Introduction: One of the most popular baseball poems ...



Introduction: One of the most popular baseball poems entitled Casey at the Bat describes the hometown hero of Mudville. Trailing by two runs in the final inning against the Barrows, the “Mudville nine” begin a dramatic comeback. Two batters get hits, which sets the stage for a possible game winning three-run homerun. Excitement reaches a fever pitch as the mighty Casey comes to bat …

The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clenched in hate.

He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,

And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.

Oh, somewhere in the favoured land the sun is shining bright,

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there’s no joy in Mudville - Mighty Casey has struck out.

       

    by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

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The Kingdom-Focused Leader: Seeing God at Work in You, Through You, and Around You

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The apostle Peter is one of the most amazing characters of the New Testament. He was bold, impetuous, and courageous. The Lord Jesus referred to Peter as “the rock” and declared that He would build the church upon the great confession made by Peter. But, Peter is most endearing to contemporary believers, not because of his amazing faith, but because of his incredible mistakes. We relate to Peter because he messed up. He failed. Like the mighty Casey, the great apostle Peter struck out.

1. Recognize the Possibility

Galatians 2:8-14 describes a mistake of hypocrisy by Peter that required a public rebuke by the apostle Paul. Those familiar with the New Testament understand that this was not the first time Peter struck out. For example:

• He walked on water with an amazing display of faith, but he sank by taking his eyes off of Jesus.

• He made the “great confession,” but moments later Jesus rebuked Peter with the words, “Get behind me Satan!”

• In Matthew 19, Peter expresses his selfish desire to be rewarded for following Christ by asking, “What do we get?”

• Failing to recognize the significance of the crucifixion, Peter attacks the arresting army and cuts off Malchus’ ear.

• He denied Christ three times after having boasted that he would never deny Christ.

• After the resurrection, Peter returned to his fishing business. Only after a miraculous encounter with Jesus does Peter commit to become a “fisher of men.”

Acts 10 describes three divine visions sent by God to correct Peter’s terrible racism and prejudice.

The application that we must make form Peter’s life is to recognize the possibility of failure and work to prevent it. We must guard against ungodly pride that leads to failure. Proverbs 16:18 warns that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. If the great apostle Peter could strike out, then so can we.

One of the quickest ways to drive a wedge between a parent and a child is to create an environment where the standard of perfection quenches the joy of life. We must strive for excellence, but perfection is an unrealistic expectation. Our children will make mistakes, and so will parents. Many parents place unnecessary academic, athletic, or social demands upon their children to perform with perfection. Some parents fail to recognize the destructive message they communicate to their children, which is parental love is conditional upon acceptable performance. Children need to know they are loved even when they strikeout.

Please understand that I am not advocating mediocrity or accepting failure as an acceptable standard. But, I am suggesting that one of the first lessons of helping your child not to strikeout in life is to understand that in the course of a season your child will strikeout in a few games. A perfectionist mindset produces unhealthy pressure in children, and it can also produce unhealthy blindness in parents.

Having been in vocational ministry for over twenty years, I never cease to be amazed at how many parents strive to create the perfect child, and worse, believe their child is perfect! These parents think the nursery workers must be lying because, “My perfect Susie would never bite a child or take a toy from another child.” This blindness can reach destructive levels during teen years if parents falsely believe that perfect Susie is exempt from the temptations and failures that threaten every teenager. As a former youth pastor and now the father of four children, I have no illusions that God blessed my home with four depraved sinners who need the grace of God!

2. Recruit Partners

Understanding that strikeouts and errors are possible, we can take steps to minimize mistakes. Professional baseball players report to spring training every year for a time of intensive training on the basics of hitting and fielding. During the season, they continue taking batting and fielding practice. The pros do not have any illusions that they will go through an entire season without striking out or making an error, but they continue practicing with the help of coaches and teammates to prevent failure. One of the most effective principles for success is to recruit partners to help you be successful.

The Bible contains several passages that declare the benefits of positive relationships to help us in the game of life. Proverbs 22:6 says the wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. Proverbs 27: 17 says that friends sharpen our lives like iron sharpens iron, and Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 declares that friends bless our lives by picking us up when we fall. Our text from Galations reveals that Peter was fortunate to have a friend like Paul. The experience described in Galations is definitely “the wound of a friend.” Several people supported Peter’s racist hypocrisy. They provided “kisses from an enemy.”

Wise parents guide their children to develop healthy friendships. Hungry men want to know if there is food in heaven, but children, especially teenagers, want to know if there are friends in heaven. What do you think would have happened to Peter if Jesus, John, and Paul had not been his friends? Our world is full of enemies who will seek to seduce your children with “kisses.” Enemies will attempt to convince your child that parental guidance is unnecessary, that church attendance is a waste of time, and that material pursuits or personal pleasures are the most important things in life. Keep your child in church. Lead them to participate in church and ministry activities where they can establish godly friendships. Peter needed great friends, so does your child.

