AROUND THE STATE - DAN MOORE
Student-athletes from around the Rochester area meet every other Wednesday via Zoom for group FCA ministry to come together and talk about faith and how it relates in the lives of student-athletes. Adrienne Cali of Roberts Wesleyan has done a magnificent job of getting athletes together for these FCA group huddle meetings. I must give a shout out to the SUNY Geneseo student-athletes as they represent a super majority of attendees! Go Knights!
Members of this group take turns sharing the lead to minister to the group. I was asked to lead the FCA huddle group a few weeks ago. I asked the group what topics or questions they wanted me to present on. The question 'why do bad things happen to good people?' was the topic to prepare and minister on. This question is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer in all of theology. I was intimidated by this question, especially because I do not have a background in theology. I am the women's and men's head cross country coach at SUNY Geneseo with a degree in psychology. What do I know about theology? I was raised in a Bible believing household and grew up going to church and part of youth groups. This was my theology training, but I was not formally educated on the topic. What did I just get myself into?
I am sure we all have experienced pain and suffering at one time or another, and perhaps some are even going through a hardship right now. Like most, I have experienced extreme hardships. For example, my sister went to be with her lord and savior Jesus Christ after a seven and a half year battle with brain cancer in 2015. She was as "good" of a person as I have known and I thought it was completely unfair that such a "bad" thing happened to such a "good" person. So the question 'why do bad things happen to good people?' especially hit home for me. This journey I went on ignited something deep within me that I cannot quite describe. I now have an insatiable appetite to learn more about theology and research tough questions that are difficult to answer. If you know me, I am a big 'why' person. I don't just want to know the answer, but I want to know why. I don't think I ever really understood why my sister was taken at such a young age, especially because she was a faithful follower of Jesus and she could have done some much more good in this world. I simply just accepted this as God's will and put my faith in Him and that everything would work out because the Bible states that "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Knowing this didn't help me to help others who did not share the same faith as me ask the question why my sister got a brain tumor and died as a result. This journey of researching and presenting to the FCA huddle deepened my faith. I truly enjoy exploring God's word more than ever. I am spending more time in his word and in prayer. I am so thankful for how God is using the FCA ministry to deepen my faith and walk with Jesus. I am happy to share the results of my findings about the question, "why do bad things happen to good people?"
Please email me at moored@geneseo.edu and I am happy to share!
I also meet weekly with Cody Foster in a small group coach's huddle. We worked through the entire chapter of John, analyzing and challenging each other with tough questions. We are now working through the book Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden. I look forward to meeting with this group every week because I learn so much from each member of the group. I deeply appreciate what each member has to share and how we each bring our unique perspectives to the group. This is one of my favorite parts to my week. One of the biggest takeaways from this group is that "God does not call the equipped, but he equips the called." Cody said this to the group in one of our weekly meetings and that has really stuck with me. Now more than ever, I feel that I am being called to be a messenger of God's word and to share the good news of the Gospel. This group is equipping me to help gain confidence and boldly share the good news of Jesus. I am deeply thankful and appreciate everyone in the small group.
