Baseball and the Game of Life: Fun vs. Torture

I have enjoyed an amazing transformation this Spring. No, I haven't had an out-of-this world Spiritual experience, I haven't started a new diet plan, and I haven't had a near-death experience. Nope. My transformation has come in the form of a white ball, a 26" aluminum bat, four bases, and a field. Yep, baseball is changing my life. (I am an assistant coach on my son's Little League team.)

You see, for once, I am involved with baseball, and I am enjoying it. This is something that has never happened before. Yes, I was a student trainer on my high school baseball team. My job was to prep the field, and watch the game, and tend to any minor injuries. (The EMT's had the big ones). The coaches liked me, the players liked me, and I got to go watch baseball and get free hamburgers after school. What wasn't to like?

During my radio career, I have had the opportunity to broadcast high school baseball, which has been a pleasure. Once again, go, set up, watch the game, and relax. (Had to buy my own burger, though.)

However, up until now, if I ever had to take a hands-on role in baseball practice, or a game, the experience has been horrifying. I go back to when I was six years old. I played "slow pitch" baseball, which is where your coach throws you a soft, underhanded pitch, and you hit it. I stunk at it. I couldn't hit. I couldn't throw. I couldn't catch. Thus, I was relegated to right field, where nothing ever happened. And, if it did happen, I had usually zoned out due to sheer boredom, and missed the play. I can still hear the other parents yelling at me, telling me I throw like a girl, I swing like a girl, etc etc. (On a side note, I had the opportunity to broadcast high school softball playoffs during 2006-2007, swinging and throwing like a girl is not necessarily a bad thing.)

When I was a student trainer on my high school team, if I ever took part in a drill, I messed it up. Couldn't catch, couldn't throw. The team (and coaches) laughed at me, but were sympathetic when I told them I gave up baseball after being called a girl when I was six.

Then, there was that city-league softball team I coached. Good bunch of girls, but I couldn't teach them to throw and catch, and there were a few parents who hated me. Oh well.

So, when it comes to baseball, it's something I've always enjoyed watching, but until now, something I really didn't like doing.

However, this year, I made the mistake of telling my son's coach that I'd help him this season. He got me a coach's shirt, and put me at 3rd base. He's a good coach, wants everyone to have fun, and we celebrate the positives. Suddenly, I am not the black sheep of baseball anymore. Baseball has become something that is fun and relaxing, just the way it was meant to be. Though I may be behind schedule on my projects, I take that hour and a half off to go coach my son's game. We get a father-son moment, we get out in the sun for a while, and we enjoy a good afternoon. Life is good. Life is simple. Life slows down. We can enjoy the moment. Plus, we are surrounded by positive people who lift us up. It's a good thing.

I say all that to say this... baseball is a lot like the game of life. Take that kid who makes a bad throw, or misses the catch, or strikes out after swinging at a pitch that was a mile and a half outside the strike zone. He feels bad at that moment... but that bad feeling is compounded by the criticisms (and often insults) that come from the stands, and from overzealous coaches. When such constructive phrases such as "Catch the ball, genius," "Throw like a man," and "What are we doing? Golfing?" pierce that kid's ears, he wishes he wasn't there. That robs the joy from that kid's baseball experience, and he may decide to give up on something that could become very enjoyable.

Likewise in life, we have our good moments, and our bad moments. Regardless of whether we are in a good moment, or a bad moment, negative comments from our friends and family can rob us of the joy of life. Negativity from overzealous bosses at work can make you wish you weren't there. It can rob you of the satisfaction of a job well done. (By the way, bosses, your job as a leader in the company is to inspire and encourage good production, not intimidate your staff into submissive obedience. The best leaders in the business world are those that have their staffs believing in themselves, their companies, and their products. The worst leaders in business are the ones who feel like they have to prove they are the boss.) Bad bosses result in employee turnover, which hurts the company, which often results in new bosses, but I digress.

Negativity from friends can rob you of the joy of your accomplishments. Negativity from family can destroy your self-confidence and self-esteem.

