Baseball
The baseball playoffs begin this week. I know many of you are consumed with football, but I am a baseball fanatic (and yes, I spelled that out to be more accurate). More specifically, I am an Atlanta Braves fan. And I am blessed to be married to a very patient lady.
Over the last 30 years we have taken vacations that have coincided with where the Braves were playing. We’ve seen them play in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Chicago. We watched John Smoltz outduel Greg Maddux (before he became a Brave) 1-0 in Wrigley Field. To this day, that is my favorite baseball game I have attended.
Of course, the World Series championships in 1995 and 2021 are among my favorite memories. I started playing baseball at the age of 6. I played tee-ball in Doraville, Georgia all the way through high school, and I have also umpired and coached. My dad once said that umpiring youth league baseball was the best training I had to become a pastor.
From the age of 8 through age 14 my dad was my coach. I know I’m biased, but he was the best baseball coach I ever had. We won several championships over the years. From one of those championship teams (age 12), three of the 12 players on the team are currently Baptist pastors. He told me that was his greatest accomplishment as a coach.
When I think back to the different things I have done, perhaps the most important ones are those that have impacted the lives of others. Today, as I consider the 41 years I have been a pastor, perhaps the most satisfying thought is that there are men whom I mentored who are now serving as pastors in Vermont, Texas, Puerto Rico, Statesboro, and more than one in the Pembroke area.
Paul wrote of fighting the fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). I pray that I will be able to do just that. Perseverance is essential in a 162-game baseball season. It is even more important in life. May we stay with it until the Lord calls us home!
