I recently read an interesting article in Runner’s World on Desiree Davila, who finished second in the U.S. Marathon Olympic trials a couple of weeks ago. What really caught my eye, though, was a quote by Keith Hanson, one of her coaches and the owner of Hansons Running Shops, which are located in the Detroit area. Here’s an excerpt:
“The Hanson brothers have a lot of theories about running, and they’ll give you an earful anytime you want. Just drop by the shops in Utica or Royal Oak. They’re simple storefront operations, nothing fancy: running shoes stocked on plain white shelving, posters of Desiree Davila, Brian Sell, and other Hansons-Brooks runners decorate the ends caps and the walls. There’s no high-markup Detroit Tigers, Lions, or Pistons jerseys, nothing that can’t be actually used on an eight-mile run. On most days a couple team athletes will be working the counter, and Kevin or Keith will be on the floor, holding court like it’s a neighborhood barber shop.
” ‘Hey! I saw your niece’s time last weekend,’ Kevin calls out to a customer on a recent afternoon. The man smiles proudly.
“A rumpled man comes through the door–coach of a local cross-country team. ‘How are your girls doing?’ Kevin asks.
"And so it goes. Hansons Running Shops aren’t selling shoes. They’re selling the fun of running. Marathon clinics, group runs, middle school camps–something’s always going on. ‘Sometimes other shop owners will complain to me that running’s down in their area,’ Keith Hanson tells me. ‘And I think, You do know you’re in charge of that, right?’”
There are blessed times when I see a movie or hear a song or read a story and immediately know, that’ll preach. That quote will preach. You do know you’re in charge of that, right? From time to time, I hear pastors or professional church people complain about the fact that no one comes to church any more. They’re befuddled that simply opening the doors of the church doesn’t pack the house.
The Hanson brothers think that everyone would love running if they just experienced it. Now, that may not necessarily be true, but they believe that it is and will do all they can to preach the gospel of running to their communities. As people of faith, we believe (or we should believe) that everyone would love God if they really and truly experienced God’s love for them. But people won’t know that if we stay stuck in our routines and offices and constantly complain about (take your pick) (a) the people in your community; (b) your building; © this new generation of young adults; (d) the denomination; (e) society in general; and on and on.
This question is my question, too. I think about my neighborhood, my social circles, my family, my city. And I believe that Jesus asks, you do know you’re in charge of that, right? It’s a bit of a hyperbolic question, but God’s grace and love is already there. What creative and new things am I doing to reveal it?