The Final Score

Yes, sports and games are supposed to be fun, but let's set aside all this nonsense about winning doesn't matter. I always tell the kids on my little league teams that we have three goals: to learn; to have fun; to win. Winning is not the only goal in sports but it is an important one.

If you took a survey of Major League Baseball players and asked them if they would play for less money if the team they committted to was guaranteed to win the World Series, I believe a healthy majority would say yes. Just ask Alex Rodriguez of the evil empire (sorry, Yankee fans) what his opinion is on the question. 2 years ago he was ready to agree to a trade from the Texas Rangers to the Boston Red Sox. The players' union ended up blocking the trade because it would have reduced his salary. Fast forward to the end of the 2004 season and look at his face as the Red Sox celebrated their victory over the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The disappointment was written deep on his face. In the end, he didn't care about his final stats or his bank balance, he only cared that the final score showed his team didn't win the World Series.

The good news of the Kingdom of Christ is we already know the final score. Jesus wins! So it only makes sense to play every inning of our lives for Christ. It doesn't matter what personal accomplishments we achieve or how much money or stuff we accumulate, it only matters that we contributed to the winning team.

There is no better feeling in sports than the on the field celebration right after the championship has been won and knowing you helped make it happen. I want that experience when the final score of life is displayed on the scoreboard of the universe. I won't care about anything except knowing I was a contributing member of the winning team and I'll be lining up to praise our captain and King! We know the final score, so let's get in the game!

The Dugout

The dugout. Every baseball player spends half or more of his time there. When I was 12 years old, I spent the least amount of time possible there. I was the starting third baseman for the Myers Food Rite Majors team.

I was always a good fielder, but my lack of hitting caught up with me in teener baseball. Let's just say I saw and felt the bench in the dugout siginifcantly more than half the time. I think it may also have had something to do with the fact that I was assigned the same position as the coach's son...hmmmmm.

I didn't have a growth spurt until after I was 16, so I ended up having a similar bench experience, minus the coach's son, in 8th and 9th grade basketball. Some would say being 5'2" is a slight disadvantage in a sport for tall people. I would have to agree, especially when your leaping ability cannot be compared to Superman. No single bounds over tall buildings for me. It ain't gonna happen!

So since I have significant bench experience (every now and then I still find a splinter from 1979), I think I am qualified to pass on one lesson I learned on the pine. Here it is.

Every player on the team is important, no matter what position he or she plays and no matter if they are on the field or in the dugout.

In my playing days, I spent too much time complaining about not playing enough and not enough time encouraging my teammates. Looking back, I probably would have gotten more playing time if I had stayed more positive, but somehow I thought that baseball was all about me. It was as if I thought the game wasn't worth playing unless I was on the field.

Some people seem to have the same perspective about church. They want "the game" to be "played" their way and if it's not, they go find another "team". But I have found that if you start encouraging others on your team and start focusing on what your team is doing right, you will complain less and even end up becoming a MVCM, Most Valuable Church Member. Those that sit on the bench (read pew or folding chair or padded chair, whichever your church has) and complain about those in the game, hurt Jesus' team. But those that choose to look past the faults and weaknesses of the team (since every team/church has those) end up getting involved in a way that makes the team and themselves stronger.

Don't be a dugout complainer. Remember that your team needs you. Every bench sitter out there may have to wait for the coach's word to get in a baseball or basketball game, but bench sitters in Christ's church are only there because they choose to be. Christ's church is the most important cause in the world and every follower needs to choose to get in the game by serving with the gifts and talents and passions God gave them. It's how you show you have authentic trust in Christ. You can start serving right where you are by meeting the needs of people around you. Go ahead and get in the game. Jesus can make you an All-Star and you'll discover that giving and serving are the keys to a fulfilling life.

No minor leagues with Jesus

I went with my little league baseball team to see a Harrisburg Senators game this week. The Senators are the double "A" farm team for the Washington Nationals (which sounds a whole lot better than the Montreal Expos, the previous Major League team of the Senators). Our team went to the game because we won the fundraising contest for our league. One of the high points for our players was going out on the field to stand with the player of their choice during the National Anthem. My son, on the left, and another player chose the centerfielder, Frank Diaz.

Minor League baseball is fun and in some ways, I like it better than the Majors. More players play with their whole heart because they're hoping to get to the Majors and they know it won't be easy. They long for the day the manager calls them into the office to tell them some good news, like Dennis Quaid's coach in "The Rookie" (a great feel-good baseball movie). They want to hear the manager say, "Son, you're moving up to the Big Leagues."

The encouraging news is that there are no minor leaguers with Jesus. He gives every one of His followers gifts that we can begin to use in the big game of life right from day 1. Certainly we can improve "our game" and grow in maturity, but we don't have to wait for the call up from the big leagues. If you are a follower of Christ right now, you are in the big leagues and you make a contribution to Jesus' team every time you give like Jesus gives. We strike out when we live selfishly and get on base when we serve others like He did. Don't sit on the bench. There is room in this game for everyone! Do everything you do with Jesus at the center.

***If you want a little inspiration to swing for the fence with Jesus, trying listening to the song "Home Run" by Geoff Moore.