Hunger, Habits, Humility

For IWUHoops, each season is a journey of men in the program trading the pursuit of me for the pursuit of 3.  Through intentional prayer, Bible study and community, God has continued to reveal new depths of an IAm3rd life.  

The 2016-2017 journey was one of a team filled with apathy learning to live a life marked by hunger, habits and humility.  Read Coach T's thoughts on this transformation HERE  

This offseason and preseason have seen IWUHoopers pursuing 'hunger, habits and humility.'   A pursuit of Hunger sets you in motion.  Habits keep you in motion.  Humility puts others in motion.  This pattern has taken some of the men in the program beyond mere growth and into transformation.  Over the next few weeks, we invite you to check back on the blog often to hear the stories of what the team is learning and who the players within the program are becoming.

Becoming A Hungry Team

We have been learning as a team what it means to have hunger. Hunger stems from a desire to grow and become what we are designed to be.

I have been deeply impacted over the past three years by the spiritual climate of this program, but this year seems to have taken it to a whole new level. We have an entire team that is passionate about growth and we are all developing an increasing hunger for the things that matter most.  That makes being a leader for these guys come easy. 

We have been talking a lot as a team about being honest with where we are at, but also being willing to move forward. This is what drives hunger for us, and it has been awesome to see how guys have grown just in the past few months of being a part of this program.  One of the guys I have really seen this hunger develop in is Evan Maxwell. A big part of his decision to transfer to IWU was his desire and hunger to grow, and the trajectory he is on is exciting to see as he develops as a basketball player and more importantly as a man of God. I’m super excited to see how Evan will continue to grow in his time here at IWU and I know you will enjoy reading his thoughts on the blog.

When you have a hunger to grow in your relationship with God as Evan is developing, that hunger seeps into every aspect of your life.  Over the course of my career, I have had major growth in the commitment and discipline it takes to have a lifelong pursuit of this hunger, and it has had a tangible difference in every aspect of my life.  Seeing this developing in the lives of my teammates has me excited to see what we can become as a team and what will happen to the trajectory that each individual is on.

Each season has its ups and downs, as does life.  The lessons we are learning about hunger, habits and humility will have implications on our families, careers, and life just as much as it does through the game of basketball. I’m grateful and honored to be a leader on a team filled with players who are honest with where they are at, are hungry and willing to grow, and are pursuing the right things as we continue on the journey of this season and life afterwards. 

I am excited you will get to hear from the other guys about how they are growing in these ways, and hope you will join us in our pursuit of hunger, habits and humility over the course of this season. 

-Jacob Johnson, Senior