Joy

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘Joy’ as in… it’s not whether we win or lose, it’s finding the joy in it.

I’m a fan of professional basketball in general, the Golden State Warriors in particular, and of Wardell Stephen “Steph” Curry II specifically. (Eyes are already rolling. I see you. Go ahead!)

I’ve followed the Golden State Warriors for the past several seasons which, admittedly, has been easy. As a “Non-Fair-Weather-Fan” though, my interest in the Warriors isn’t just because they have, arguably, the greatest shooter the sport has ever seen, or because it’s abundantly clear that the entire organization genuinely loves one another. My interest is in what fuels this team to play like they play, do what they do, and be who they are. In countless post-game interviews featuring any number of players, I’ve noticed that more than any other word, “joy” describes the Warriors’ ethos. This, of course, comes from the coach, Steve Kerr who is uniquely positioned to speak about joy – even in the face of adversity.

When Kerr was 18 years old, his father Malcolm H. Kerr, an American academic who specialized in the Middle Easter Studies, was killed by two gunmen during the Lebanese revolution in 1984. That tragedy shaped Kerr for the rest of his life and he used it to apply focus on his passion, basketball, both as a player and as a coach. As Steve made his way around the NBA, eventually playing for the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, wherever he went he focused on building a culture of joy, mindfulness, competition, compassion.

What sets Kerr apart isn’t that he’s an eight-time NBA champion, five as a player and three as a head coach, or that he has the highest career three-point field goal percentage (45.4%) in NBA history for any player with at least 250 three-pointers made, or that he is coaching future Hall of Fame players including one Stephen Curry. What sets Steve Kerr apart is that he creates joy in everything he does.

How do you find joy in the face of your greatest challenges?

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where be blogs about a different word each day. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche), or on his blog, Thriving Rhythms.