oasisCHURCH

All-Stars Baseball vs. Church

This weekend begins a 4-week season of All-Stars Baseball for our 8 year-old son. Brock was actually selected to play on an All-Star team last year, but this year we have had more time to prepare and discuss all of the issues of being on a traveling all-star baseball team. The first and most obvious issue for a Christian family is the dilemma of every tournament being played on weekends. Typically the way an all-star tournament goes is like this: on Saturday all the teams play one another in a "round robin," and according to their records from those games they are seeded in a tournament, which is played on Sunday. The reason this can be a dilemma for Christian families is because tournament games are often played out of town, or could even be scheduled during the morning hours, the same time as most church worship gatherings.

I have chosen to title this article "All-Stars Baseball vs. Church" because it states the tension that so many Christian families have faced over the years of playing sports, taking vacations, going to band or cheer competitions, or any number of different community activities family members have been involved in. Traditionally, whenever anything caused us to consider missing a worship gathering or church meeting many families have been made to feel as though the event they were considering and the church meeting were two things that were against one another. Thus the title "All-Stars Baseball vs. Church." This brings up a very interesting conversation. One that I have been having for several weeks as this year's all-stars season has approached. There are a few other Christian families on Brock's team this year, and together we have been discussing this "dilemma," which has caused us to come up with some very creative ideas for how to help alleviate the felt tension among families who desire their children to be able to participate in other community activities while also honoring Christ and glorifying God in all they do. Here are some thoughts to consider.

Probably the most common answer to this dilemma is to simply state a hard line of right and wrong when it comes to church attendance. For instance, in my youth this question seemed to be a no-brainer: where a person was on Sunday morning was the ultimate test of their loyalty to Christ. Everyone who was truly committed to Christ was expected to be at church regardless, and would be considered a hero of the faith for making the choice to miss a baseball game in order to attend the church meeting.

The problem with that line of thinking is that it puts "being at the church meeting" at such an elevated proof or evidence of faith in Christ, when in fact there are many who attend church meetings faithfully yet have no faith. Therefore we must be careful of saying there is only one right answer to this so-called dilemma. To do so would be dangerously close to a legalistic view of church attendance, and could possibly lead someone down a similar path of the Pharisees, who praised such acts over true and living faith. As you have heard me say many times over the past 4 years, we are called to BE the church, and to live out our faith and glorify God wherever we happen to be, and in whatever we happen to be doing. I would rather see a person of active, living, daily faith in Christ miss a church meeting than see a person come to every meeting of the church but show no evidence of faith any other day of the week.

On the other side of this discussion is the fact that while it is important to live and be part of the world as believers in Christ, it is vitally important that we regularly gather with other believers in a community of faith for our strengthening, encouragement, and spiritual nourishment. To habitually neglect this at the expense of community activities or personal vacations is just as wrong.

As those of you who know me know, I am not interested in old legalism. I have missed church meetings here and there in order to attend games I am coaching or to be with my kids who are playing. But there is also something about the discipline of church attendance (actual participation in a family of faith—the kind of thing that gives Hebrews 10:24ff life!) that is vital. We believe that we’re forming a certain kind of person through such disciplines as this. And it is our hope that our children see our regular attendance at church meetings as not a ritual we keep, but a healthy part of the formation of our lives as believers in Christ.

Someone once attempted to quote me a couple years back and said they heard me say: “God doesn’t care whether or not you attend church.” I never recall saying exactly that, and I hope none of you have ever processed anything I have said in that way. The fact is, I do believe God is very interested in our commitment to be with other believers in a community of faith. What I do not believe is that He is keeping a record of church attendance, from which we will be rewarded as heroes of the faith.

I understand the frustration we have all experienced with old legalism. But we must also be just as careful to not say that this spiritual discipline, this matter of community, this place of being intentional about regularly worshiping and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in the faith, does not matter. It most certainly does.

I know that April and I want to be sure that the message we are sending to our children is that God is a priority in ALL of our lives, whether Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or etc. Church meetings are obviously a priority because we have created a regular habit of attending. But more importantly, they know that God is a priority because we have created regular habits of honoring God in a variety of ways: at meal times, at bed times, while driving in the car, while going to school, while on the gymnastic floor, while on the baseball field, etc. and etc.

We are most certainly thinking about priorities, and we are also thinking about the larger understanding of spiritual formation. Our deepest hopes for our son and daughter have nothing to do with playing baseball, cheerleading, or even going to church. Our greatest hopes for our children is that they will develop genuine, living faith in Jesus Christ.

