The Butler Way, advocated by Butler University's young but extremely successful basketball coach, preaches its own set of values that have in the past two years captivated the national college sports scene. Religious and values reporter for the Indianapolis Star, Robert King's recently interviewed Stevens about his faith. The article in yesterday's paper [The Indianapolis Sunday Star, May 15, section B, 1-2] reminded me of another coach making a huge difference 2,000 years ago.
How like the apostle Paul is this Stevens' comment: "Don't talk about it. Do it. Be it." When Paul grieved over all of the Corinthian church's misunderstandings and mistakes, he kept reinforcing the same sentiment: "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ. . ." 2 Corinthians 3:2-3b. NIV. This concept reminds me of writing guru Donald Murray's best advice ever: "Show, don't tell." Our actions always speak louder than our words in the Christian walk. As writers, our words have to align with what's written on our hearts and manifested in our lives.
Another life principle Stevens understands is conveyed in his quote: "If you win or if you lose, it's not going to matter as much as the relationships. And the result is not going to matter as much as the lesson." [King 2] That's exactly why Paul writes his letters to the churches. He has a close relationship with them, and he wants them to learn from their mistakes. Lessons from the letters provides us, 2,000 years later, much wisdom and much application to both our lives and our writing. Thanks, Coach!
The Stevens Way -The Indianapolis Star
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