March 12, 2023, column from the Amarillo Globe-News:
Encouragement in magazine confirms region’s strong faith
By Mike Haynes
The Texas
Panhandle and the South Plains – anchored by Amarillo and Lubbock – are no
strangers to the Bible. That’s evident in the number of active churches in
cities and towns from Texline to Follett to Sundown to Spur and everywhere in
between.
Christian
faith also shows up outside the walls of churches, just as that Bible
recommends. This region’s culture is reflected strongly, for example, in a
yearly magazine devoted not to religion, but to basketball.
Basketball is second only to football in the top of Texas. The Nazareth Swiftettes won their 25th UIL state championship eight days ago. The Lubbock Christian boys and girls both won state private school titles, as did Lubbock’s Trinity Christian boys. The girls of Gruver, Lubbock Cooper and All-Saints Episcopal in Lubbock all made it to their state title games.
And as of
this writing, the Randall, Childress, Jayton and New Home boys had made it to
the state UIL tournament.
For the past
12 years, my sister Sheri, brother David and I – with help from my wife, Kathy,
and others – have published Panhandle-Plains Basketball, a tradition started 50
years ago by former Amarillo Globe-News publisher Garet von Netzer and former
Plainview Herald editor Danny Andrews. High school groups sell ads in the
magazine to businesses, booster clubs, parents and others, and the groups
receive a large percentage of the sales funds.
Many of those
ad purchasers, mostly parents, include encouraging words from the Bible or
statements mentioning God in their ads – with no prompting from the magazine
publishers.
An ad in the
White Deer section reads, “Do you know that in a race all runners run, but only
one receives the prize, so run that you may obtain it. – 1 Cor. 9:24.” One on a
Shallowater page says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on
your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your
paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6.”
With few
exceptions, the ads are uplifting messages, not prayers for victory. More
examples, listed with the schools the ads support, are:
Panhandle – “We are so proud of you!
Go show God’s light.”
Panhandle – “Blessed by the Ettes”
McLean – “Surely goodness and mercy
will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. – Psalms 23:6”
Olton – “Jesus
said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will
live even if he dies.’ – John 11:25”
Sundown – “Always giving thanks to
God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians
5:20”
San Jacinto Christian – “Play to
Glorify God”
Farwell – “Praise God From Whom All
Blessings Flow”
Randall – “We are so proud of you!
Keep putting in the hard work and keep God first!”
Randall – “Remember that your work ethic
and faith in God will take you far!”
Vega – “2 Chronicles 15:7”
Stratford – “John 15:1”
Several churches also supported their
teams, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes was well represented.
Lots of Gruver and Sudan fans seem to
regard faith as highly as they do basketball, and that’s saying something.
Gruver ads included:
“Seek His will in all you do, and He
will show you which path to take. – Proverbs 3:6;” “Let all that you do be done
with love. – 1 Corinthians 16:14;” “Look to the Lord and His strength; See His
face always. – 1 Chronicles 16:11;” plus “And whatever you do, whether in word
or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through Him. – Colossians 3:17.”
Sudan contributed these:
“2 Timothy 4:7;” “Go be great! –
Joshua 1:9;” “For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you
against your enemies, to give you the victory. – Deuteronomy 20:4;” “Have fun,
play hard & use the gifts God has given you!” and “But my life is worth
nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the task assigned to me by the Lord
Jesus – to tell others about the wonderful grace of God. – Acts 20:24.”
The amount of spiritual inspiration from our
region isn’t surprising, but it’s heartening and a confirmation of our deep Christian
roots.
I’m sure the same is true of fans in
Dumas despite the cheer for their beloved teams: “Go Demons and Demonettes!”
