Filling Up & Pouring Out by Charlie Barker
At the beginning of this program, I entered into a new community with eight young adults my age where churches, families, and people come together to invest their time and wisdom into our lives. The people inside this program give us knowledge, leadership, and an impregnable foundation upon which we can build lives of faith-driven work, service to our community, and abounding love drawn from Love himself. We are continually growing in our faith throughout the course of this program and bringing that faith into our host homes, our workplace, and our churches. Though, there is more to this program than the program itself and what goes on inside of it. I speak of the surrounding communities outside of the Fellows Program that are impacted by it.
We entered The Fellows Program learning about community and how important it is. I completely agree with the importance of community. The fellows program has great community within itself, but I also think it is important to branch out and enjoy other communities in Nashville. I have found just that in the Ultimate Frisbee pick-up games that take place every Saturday at Fellowship Bible Church.
If you know me, and not even that well, you should know that I love Ultimate Frisbee. When I first came to Nashville, I was immediately withdrawn from a lack of consistent pick-up frisbee games, someone to throw the disc around with, or going to tournaments every now and again. I heard from one of my co-workers of a group that plays every Saturday. So, I went and before I knew it I became great friends with them all. I have gotten the chance to invest myself in a group of people that do not know anything about the fellows program, pour out my newly found self, and share it with this Frisbee community. I listen to how their week has been and am updated on relevant situations in their life. The other week, a man shared that he and his wife are having a baby and a bunch of strangers were there to congratulate him. It’s such a friendly environment! Then, once we’ve caught up on each other’s lives, the group of roughly thirty men and women gather around in prayer, divide into four teams and have a tournament-style match for the next three hours. It is quite competitive, but we tend to goof around, partake in playful banter, make wacky throws, and just have a good time. The fellows program can be very busy and it is sometimes difficult to find time to pour out all that you are taking in…because there is a plethora of knowledge to take in. Ultimate Frisbee is where I am able to pour out so that I can be filled once again. Also, Ultimate Frisbee is really fun and you should try it!
Investing our lives in the community of Nashville and getting plugged in is a big goal of this program. I enjoy getting to do that with this little frisbee community, my church community, and at work as well. The Nashville Fellows Program has shown me what it looks like to step into a new city and become part of it. Finding this group of frisbee fanatics has helped to convey the results of this program in myself and reveal how it’s changing the way I love people I don’t know and how I interact with them. People who don’t even know The Lord are welcomed with open arms to play Ultimate and participate in our frisbee family (maybe they’ll even ask questions about my faith one Saturday.) This is what community is all about and I am thankful for this program to show me what that looks like. Now I can take this new perspective and with it, pour out the love that He has filled me up with into the world, like I have with my Nashville Frisbee Community. #frisforlife