Game On
On a summer night at the Avondale Library, you can witness our Rising Leader, Keith, multiply hope to teens and young adults. We call him our “John Maxwell of the hood”.
He came up with an idea to make compelling connections through gaming so that he can talk about faith and character development. The young men who attend, ranging from 13-25 years old, walk in because of an appetite for competition, to avoid boredom, or maybe because they are searching to possibly make a new friend. Some of the kids can be typically disruptive, but once Keith gets going, they listen intently and asked questions. The way he connects what they think they are hungry for to what they are actually hungry for is only possible because he knows exactly what it feels like to be those kids — he is one of them.
Keith is a very competitive young man with a motor inside of him that only has one setting… “win” — which is something he does often, especially when he is teaching someone else how to play. He’s not the kind of teacher who is going to hold back on someone during their first round of a game, afterall, as Keith has learned throughout life, defeat can be our best educator… when handled correctly.
The games that he plays with these young men have a way of disarming the typical “pride-fueled” teenager who is out out to prove themselves against any opponent or “rage-quit” before they can be defeated. In this disarming processes, Keith is actually teaching them about grace — being able to let go of what happened in the past and being given the chance to try again.
Fortnight and Faith?
Jesus was accused of being a sinner because he hung out with sinners. Most adults who work with young people often admit that they do not know how to reach teenagers, especially in the inner-city from 13 years old and up. Even more so, to make connections that lead to reliance on Jesus. Just like the work that Keith is doing, all of our Rising Leaders are tapping into their passions to drive connections and to launch their missions.
Some of the Avondale kids are starting to follow him. Here are some of his thoughts:
"What am I truly afraid of? I'm afraid of someone seeing me and judging me based off my thoughts because I know I think of some horrible things. I'm also afraid of being tortured to death. What can help? My faith that Jesus knows my heart and sees my actions and loves me despite all the crap I've done and thought of because he knows I'm human."
Keith understands that just like the young men that he plays games with, he has to take his losses with grace, learning to forgive himself and others, and keep trying again, growing better with each try. While we all admit that this life is not a game, it sure goes a long way when a game can be used to help us develop an environment of grace and love, so that when we fail in the real world, we have hope and faith that we can keep going forward. Keith is that beacon of light to a new generation who are learning these vital points of resilience — one game at a time.