Just 15 years ago, the decision to “miss church” for a ballgame would have been a no-no for me. As I have continued growth in age and in the Lord, I have grown to see church through the lens of relationship—being a way of life, a people—rather than a meeting that happens once a week at a particular place or building. BEING the church means that we are the church—and not a time slot on Sunday morning—which means being the church could happen at the baseball game just as well.

IMPORTANT: do not hear me saying, “Everything is church,” because I am a firm believer in attending regular assemblies with a common Christ-community for worship, Bible teaching, and communion. But these kinds of activities in our lives that we often deem as “in conflict” with church, I believe actually provide us opportunities to teach a deeper lesson about the essence of “church.”

This Sunday morning before I come down to our Oasis worship gathering I will be hosting an All-Star team worship gathering/Bible-study/prayer meeting at the shelter house in the park in Athens at 7:45am. Then, the team will play a game at 9:00am, which I will attend for the first hour. Then I will leave the rest of the game to my assistant coaches and drive down to be with my Oasis family and preach from James chapter 1. After that gathering I will go back to Athens and be with the team for the remainder of the tournament.

Choosing to be involved with the All-Star team the way we are (as a coach and having our son play) has provided us with some wonderful conversations with other brothers and sisters in Christ (who also have kids on the team) regarding church and faith in Christ, and it has even given me the opportunity to answer questions from some who are not yet believers in Christ. I am looking forward to how the next 4 weeks may in fact provide our family with an opportunity to be a witness for Jesus.

I pray that this article will be helpful as you process these kinds of things in your own family. I know that there are a number of varying opinions on these issues, and I respect others who may stand in a different place. Not everyone faces these kinds of issues. But if your family is one that is involved in sports or any kind of community, school activity or group in the world there is a good chance you will be faced with the same "dilemma" at some time or another. Just fill in the blank: "__________________ vs. Church." My hope is to convince you that it does not have to be a hard line one way or the other. Remove the "vs." from the title of this article, and replace it with an "AND." And... "whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Super Sunday This Week

It's going to be a cold one, but it will be plenty warm in the Durst's house Sunday night as we gather together to watch SuperBowl XLI (41).

Game starts at 6:25pm. Come anytime after 5:00 to enjoy pregame festivities, sign up to play the scoreboard challenge (a new game we will play this year for fabulous prizes!!!), and of course, EAT!!!

Bring your favorite appetizer dish, drinks, etc. Bring cards and board games if you would rather play than watch football. Half the fun is just being together (and watching the commercials, of course). Some like to watch the game, others don't as much. But either/or is okay. It's a big house, and there's plenty of room for everyone.

Thanks again in advance, Dursts, for your hospitality and love!

Number 10

It was great to see the St. Louis Cardinals dominate the World Series and win it in five games, especially as the team with the worst regular season record to ever win a World Series. Regular season means nothing, just as long as you show up for the post season. And they most certainly did.

St. Louis will always hold a special place in our hearts because that is where our firstborn, Brock, was born, in DePaul Hospital on St. Charles Rock Road. We spent five very enjoyable and memorable years in the Gateway City, and developed some of the best friendships we have ever had while there. And I am sure they are an overjoyed bunch this morning!

I Must Confess Something

I have never been a fan of reality TV. In fact, other than sports and late night episodes of Seinfeld I really don't have any television addictions. None of the many different reality shows have ever gripped me to the point of having to watch them week after week. I know several people are into American Idol. But every time I have tried to watch it I get irritated at those judges. Every time I have tried to watch the show I have seen them pass up good talent for the sake of choosing someone with the right image. But then again, it is called American Idol, and in America we tend to worship image... so I guess it's accurate.

A few years ago I tried to get into the popular reality show Survivor, but every time I watched it I wanted to punch somebody. So I felt it best to turn that one off. I did sort of get into a couple of episodes of one FOX did a year or so ago called My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. But I should repent for even saying that.

In the past five or six years I really have not had the opportunity or the time to commit to a regular TV series. There are some that I think I would really like, such as 24. But it seems like with TV these days if you miss one episode you would be lost for the rest of the season. So finding a reality television series that I like and commit to is something I have not done.... until now.

I must make a confession. I am hooked on a reality show. It is helpful that it doesn't come on until 10:00pm on Thursday nights. It's late enough that I am home by that time, and Thursday nights are usually open for me. And, in my opinion, it is the ultimate reality show because it leaves very little room for flukes, image, alliances, or any of that other garbage. Bottom line is, the toughest and best will win. And my urges to punch someone are always appeased. It's The Ultimate Fighter on Spike.

