I normally schedule these blogs to post around 5:30p, Mountain Time. Today, in one hour, the Denver Nuggets basketball team will enter game 4 of the NBA Finals ahead of the Miami Heat two games to one. It’s Denver’s first appearance in the Finals.

I just found out that the Nuggets’ PA announcer, Kyle Speller, is also the team chaplain.

Here’s a snippet of the story from Sports Spectrum:

He knows some of the Nuggets players well because he also serves as the team’s chaplain, a role he’s held for the past 16 years. It’s a volunteer role because Speller doesn’t want money to get in the way of what the Lord has called him to do.

As chaplain, Speller gives a message during a 15-minute chapel service held one hour before every game. In the NBA, players and coaches from both teams are welcome, meaning some Heat and Nuggets players joined together in a quiet room down the hall from their opposing locker rooms at Ball Arena on Thursday night, and listened to Speller share what God had put on his heart.

He told Sports Spectrum earlier this week that he thought his message to the players before Game 1 would be about doing God’s will and how we always want more of God’s presence in our lives, but we’re not always willing to pay the price to get it.

“A lot of times we want to do God’s will, but then adversity comes so we start to do things our way,” Speller said. “Obedience is better than sacrifice, [that] is what the Word says. If it’s not God’s way, then are we actually in His will?”

Workplace ministry at its best!

As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. (1 Corinthians 12.18, MSG)

I also just learned of an arena that needs some “body parts” – and might not have them. More tomorrow.

P.S. I shared the story of Kyle Speller and the Nuggets yesterday at a gathering of older Navigator staff. There was a young guy in the crowd, Eric from the Development office, who has ties to FCA – the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He knows Kyle and says he’s the real deal. Eric showed me texts that were flying around the local FCA community during game 1 of the finals, including texts from Kyle himself.