About a month into Covid time a friend asked, “So . . . what are you going to do about Bash?”
As soon as the world started changing rapidly around Covid quarantines, etc., honestly, one of the first things on my mind was the Bash. And as soon as it would creep in, I’d just block it out. “We can’t worry about that right now . . .” and I’d focus on other things.
I was afraid.
Afraid of not having enough money to pull it off.
Afraid of trying to figure out how to serve others while protecting those who serve.
Afraid of changing the entire thing when finally leadership (aka Layne and Josh) had led the mission to where it needed to be to function efficiently.
There were many things to be afraid of.
It reminded me of the first summer of Bash 10 years ago when we thought it’d had 200 students/500 folks MAX and it ended up being 800/4000ish.
That summer as our numbers grew and we encountered lots of adversity, at some point we had to move out of the fear place and just “get it done.” Hours were spent sorting school supplies, etc. and eventually the day came, and the rest is history.
Back in March my friend said, “You can’t keep NOT thinking about it . . . you have to start thinking about it and you need a plan. Everything else is functioning as a drive-thru right now, Bash can too. Just stop being afraid of thinking about it and do it.”
The conversations started. Brainstorming with folks about the “how” and
voila . . . here we are!
It’s tonight!
Over 1650 students registered, 1400 pair of tennis shoes.
Three directors that have done an amazing job visioning and making it come to fruition.
500 volunteers.
And somehow we’ve been able to fund it all.
While it will be chaos at times over the next four days and I’m certain volunteers (and staff) will leave this week exhausted physically and mentally, this week will be one of those “thin spaces” where the Kingdom of God is revealed in the here and now.
Friday when the newspaper called she asked a great question.
“What’s kept this event alive for 10 years?”
I’d never thought about it. What has made it sustainable over the years?
“The power of community and people coming together and pooling their resources for the common good. It’s what the early church looked like and how it functioned. And when we function that way in our world today, powerful things happen.”
Here we are. And I pray and trust this week will be transformative for many.
Yet none of that would have happened had we been paralyzed by being afraid.
Where do you need to confront fear in your life today?
You are reading a Musing Meditation by Andrea Smith, Pastor, West Church, Lake Norman, Mooresville, NC.
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