Pastoral note, from Garrett
The All Belong Service on Sunday offered children and youth the opportunity to lead worship. They planned and executed a wonderful service. We had a conversational sermon in which I interviewed 10th-grader Jeff Johnson and Dorothy Potts (who is a tad beyond 10th grade).
June 1 will be our first Family Fellowship Night. This is a series of events we are doing on Mondays in June that essentially takes the place of Vacation Bible School. We believe this family-centered approach to faith formation will bear more fruit long-term. Instead of a morning VBS atmosphere, which was a generous offer for babysitting local neighborhood kids, we are creating these Monday evening experiences as a way for families to grow in faith together.
These children and their adults can learn from you. So you’re invited to be a part of it. There are multiple ways to volunteer and take on leadership roles. Just check with Katie Wilke (katie@woodlandsa.org).
This week the Church Council meets on Tuesday night. We will review some of our church policy documents to ensure they all align. We will also be discussing plans for returning to the sanctuary. At this point, it doesn’t look like that will happen until later in the summer. You probably saw my message last week with a long list of items that still need to be completed before moving back in.
You’re probably wondering about my take on the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, if not… here ends the letter. Otherwise, here we go…
The Thunder are an incredible team. And the Spurs are the only team that really gave them any trouble this year. This Spurs–Thunder Western Conference Finals (62-win Spurs vs. 64-win Thunder) is the first playoff matchup between two 62+ win teams since the 1998 NBA Finals between the Bulls (62–20) and Jazz (62–20).
The Spurs are 4-1 against the Thunder this year. But this will not be easy. The Thunder have the deepest roster in the league. Some say their second string could be a playoff team.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Thunder’s premier player. He was just named MVP for the 2nd straight year. He’s a 6’6” point guard who snakes through the defense and always seems to get the midrange shot he wants. He’s known for drawing fouls at an obnoxious rate. The Spurs will have to not jump at his pump fakes and resist the temptation to swipe down and fowl him when he goes to the basket.
What sets the Thunder apart is their tenacious defense— especially at the point of attack. Lu Dort and Alex Caruso are two of the best wing and guard defenders in the league. Tonight we should look for how they are able to defend the Spurs guards. The big question is: will the refs allow Dort and Caruso to hit, slap, and body the Spurs ballhandlers? The Timberwolves were allowed to hit and slap ballhandlers, even at midcourt. If that’s the case in this series, the Spurs could be in trouble.
The reason the Spurs were able to match up well against the Thunder this year is because of their numerous ball handlers. They always seem to have 2 of Fox, Castle, and Harper on the court. That means they always have 2 really good ball-handlers on the floor, which negates the Thunder’s full-court pressure and gives the Spurs an advantage.
The pressure is different now. The conference finals are a whole new level of pressure. We will see how the young Spurs core handles that pressure. There isn’t a history of young teams like this handling that pressure well. But Wembanyama is different, and so far Castle and Harper have not seemed phased by the spotlight. If any young team can get over the hump, it’s this team. But they need to hit their threes, Luke Kornet needs to be viable on the court, and they can’t turn the ball over.
I’m going to say Spurs in 7.
Grace and peace,
Garrett Vickrey
Senior Pastor