You're thinking, is that okay? A preacher likes Ultimate Fighting? Well, I don't know if it's okay or not, but I like it. I suppose when you consider the entertainment factor of all the other shows mentioned, I could either watch a bunch of vain, whining, gossiping, lying, slandering, conniving characters or I could watch some characters training their behinds off and being straight up forward with one another about how they plan to send them home by whipping the dog snot out of them.

I have always been a little fascinated by the art of fighting, even though I truthfully got into very few fights in my lifetime. But I have always enjoyed watching boxing whenever I've had the opportunity. During my last two years of high school I would go to my uncle Roger Stewart's house to work out and prepare for the upcoming baseball season. Roger used to train boxers, and there was always a couple of guys out there with me training specifically to box. Because you basically use the same muscles for baseball, and you could certainly use the conditioning, he always trained me like a boxer. I even got the opportunity to spar a couple of times.

But UFC is more than boxing. It's "mixed martial arts". Meaning, someone decided to take the world's most popular methods of fighting -- various martial arts, wrestling (not the WW-whatever kind of wrestling, but real wrestling like in the Olympics), and boxing -- and combine them into one. They train as hard as any athlete I have ever seen, then put two guys guys in an octagon-shaped ring with chain-linked fence around it and a referee, then they go at it to determine who is the ultimate fighter.

The other night after watching an episode of The Ultimate Fighter I had a dream about the show, but it was with all Oasis people. In my dream Ray Willford was the trainer (he was perfect for the role by the way), and his son Cassidy was one of the fighters. The other fighters were Jon Perrin, Chad Dodson, Jim Durst, my son Brock (I know, a little young), and myself. We never did fight in the dream, but we all had massive tattoos and did our training at the American Legion building. Maybe tonight I'll dream part 2 and we'll go over to the Methodist Church for our first match.

Or even better yet, perhaps I'll dream that all the churches in Meigs County are training their men like fighting warriors... and the matches will take place all over the county... and they are on behalf of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I like that dream. That's a good dream. Men becoming men, and taking the lead in the fight for the Gospel in our communities.

The UFC (The Ultimate Fighting Christian). Who wants to sign up?

It's HERE!!!!

Opening day has come. Yes, I have the Reds/Cubs game on in the background of my study this afternoon.

Something else I am very excited about this year is the Athens Sandlot Baseball League. Brock will begin playing in the 7-8 year-old league this spring and into the summer, and of course I will be coaching. The Sandlot League has an excellent philosphy of teaching the game of baseball to young players. They are successfully getting young boys (and girls) excited about the game of baseball in an age when it has appeared most young kids could care less about the game, much less enjoy watching it or playing it. Last Saturday over 250 kids came to be evaluated for placement on a Sandlot team.

One example of how the Sandlot League has promoted excitement for the game is by creating quality ball diamonds for the kids to play on. Not only are they top notch, they are mini-replicas of major league fields. They have a Fenway Park replica (see below), a Wrigley Field replica, and a Jacob's Field replica. Work is in the process for additional fields.

Let the game of summer begin!!!

It's That Time of Year Again

Well, baseball has officially begun. I just got home from the first day of pitchers and catchers practice for the Athens High School baseball team. This is always an exciting time of year for me. I love everything about the game of baseball. It has always been special to me. A couple of years ago I wrote a personal story about how baseball has been a major part of my life for a long time.

My prayer for this new season of baseball is that it would not be about baseball only. What a shame it would be if I merely participate in coaching some kids in playing a game, and not see the ways God wants to glorify Himself through my involvement with the team.

What kinds of things do you really enjoy doing? Recreational activities? Sports? Hobbies? How does God reveal Himself to you through those activities? How have you glorified God in those activities?

What an important question for a Christian coach to keep in the front of his mind...

Glad to Be a Cowboys Fan

That is... I'm glad I'm not a Seahawks fan, because if I were I would be complaining to high heaven today. Wow, did they get the screws put to them on a few calls last night! Don't misread me. I'll never blame an official for a team losing a game. They had plenty of opportunities and didn't get it done. But a couple of touchdowns were literally taken away from them because of questionable calls (Mike Kennedy, even you have to admit that offensive pass interference was pretty weak... my 5-year old daughter pushes off harder than that, and that holding call... not even John Madden could find the hold on his telestrator).

Oh well, like I said. I'm a Cowboys fan so the only thing that concerns me is now there are three teams who have won 5 Super Bowls in their franchise histories... Dallas, Pittsburgh, and can you name the third?

Those of us who gathered at Jim and Julie Durst's house for the game had a great time. Here are some shots of the evening.