So, what's the point to all this? (A) Surround yourself with positive people. Don't hang around those who feel they have to be criticizing someone at all times. The Bible says "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (Psalm 1:1)" If you hang around negative people, they will influence your mood toward the negative, and the next thing you know, you are the chronic complainer and critic. Plus, their disdain will eventually turn toward you. (B) When criticized, take stock in what is said, learn from it, but don't take it to heart. (C) Don't be the the one spewing negative criticisms. God wants us to have joy in life, and we can not have that joy if we forfeit it to insults, knocks and relentless criticism.

Follow God, and surround yourself with good people, suit up, and enjoy the game.

Modern Youth Ministry: This Ain't Your Father's Potato Sack Race!

I feel like an old geezer when I say this, but kids today face a completely different set of challenges than I did when I was a kid. When I was in high school, we had drugs, there was violence, and we faced issues of abuse and abandonment... but when I was in school, our society still had a moral compass. Churches were still strong, and grounded in the word, and things were more real.

Today, we live in a virtual world. Churches are trying everything they can to get peoples' attention, to the point that the Word of God is being drowned out in all the noise and confusion. Meanwhile, our society continues to struggle. Families are falling apart, opportunity and hope is dwindling, and caught in the middle of all this are the youth of our communities.

Kids today face challenges unlike anything the current adult generation has ever seen. First, they are being told there is no hope. America is in decline, our economy is in decline, and our global influence is in decline. Therefore, the job opportunities and upward mobility that has been afforded to previous generations is not being afforded to the up-and-coming generation. (Now, we know that in America, a person creates his own opportunity, but I don't believe our youth are being taught this on a wide scale.)

Furthermore, our kids are being told to accept activities that are abominations to God as normal, and in some cases, are even being encouraged to experiment. Compound this with the ever-spreading availability of pornography and sexual degradation, and you wind up with an environment where kids are more susceptible to sexual abuse than ever before.

As if all this wasn't enough, drugs have become more of an epidemic today than they ever have. Eradicating methamphetamine from our communities today is about as practical as eradicating fire ants. Kids are either being raised in homes where drug use is rampant, or in neighborhoods where drug use is rampant. They are being exposed to drugs at a younger age, and more people are pushing for drugs to be legalized.

On top of that, an extraordinarily high number of kids today have parents who are no longer together. The norm is for the kids' parents to be divorced, if they were ever married in the first place.

All this creates an environment where kids are having to learn to cope. How do you deal with things if you haven't see your mom in over 6 months? Or if your father is incarcerated? Or if your best friend is pregnant? Or if your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke up with you following your first sexual experience? Or if you have been abused and you feel like you have had your soul ripped out of you? How do you cope?

Now I know I have painted a pretty bleak picture here, and I don't want to make it look like ALL kids have these problems, but a significant number do. There are still many good parents out there raising their kids. As churches, we need to come along side these parents and back them up, and help them. However, even kids who come from good homes are surrounded by kids who struggle, and the church needs to learn how to minister to youth in these circumstances.

Youth ministry used to be so simple. You'd have a Bible lesson, then go outside and have potato sack races, or that silly relay thing where you would run around the cone, and pass the egg to one another using only kitchen spoons. However, today, we have to consider who the kid is, what their needs are, and share God's word with them in a way that it helps them. We have to share with them Who God is, and how He loves them and is concerned for them, even with everything going on in their lives. That is the challenge, and the mission of modern youth ministry... and we need to figure it out, or we won't be able to minister to the next generation of adults, or the next generation of kids.

My solution is to be more personal... and be more real. We have to take a more personal interest in the kids who come to church, encourage them, disciple them, and actually let them know we care. This means more than counting heads, it means to actually take stock in who is there during youth events. This also means to be more proactive. Know what is going on in your youth group, and try to help guide your kids through the challenges they face.

It all goes back to love. We have to operate out of a genuine love (agape) and concern for the well being of our church kids. Anything less will be ineffectual.

Youth ministry isn't about grooming the next generation of church people, having a young and vibrant church, and it definitely isn't about being cool. It's about making disciples, and that is a very personal process, an involved process, and it involves a lot of time and sacrifice on the part of the one making disciples.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.