By Ryne Brewer
Growing up as an athlete, I participated in a variety of sports, but among them basketball stood out. From the ages of eight to twenty-three, I had the honor of playing under many different coaches with diverse backgrounds and philosophies. The coaches I encountered never strayed from the basics, always serving the foundational elements of the game, but they also came from various backgrounds and had their own coaching influences. Each coach contributed a unique strength, teaching me specific basketball moves like a drop step in the post, a pump fake dribble move to my left hand, or a euro step. Yet despite having different coaching styles, our team was not divided over the greatness of previous coaches. Instead, we were united in our love for the game and the fundamentals that brought us together—basketball itself.
To borrow the terminology from Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, each coach served, planted, and watered the seeds of the game of basketball in my life. Similarly, I see how Paul’s teaching and preaching to the Corinthian church revolved around the fundamentals, the core of life—Jesus. Paul’s ministry wasn’t about personal prominence but grounding people in the essential truths of life found in Christ. Paul emphasized that he served something beyond himself. When he came to the people, it wasn’t about personal agendas or the prevalent philosophies of the time. Just like those coaches who grounded me in the fundamentals of basketball, Paul was committed to building the fundamentals and foundation of life on Jesus.
As I reflect on those who have played a role in my journey with Christ, I can see that like my basketball coaches they were all unique in what they offered to me, but the common thread connecting all of them in my life is that they helped me love, apprentice to, and see Jesus more clearly. I’ve sometimes been more interested in the coaches of my faith than the foundation they were building on. However, God, in His kindness, has gently reminded me that it was never about them but about Him. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation today, or maybe it resonates with your church experience. Are we more enamored with highlighting those who have invested in our lives along the way than with Jesus? If a church were built around the popularity of certain disciplers, it might risk building lives and churches on unstable foundations (Matthew 7:24–27). Our foundations are set on the love and fundamentals of the faith—a faith set on Christ, the firm foundation.
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