Some Personal Nostalgia

After watching the Red Sox pull off perhaps the most amazing feat of any Major League Baseball team ever, I just can’t sleep. I love this game. And I love writing my thoughts, so I figured I would post a little bit of my personal, long, and ever-continuing love affair with this game called baseball. Baseball has always been one of the loves of my life, although I have not posted many baseball thoughts on stewieBLOGS. For the most part this blog has been reserved for my “two families,” the two greatest loves of my life, but now and then I can reserve some time and space for a close third.

“The one constant through all the years… has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But, baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past… It reminds us of all that once was good, and could be again.”
– Terence Mann (James Earl Jones) in “Field of Dreams”

When I was born I was given a baseball glove by my uncle Jim, and before I was a year old my family members were teaching me how to say words like, “Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, play ball!” We even had a dog named after the Reds’ manager “Sparky” Anderson. My dad built me a batting tee, a pitching rubber, and a home plate, and my back yard became my own field of dreams. I remember one day when I was 10 years old we were throwing in the yard, and the local police officer came driving up through our neighborhood with his new radar detector in his car. He stopped beside our house and pointed the radar gun at a few of my pitches and clocked me at 54, 52, and 56 MPH. I was on my way!!!

In Little League I played for a team that came close to winning the BIG championship 3 years in a row. And then finally, in my fourth and final year we won it all, and I was named MVP. After the regular season I played for the Big Bend All-Star Team and we went to two different tournaments and won them both (in one game of one of those tournaments my mother was ejected by an umpire and ordered to go sit at least 500 feet away from the field… but you’ll have to ask her about that… LOL… now I’m in trouble).

Pretty much the same exact story happened during my Pony League years, only this time the radar guns were clocking my pitches between 76-82 MPH. I was ready to begin preparing for my future in baseball.

During my high school years I carried a weighted baseball around school constantly. I did reports on books written by Pete Rose, Orel Hershiser, and Nolan Ryan. I carried a book on Pitching in my book bag and read it whenever I had extra time. I dug up addresses and names of Major League scouts, wrote them letters and invited them to watch me play. During high school I went to a few local tryout camps conducted by the Reds and the Pirates. By my senior year my fastball had hit 85-86 MPH.

I have often taken some time to ponder my personal history and realize that the decisions I made post-high school (and the influence of my parents on those decisions) were without a doubt some of the most significant decisions of my life in determining where I am today. I know most people could easily say the same, but if I had gotten my way I’m certain I would not be where I am today. The fact is baseball has never been my first love. Maybe it was for a while, but Jesus took that place in my heart from the time I was 12 years old. From that time God began to shape me into His plan for my life, and on a couple of occasions I attempted to take over the reigns. But He was ultimately in control.

I remember writing my Mom and Dad a letter after I had received an offer from a University coach to transfer to his school and play baseball for his team. I had gone to Kentucky Christian College because I sensed God’s call on my life to serve Him full-time in ministry, but the mistress of baseball was always there, seducing me. Through prayer and heart-felt, honest conversation my parents convinced me to keep the course God had set me on, and I did. Baseball would soon be a thing of the past. Or would it?

After college graduation in 1994 one of my friends from the KCC baseball team invited me to attend an open tryout for a team that was in a newly formed professional baseball independent league called the Frontier League (today one of the premiere independent professional baseball leagues from whom several Major League scouts draw). The team was in Chillicothe, Ohio. I had just accepted a full-time youth ministry position at a church in Waverly and was loving my job. I was even coaching a Pony League baseball team in Waverly. But I agreed to go to this tryout with my friend.

At most of the tryouts I had attended previously I went as a pitcher. Most of the time when a scout would look at me in college it was as a pitcher. I had heard the same story 100 times… “Your fastball is decent (by this time it was around 88 MPH tops), and your off-speed pitches are decent, but you are small for a pitcher (5’10), and therefore your potential for growth is very limited…” I had heard those lines enough, and this tryout was just going to be for fun, so I decided to try out for the outfield. A position in which I had limited experience, but thought I could do okay with the long throws to third and to home plate. My arm had always been my greatest strength.

In a tryout situation all outfielders are instructed to go to deep right field (about 8 feet from the wall). One of the coaches then hits you 3 ground balls and 3 fly balls, you field them and throw them to third base… then the same scenario to home plate. I’ll never forget picking up the first ground ball hit to me, crow hopping, and cutting it loose only to watch it soar about 10 feet over the third baseman’s head and go crashing into the 3rd row of seats. Immediately coaches come wandering out with clipboards in their hands. I thought I was in trouble for sure.

