“As athletes, we often want to develop our bodies. As students, we often want to develop our minds. But the Lord needs us to grow all parts of our self in Him.”
– Mung
Educator and Coach.
Married.
Most Bible studies and small groups have a pretty set structure. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are a lot of benefits to structure. Structure allows you to get things done, to reach planned benchmarks, to “check boxes.” Most “successful” institutions rely on structure to make sure things are done correctly, efficiently, and effectively. I’m not so sure this same emphasis on structure is always what is best for connecting with the Lord and connecting with others. WPD, while it has a handbook, lessons, and a planned meeting time, finds a good mix between structure and free-flowing connection.
I think it would be a negative thing to only ever do planned lessons in a Christian small group. Even when these lessons have a time for open discussion/reflection, it is still usually in the context of the topic of the lesson. What if you are struggling with something that has little or nothing to do with the planned lesson? What I love about WPD is that even though we do these planned lessons, which truly have a lot of value, it is always an option to abandon the lesson and talk about what is REALLY going on in our lives. And through this time of sharing we can attempt to support and encourage each other, integrating God’s word in applicable ways. I know that WPD is an environment in which I can spill my guts. I can just lay it all out there, everything I have been thinking and feeling. I know for certain there have been times where I talked too much or let my ranting run a little too far. But I’m glad that I always felt the opportunity to share my experience and let Dr. McNeal and the other members of the group give me their honest feedback. I hope that the other guys felt the same, and I hope that I, at least once, offered some feedback to them that was valuable.
Christians should support each other. The Bible teaches this clearly. Much of this support comes from reminding each other to engage in the spiritual disciplines. And that is always extremely truthful, effective, and wise advice. However, sometimes the Bible doesn’t give a 100% word for word answer to a specific predicament we face. I believe it is valuable for Christians to discuss with each other what parts of scripture mean and how they can be applied. And hopefully in this discussion some applicable teaching or guidance can be deciphered. I believe that meeting with people who have similar life experience and discussing scripture and the Christian walk can be very valuable.
Common struggles of the group can be evaluated from different angles by different individuals who think different thoughts and operate with different strengths. This concerted effort to work together to understand scripture just a bit better can be effective. In the case of WPD, bringing together a group of student-athletes, who go to the same school and play the same sport, has been very worthwhile in my view. Dr. McNeal himself understands the physical and mental trials of being a running/endurance athlete. These commonalities allow the group to connect with and support each other in meaningful ways.
Dr.McNeal puts together great lessons. They are biblically based, truthful, and applicable. The lesson book he made for us is a great guide, and the reading material he gave us from time to time was always high quality. But above all this I believe that Dr. McNeal is in tune with the human need for connection with the Lord. Dr. McNeal always teaches and encourages us to simply spend time connecting with the Lord. To spend time being quiet, disengaged by the distractions that usually fill our days. This emphasis on connection feels truthful to me. Sometimes we don’t need another lesson book, another Bible lesson. Another scripture memorization exercise. Don’t get me wrong these things are extremely valuable and important. But sometimes we need to simply give God our time. We need to talk to Him, reflect on Him and His word. Give Him the space to respond to us if He wishes.
To pretend that this type of prayer and reflection is unimportant is terrible in my opinion. Dr. McNeal always encourages us to connect to the Lord in this way, along with reading scripture and practicing the other spiritual disciplines. Dr. McNeal is a wise mentor, but he would never claim to be, or act as, an all-knowing authority. He always offers truthful and insightful feedback. I feel that Dr. McNeal understands me better than almost anyone in my life, and always gives me feedback/advice that is personalized to me.
I have attended Bible studies and Christian small groups in which I never would have shared as much as I did in WPD. These groups definitely have value. But bringing together student-athletes, guys who are teammates and friends, has been very valuable. The namesake of the group rings so relevant to me. We have to develop all aspects of our person. As athletes, we often want to develop our bodies. As students, we often want to develop our minds. But the Lord needs us to grow all parts of our self in Him. Every WPD lesson and meeting held to this concept. We cannot be weak in one area of our lives and expect to stay strong in the others for very long. All in all, I believe WPD is a great format for Christian fellowship. I find the emphases of the lessons and discussions to be based in truth and relevant for real life. Dr. McNeal is a wise, caring, knowledgeable, and humble mentor/group leader. I have thoroughly enjoyed WPD, and I believe it has helped me immensely in my spiritual development and Christian walk.
Will “Mung” O’Keefe – May 2021 Graduate. Graduate Student