Learning the Game

As you enter Busch Stadium there are always people selling programs.  I wonder who really sits down and marks those things up.  There is a unique way in programs to note every at bat and every pitch.  Honestly, it is a lost art because fewer programs are being sold.  Today all those details are at your fingertips on your phone.  You can watch the stats update from your ESPN app on your phone.  It’s not really any work, and as stats just update, you don’t really get to learn the game.

            Three unique categories that score points for me in fantasy baseball are OPS, Holds, and Saves.  Baseball seems like a simple game, but these categories boggled my mind.  OPS is an acronym for on base percentage plus slugging percentage.  Therefore a home run or triple really heightens your OPS score.  Saves are also unique:  a player must enter the game as a relief pitcher with the lead already established.  The lead cannot be greater than three runs.  It does not matter what the count is when the reliever enters, but there must be enough batters or runners to tie the game when he comes in.  He must maintain the lead for one inning.  A hold is something with similar rules.  A relief pitcher must enter in a Save situation.  He records at least one out and does not relinquish the lead at any point.  He leaves before the ball game is over and does not record the Save.  It would be much easier to explain if I told you Matt Adams has the best OPS for the Cardinals.  A Hold is what Trevor Rosenthal does for us as the 8^th inning man.  Mujica is our closer and has saved the most games for us.  This is much easier than explaining all those details because you know what those guys do.  When the game is in play the details make sense, but learning all those things creates a few challenging moments.  Yet when details like this are learned, the player can properly carry out his task in the game.

            Being a pastor means people sometimes ask me odd questions from the Bible.  I find myself more prepared now with six years into ministry.  I remember once I was visiting someone in the hospital, and really didn’t have anything on me to prove I was a pastor.  So this guy told me I’d have to answer one question:  “How many of each animal did Moses put on the Ark?”  Caught off guard because I hadn’t been asked that before, I said, “Two.” He said, “Wrong answer!”  I said, “What?”  Then I realized he said Moses. How embarrassing is that?  I have found that not just my training in college and seminary help me, but learning from Sunday School, high school and, of course, worship.  Sometimes I am surprised at the responses I give because I don’t anticipate remembering all the details I was taught.

            One of the biggest things that move Christians away from evangelism, besides worry that people will just dismiss you, is lack of confidence in their Biblical knowledge. They fear someone will ask them something they don’t know.  This is why learning the game is so important.  It eliminates that worry that you might not know something, and also gives you the confidence to say, “I am not sure about that one, let me find out.“

            This weekend we dive into the importance of learning the game.  How do we spend time learning more about Jesus?  How do we prepare ourselves for open conversation about the Bible?  We are ready to share God’s Word when we learn the game, and then put it in play.