a tribute to two guys who've got it right

on the left is timmy straight (hpc's st. francisville campus pastor and on the right is rob read (hpc's danville, california campus pastor)

these are two guys i really love and i found another reason why i love them this weekend playing basketball during the hpc staff retreat. rob came in from california for the retreat. now, i've played basketball with timmy quite a bit in the past - i know he's got a good game, and he's the kind who will have a good game until he's 70. rob came into the gym wearing jeans and dress shoes, acting kinda like he really didn't know much about basketball: "i'm not too sure if i'm gonna play or not..."

HA! dino gave rob his shoes and timmy gave rob some gym shorts and rob came out eventually and started playing. he was great. he played like a little man in a big man's body. shake and bake, spin moves, tip-ins, mr. windex. me and my fat old self were amply impressed.

but that's not what i discovered about these guys. what hit me later was just how much these two men are much more than good ballers. they love God so much more than the game. they love people so much more than the score. their passion for people and for the God who made them is so much greater than anything else you'll ever see them do.

i've left the court many times in the past where i've been embarrassed at the way the people i've been on the court acted (often while wearing the name of their church on their shirt). but these guys were neither weak on the court nor were they possessed by basketball. they simply know the difference between the game and real life.

real life matters so much more. thanks rob. thanks timmy. for being living examples of that yesterday at the lsu rec center.