3. Repent

The one word command to “repent” is often avoided in today’s culture of tolerance. One of the aspects of athletic competition that I appreciate is the intolerance required to play the game effectively. In baseball as in other sports, rules must be obeyed. Penalties are assessed; points are denied, and outs are made. Like the wonderful song Take Me Out To The Ball Game declares, “For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game.”

We have used the terms errors and strikeouts to refer to mistakes, bad choices, and poor decisions. Repentance requires acknowledging the mistake. If you are honest with yourself, you know how effective we are at covering up our mistakes or justifying our mistakes. Peter had developed the dangerous practice of justifying his behavior. He continued holding on to the racist tendencies that The Lord addressed years earlier through a divine vision (see Acts 10). Now, Peter is acting one way with the Jews and another way with the Gentiles. Through this hypocritical behavior, Peter justified his personal preferences and the racism of others that the Gentiles were inferior to the Jews. Fortunately, Paul confronts Peter with the truth, and Peter repents. Repentance involves acknowledging the error without whining about bad hops, bad calls by the umpire, or the sun being too bright. A second part of repentance is turning away from the sin toward the Savior.

Errors and strikeouts are part of the game, but refusing to correct those mistakes is foolish and worse it is dangerous. Ephesians 4 describes the failure to deal with sin as giving Satan a stronghold or foothold in your life. Almighty God has promised to cleanse, forgive, and restore those who confess and repent of sin. Repentance allows you to remove unnecessary baggage from you life. It frees you to swing for the fences one more time.

4. Return to Service

Peter trips and falls several times, but he never stops following Christ. He was knocked down but never out. Peter would bounce back from this rebuke and go on to make incredible contributions to the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, Peter gave his life as a martyr for Christ while preaching the gospel to Jews and Gentiles in Rome. We can learn another valuable lesson from this great apostle. No matter how many times we fail, God is willing and able to restore us to effective service. We must teach our children that striking out is not the end of the world.

Consider some of the following examples of individuals who struck out but went on to accomplish great things.

• When Richard Nixon died in 1994, it was a time of mixed emotions for our nation. Many despised him because of Watergate, but one enduring truth prevailed. Henry Kissenger spoke at the funeral and said, “He achieved greatly and suffered deeply. But he never gave up. A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished only when he gives up.”

• George Washington lost two-thirds of the battles of the Revolutionary War.

• George Frederic Handel was sick, destitute, and broke when he composed “The Messiah.”

• Henry Ford failed and went broke five times. The very first Ford car had a huge mistake. Ford forgot to install a reverse gear.

• Thomas Monohagn failed in two restaurant ventures. In 1971 with a debt of $1.5 million that he could not pay, he started the nation’s first home delivery pizza restaurant. Today Domino’s Pizza is one of the most successful businesses in the world.

• Theodore Geisel’s children’s book was rejected by twenty-three publishers, but the 24th publisher took a chance on the man with a funny name who wrote strange but simple books. Theodore is better known as Dr. Seuss, the author of The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.

• Richard Hooker had his first book rejected and criticized by twenty-one publishers who said a comedy about the Korean War was absurd and offensive. On the 22nd attempt, Morrow publishers signed Mr. Hooker to a contract. The book was made into a movie and a T.V. show. Richard Hooker’s M*A*S*H became a smash because he never quit after 21 strikeouts.

• Babe Ruth was known as the Home Run King because of 714 home runs, but he also led the league with 1,330 strikeouts!

Source: Pat Williams, "Go for the Magic" (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), p.177-78.

Hits and Hospitals: As I write these words, my ninety-three year-old grandmother is living in an assisted living/nursing home in Royston, GA. Royston is the hometown of baseball legend Ty Cobb. After visiting my grandmother last week, I also visited the Ty Cobb museum which is located next door to the nursing home. Cobb is famous for his accomplishments and for the tenacity with which he played the game, but I will always admire him for his incredible generosity. The medical facility caring for my grandmother and the Royston hospital which provided excellent care to my grandfather before his death were established with funds provided by Ty Cobb. History is clear about some of the bad decisions Cobb made during his life, but he overcame life’s errors to leave a legacy of helping the sick secure medical care and encouraging students to pursue higher education through numerous scholarships.

Ty Cobb was unquestionably the best player of his era, and some baseball historians believe Cobb was the best player of all time. He led the majors in hits, batting average, runs scored, and stolen bases. Cobb stole home a record 55 times in his career! In 1915 he led the league with 96 stolen bases, but he was thrown out 58 times. Another base stealer named Max Carey stole 51 bases in 53 attempts. Cobb failed more times than his closest competitor attempted. Whether he struck out or was thrown out, Cobb kept on swinging and running. I also learned at the museum that the greatest baseball player was cut form his first professional team because the coach did not believe Cobb had the potential to be a pro baseball player!

Conclusion: Parents, you can build a field of dreams by encouraging your children to get up after being knocked down; to keep swinging after striking out; and to keep dreaming after having a nightmare. Strikeouts and errors are just temporary setbacks for those who trust a loving and gracious God who sent his only Son to choose you to be on His team.

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