORTH KIDS: This summer we’re inviting all kids to Trust Jesus in a Wild World with TRUE NORTH – our Vacation Bible School that will run each evening June 18-20. You can register your child through our website.

VBS HELP NEEDED: It takes a big team to make VBS happen, and we need you on our team! Check out the various roles at our booth in the lobby, and sign up this Sunday! We’ll have a volunteers’ meeting on May 18.

CHURCH CAMPS: The summer is quickly approaching and that means church camps!

• High school teens need to register by May 23 to join teens from all over Kansas at Camp Table Rock in Missouri June 6-9.

• Kids Camp for boys and girls who just completed 1st-6th grade is July 14-16 at Wheat State Camp in Augusta, KS. Register by June 20.

• Middle school camp is for students who just completed 6th-8th grade and will take place July 17-20 at Wheat State Camp. Registration will open soon.

HELP OUR YOUNG PEOPLE GET TO CAMP: Church camps can be life-changing events for our kids and teens, and we don’t want anyone to miss out because of finances. If you can make a donation to help our young people get to camp, you can choose “camp donations” from our convenient, secure online giving platform. Or write “camp donation” on your check or offering envelope and drop it in one of our donation boxes on Sundays in the back of the church sanctuary or during the week in the church offices.

JUST FOR FUN

Hey, you read Pastor Billy's midweek check-in all the way to the end! As a reward, check out these crazy stories I came across recently:

• A second-grader in Kentucky got access to his mom’s phone and ordered 70,000 Dum-Dum suckers from Amazon. Mom found out when the $4,000+ order was delivered to her front porch.

• How much is a ticket to the biggest soccer match of the year in Norway? One fan paid with 11 pounds of fish. Another fan paid with 11 pounds of reindeer meat.

• A pet tortoise missing for nine months was discovered last week – one mile from his home.