Not so. After the individual field workouts the coaches sent about half of the 88 players home, and the rest of us each hit about 10 batting practice balls, then we were done for the day. I had a great time. I was sitting in the stands gathering my equipment and thanking my friend for inviting me, and all of a sudden I hear my name being called out. My friend jabbed me in the ribs and said, “Dude, they’re calling you back next week.” I was shocked. They took 8 players from that tryout and invited them to a special invitational tryout, and I was one of those players.

The second tryout was a whole different level of ballplayers. There were guys from colleges all over the country, and even out of the country. I met guys from Puerto Rico, Mexico, LSU, Chicago, UCLA, USC, etc… they were all invited to attend this tryout. There were agents there ready to sign new players to contracts. There were die-hard Chillicothe Paints fans there watching to see who the new rookies were going to be. I hadn’t fully taken in what was happening. I originally just did all of this for fun… but these guys were cut-throat serious. Many of them had saved money in order to travel all over the country from tryout to tryout, just hoping to get picked up by a team. I on the other hand had recently gotten married, begun a full-time youth ministry job, and was coaching a group of Pony League kids.

The invitational tryout was run much like the open tryout, except after the individual workouts the coaches then selected 16 position players and 6 pitchers to play in a scrimmage game where they then evaluated each player in a game situation, and from which they would either immediately sign new players, or invite them to participate in a draft the following week with all of the Frontier league teams. This time, out of 128 players, I was selected as one of those 16 to play in right field. I played okay in the scrimmage game. I remember getting hit by a pitch, flying out, grounding out, and getting one base hit up the middle. When the day was done I was not given an immediate contract, but invited to participate in the upcoming draft for all of the Frontier League teams.

I couldn’t believe it. The dream of my life had been to play professional baseball, and the opportunity sneaks it’s way into my life after I had settled into my ministry and could finally see God beginning to mold and shape the days of my life. This, I think, was significant. If the opportunity had come sooner, I doubt I would have had the maturity to turn it down. But on the drive from Chillicothe back to Waverly that evening… after a full day of baseball and an offer to come back and get drafted… I just began singing and praising God. I knew that I would not go back. I knew that God had answered the question of my heart, which was… “Could I have played at least in a minor, independent league if I wanted to?” I was content. And I never went back. From that day forward I began pouring myself into ministry, and graduated my baseball abilities to coaching.

As a baseball coach, I never thought I could ever enjoy the game as much as I did as a player… but I do. I may have had more “enjoyment” playing the game. There really is nothing like it. However, I know I “appreciate” the game more as a coach.

Yes, Terence Man, I agree. Baseball may not have been the only constant throughout the years of my life, but it most certainly has been one of them… and a big one. Thank you, God, for baseball. You have taught me many complexities of life through such a simple little game. It has been a recreation that has brought me much joy over the years, and I look for it to bring me much more for many years to come.

Tee-Ball has begun!!!

And for the sake of one of our favorite summer activities I decided to update the stewieblogs banner.

After a rained out first game on Tuesday, the long anticipated Tee-Ball season has begun for the Stewart family. The kids had a great time tonight. Here are a few shots from the game.

Brock fouling one off (I think he was a little nervous his first at bat).

Brock at first base (making sure the fans saw him).

Brock covering home, ready to make the tag.

Kaylee keeping the bats warm for the team.

Coach giving a post game wrap up and pep talk for next Tuesday.

The team photo (there are actually 3 players missing from this picture).

There will probably be many more stories and pictures to come!!!

a Monday morning blog

It's official... April will be teaching in the Athens City Schools next year, at Morrison Elementary. Her wish is to be in the same school that Brock will attend next year (The Plains Elementary), but at least it's a step in that direction, and she will be on the same school calendar as him. Brock is supposed to start T-Ball this summer, but I am going to call the League today to see if he can play Minor League instead (if they do not allow hitting off a pitcher in T-Ball). He's been hitting off of pitching since he was 3 years old (even Kaylee is now hitting). We've been going to the batting cages, and he usually hits every pitch that comes to him... plus he likes to bunt a few. LOL. I have no desire to rush him, especially if he is not ready to move up. I just want him to have fun, and I think he'd have more fun hitting a pitched ball. We'll see what happens.

I uploaded yestrday's teaching, Enjoy Yor Life, to the web site. I think it was one of those teachings where I had so much information that I felt scattered trying to give it all in one day. I probably should have broken this one down a little more and covered it more thoroughly. Oh well.

This week's study will be on the "fear of the Lord." Proverbs is clear that wisdom comes from a living relationship of fear with God who is the Lord, a title that is also often attributed to our Lord Jesus Christ. This week we will explore a healthy fear of God.