I’m a sports fan. I was raised in a sports-oriented family. We played team sports, regularly attended sporting events, and cheered for our favorite teams win or lose. If I had to pick one sport to either play or watch it would be basketball. It’s always been my game of choice. The range of ways to play range from in your driveway alone to full court 5-on-5 on a parquet floor in a gym. Being raised in Memphis meant being a resident of Hoop City.

One reason I enjoy basketball is that at its best it is a deliberate, strategic, fulfilling team sport. When any five players on the court are in sync, either running a Pete Carril Princeton screen-setting, back-door-cutting, lay-up-making offense or a Nolan Richardson Arkansas “40 Minutes of Hell” full-court-pressing defense…the game can be both frantic and fascinating. Five individuals can become one unit taking care of business, and win or lose, they do so as a team.

Basketball at its worst can be when that team spirit is wrecked by one player who doesn’t value their teammates. They won’t pass the ball, believe they should take every shot, and then don’t commit to playing defense. This doesn’t necessarily apply when a player is “in the zone”, making every shot, taking over a game, and clearly needs to have the ball as much as possible, until they finally miss and their hot hand has cooled off. A true team knows their individual and collective success is equal to the level of commitment and mutual support by everyone on the team.

In the National Basketball Association, after the regular season games are complete and the playoffs are underway, various awards are given out. One award that always get a lot of attention is the MVP…the Most Valuable Player. In 2014, Kevin Durant, then a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, was named the MVP for the regular season. He led the league in scoring average at 32 points per game. In his acceptance speech he thanked coaches, teammates, family, and friends for their support.

Durant then went off script and began a heartfelt soliloquy that would be known as “The Real MVP” speech. He thanked his mom for all she had done to help him achieve his goals. He spoke of how she supported him when he was successful and offered guidance when he made mistakes. He concluded by saying that he may have received the award, but she was the real MVP.

I am now in my fourth month as your President/CEO for the UM Foundation & Development Fund for the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference. I may be the face of the team and the one who is seen and heard, but I am very much aware that I am not the Most Valuable Player on this team. Thus, I want to recognize two people who are the REAL MVP’s for the work of this ministry, Tiffany Ford and Sara Finger.

Tiffany Ford has been the Administrator for the United Methodist Development Fund, our savings and loan components, for just over 25 years. She is the one who handles all the savings accounts deposits and withdrawals, processes all the loan payments, and fields all the questions thrown at her about the details of past and present Development Fund activity. Through it all Tiffany is cool, calm, and collected. I am amazed at how she maintains balance in her life, keeping pace with work demands while remaining devoted to her family. For all these years she has worked behind the scenes and has no desire to be in the spotlight. I want you know Tiffany is the real MVP.

Sara Finger is a United Methodist preacher’s kid who wears several hats in the life of this ministry. Sara is in her 16th year of covering all aspects of the inner workings of the Foundation, our market-based long-term investment component. It means tracking accounts, making reports, and fielding calls based on the roller coaster ride of the market. Sara is also the Director of Finance and Administration for our office. That is something that Tiffany and I, along with our Field Representative, Rev. Dr. David Comperry, are very grateful for. Sara does everything from ordering office supplies to maintaining communications with our Board of Directors…and a whole lot in-between. Sara’s mind is always working on something, but she is totally committed to giving her family the time and attention they deserve. I want you to know Sara is the real MVP.

Both Tiffany and Sara have September birthdays. This was an opportunity to celebrate their being born, but also to express appreciation for who they are as gifted, generous, patient teammates, and faithful, reliable, trustworthy servants. They are the real MVP’s of our Foundation & Development Fund. Through the efforts of their labor, we are able to make a positive impact in our life together as a Conference, prayerfully doing God’s Kingdom work.

It can be difficult to sense the Holy Spirit at work in the midst of managing money, but I promise it is there. Here, it is evident in the spirit with which Tiffany and Sara go about their tasks, including training up your new President & CEO in the way he should go (hopefully he will not depart from it…).

I pray you are surrounded by some MVP’s in your life and work. They are the glue that can hold a family, a church, and a team together. Look around and identify them…thank them…and above all, give thanks to God for them.

Serving Christ, Serving you,
Rev. Dr. David O. Weatherly