Saturday, June 13, 2009

Another article about the football camp



Buffaloes Unify Lake Providence

The Buffaloes football coaching staff reached out and touched acommunity, a community experiencing a great divide. It was said by aperson observing the clinic from the sidelines that this was the firsttime in Lake Providence that a town was unified by an event such asthe football clinic for two high school football programs. BriarfieldAcademy is the private high school in Lake Providence. LakeProvidence High School is the other high school in the small town.The two schools are divided by railroad tracks. You get the picturethat I am trying to paint. But all of that history was put to rest onFriday. Briarfield Academy crossed the tracks and came over to workout with Lake Providence High School in what is hoped to be the 1stAnnual ABC Buffaloes Football Fundamentals Camp.

A few weeks ago, Coach Richard Wilson and his staff agreed to take onthe challenge of building unity through a football clinic for bothteams. It was indeed a success. For two hours the teams cametogether to work on football fundamentals. If you didn't know anydifferently, you would have thought that this was at least the fifthpractice because it was well organized and the young men worked verywell together. Sports has a way of bringing different peopletogether. NFL great quarterback, Bert Jones worked with thequarterbacks and also talked to the student-athletes about workinghard in the off season.

This event was organized by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ofLouisiana in partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ofArkansas. Last year, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansasrelocated their state headquarters from west Little Rock to the campusof Arkansas Baptist College.

After the football clinic, the teams ate and worshipped together atLake Providence High School. President of ABC, Fitz Hill spoke to theteams and several members of the community in the school's auditoriumabout being courageous and stepping outside your comfort zone insideyour local community. He stressed getting to know your neighbors,explaining that strength is in unity not individualism.


At the conclusion of the community rally, the Cooperative BaptistFellowship of Louisiana announced that they will start an annual scholarship for one student from Lake Providence to attend ABC. Itwas truly a blessed day for everyone involved.

A Football Lesson
May 20, 2009 — jeremylewis
After taking some time to think about my experience at the CBF of LA meeting several weekends ago in Lake Providence, LA, I continue to be impressed by the overwhelming welcoming presence by both the community and by the people attending the meeting. I have be upfront and let you know that I am a little biased about my feelings toward the people of Lake Providence. Each time I go back there, I am reminded of how rich that community is. It is full of both natural beauty and of people who are remarkably kind and hospitable.


On this trip, I had the pleasure of serving alongside a football coaching team made up primarily of local coaches and coaches from Arkansas Baptist College, who helped to organize this community building event. It was an experience of joy for me to be able to interact and get to know the coaches and players from Lake Providence Senior High School and Briarfield Academy. I was reminded of many of the formative experiences I had during my football career and the opportunities that football provided for me to challenge myself and my worldview while enjoying some intense competition. It is my hope that those students who came to the clinic strengthened relationships or established new relationships that will be meaningful for them in the time ahead.


For me, it is so appropriate that a football clinic was held to kick off the CBF LA meeting since much of what happened during that clinic is part of what we hope happens in the life of the Fellowship and Together for Hope. We hope that we can have an opportunity to get together to share our experiences of life with each other. We hope that through the sweat and challenges of life, that we will learn to lean on each other and on God to guide us. We hope that we will be challenged to learn and to grow but at that same time encouraged by our neighbors and by God’s assurance to walk alongside us. Of course, at our meetings, the drills look differently and we may not have to get as sweaty. However, I have so much left to learn from the way that sports or team events help us to build a community that can be encouraged and challenged by the ongoing revelation of God in our time. Thank you to the CBF LA family and staff as well as the community of Lake Providence, LA for providing me with the lesson.

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A Football Lesson
May 20, 2009 — jeremylewis

After taking some time to think about my experience at the CBF of LA meeting several weekends ago in Lake Providence, LA, I continue to be impressed by the overwhelming welcoming presence by both the community and by the people attending the meeting. I have be upfront and let you know that I am a little biased about my feelings toward the people of Lake Providence. Each time I go back there, I am reminded of how rich that community is. It is full of both natural beauty and of people who are remarkably kind and hospitable.
On this trip, I had the pleasure of serving alongside a football coaching team made up primarily of local coaches and coaches from Arkansas Baptist College, who helped to organize this community building event. It was an experience of joy for me to be able to interact and get to know the coaches and players from Lake Providence Senior High School and Briarfield Academy. I was reminded of many of the formative experiences I had during my football career and the opportunities that football provided for me to challenge myself and my worldview while enjoying some intense competition. It is my hope that those students who came to the clinic strengthened relationships or established new relationships that will be meaningful for them in the time ahead.

For me, it is so appropriate that a football clinic was held to kick off the CBF LA meeting since much of what happened during that clinic is part of what we hope happens in the life of the Fellowship and Together for Hope. We hope that we can have an opportunity to get together to share our experiences of life with each other. We hope that through the sweat and challenges of life, that we will learn to lean on each other and on God to guide us. We hope that we will be challenged to learn and to grow but at that same time encouraged by our neighbors and by God’s assurance to walk alongside us. Of course, at our meetings, the drills look differently and we may not have to get as sweaty. However, I have so much left to learn from the way that sports or team events help us to build a community that can be encouraged and challenged by the ongoing revelation of God in our time. Thank you to the CBF LA family and staff as well as the community of Lake Providence, LA for providing me with the lesson.

God’s assurance to walk alongside us. Of course, at our meetings, the drills look differently and we may not have to get as sweaty. However, I have so much left to learn from the way that sports or team events help us to build a community that can be encouraged and challenged by the ongoing revelation of God in our time. Thank you to the CBF LA family and staff as well as the community of Lake Providence, LA for providing me with the lesson.(more share options)