what do you TINK?
i am running the men's basketball league at my church. when asked to take this responsibility, i accepted with not a speck of reservation. the league only lasts a couple of months, and i have played in dozens of hoop leagues, so i figured, "how hard can this be?" well, the answer is that it is not difficult in the slightest. it requires about 5 hours per week -all continuous- and little else...hanging out in the gym, but when was that ever a chore? creating a schedule for 10 teams turned out to be a bit more trouble than i had anticipated. i had to ensure that each team played every other team in the league, and then, only once. i also didn't want any teams burdened with always playing first, or last. the resulting exercise vaguely resembled su-doku; but, with one obvious difference: there was no answer page to which i could refer.
we are in the fourth week of the league, and everything is running very smoothly. be that as it may, unforeseen situations will always arise which require resolution. everyone looks to me, so i seem to be the final authority (sort of.) one such occasion presented itself last night.
a guy from one particular ward approached me with a question i misunderstood. this ward has a guy named percy playing with them. he is not a member of the church. i thought i was being asked if an investigator of the church could play on the team. i replied that in my opinion, this is one of the chief benefits of a church basketball league - to create relationships between the men of the church and those who have become estranged from the general membership or are investigating the possibility of conversion to the faith. after all, my parents joined the church after many experiences with lds athletic programs. this inquisitor must have been quite puzzled by my answer because he was asking me if the full-time missionaries could play on their team if an investigator would also be playing.
when i finally understood the question, i didn't have a clue what the answer was. i finally told the missionaries that if their playing would be allowed by the policies of their mission president then i saw nothing to prevent them. i was a little surprised to hear them answer in the affirmative.
it would have been folly to bother to ask my mission president the same. i have no doubt that president washburn would have answered negatively before i even got the question fully out of my mouth. first of all, the game didn't begin until 9:00, and i think missionaries are meant to be home by 9:00. secondly, missionaries need not be in any situation where bad feelings of contention could arise. anyone who has played church league basketball will readily testify that contention is in abundance at these games. i don't really need to mention the position that missionaries have more important things to do than play hoop in a league. it wasn't my place to say, but it seemed weird. i let them play.
now i'm not saying these guys tried to lead me astray. even if they did, i forgive them. if some kids want to play ball that badly; well, that much i can understand. i might have done the same.
we are in the fourth week of the league, and everything is running very smoothly. be that as it may, unforeseen situations will always arise which require resolution. everyone looks to me, so i seem to be the final authority (sort of.) one such occasion presented itself last night.
a guy from one particular ward approached me with a question i misunderstood. this ward has a guy named percy playing with them. he is not a member of the church. i thought i was being asked if an investigator of the church could play on the team. i replied that in my opinion, this is one of the chief benefits of a church basketball league - to create relationships between the men of the church and those who have become estranged from the general membership or are investigating the possibility of conversion to the faith. after all, my parents joined the church after many experiences with lds athletic programs. this inquisitor must have been quite puzzled by my answer because he was asking me if the full-time missionaries could play on their team if an investigator would also be playing.
when i finally understood the question, i didn't have a clue what the answer was. i finally told the missionaries that if their playing would be allowed by the policies of their mission president then i saw nothing to prevent them. i was a little surprised to hear them answer in the affirmative.
it would have been folly to bother to ask my mission president the same. i have no doubt that president washburn would have answered negatively before i even got the question fully out of my mouth. first of all, the game didn't begin until 9:00, and i think missionaries are meant to be home by 9:00. secondly, missionaries need not be in any situation where bad feelings of contention could arise. anyone who has played church league basketball will readily testify that contention is in abundance at these games. i don't really need to mention the position that missionaries have more important things to do than play hoop in a league. it wasn't my place to say, but it seemed weird. i let them play.
now i'm not saying these guys tried to lead me astray. even if they did, i forgive them. if some kids want to play ball that badly; well, that much i can understand. i might have done the same.
posted by cm at 1/27/2006
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