The Annual (and Obligatory) Ode to Baseball

“No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are, you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.” -Tommy Lasorda 

Our Atlanta Braves began the season in glorious fashion this past weekend. After breaking camp from spring training, the Braves unceremoniously opened their 2019 campaign 0-3. They were swept by the Fightin’ Phillies of Philadelphia with their high-octane offense and surprisingly good defense. The Braves didn’t make it too difficult for them as they walked 20 batters in their three-game series (yes, you read that correctly). People, that’s a lot of baserunners. And as we know, when you put them on for free, they frequently cross the plate.  

It’s a good thing the Major League Baseball season is 162 games.  

Here’s the good news, Braves fans: When you consider the number of games that they’ll play over the next 6 months, a three-game series is the equivalent of roughly the first quarter of an NFL game at the beginning of the first game of their 16-game season.  

One of the reasons that baseball resonates with me is the parallels that it has with life.  The baseball season, like life, is greater than any one particular moment, regardless of whether that moment is spectacular or dismal.  

Just as it is true in life, we sometimes strike out. At other times, we drop the ball.  

We get injured.  

Sometimes, we go 0-26 at the plate and the balls we put in play always find someone’s glove. 

We experience long winning streaks where we feel unstoppable, while at other times our stretches of losses feel interminable. We get caught stealing. We miss the tag. Our pitching gives up a 5-run lead in the bottom of the ninth.  

We get traded. We win the MVP. We are sent down to AAA. We get DFA-ed, or “Designated for Assignment” (It’s not good, y’all). We get fired.  

But just as it is true in life, it rarely stays that way.  

We find a way to draw the walk. The call goes our way. The ball bounces over the fence. The grass is cut high and the slow-roller enables you to leg it out to first. The first pitch you see finds the sweet part of the bat and you watch the outfielder turn and watch it fly.  

“No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.” 

He’s right, you know. Tommy Lasorda, the longtime manager for the Dodgers, knew baseball. Everyone will win 54 games (well, except for the 2018 Orioles). Everyone will lose 54 games (well, except for the 2001 Mariners). The question is what you do with the other 54 games. 

The other 54 games are toss-ups. They are the games where it can go either way. They are the games that have to be grinded out.  

We know these games in life.  

They are the moments when we are ‘called on the carpet.’ They are the ones when we experience a sudden loss. They are the ones when the flight gets canceled, and when the teacher doesn’t like you, and when you don’t get that job you were promised. They are the moments where she tells you that she doesn’t loves you, and when your new love admits they favor your sister, and when your retirement dies with the stock market plunge.  

You know these moments because they are the ones where circumstances make it reasonable for you to give up.  

Colossians 3:23 reads, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  

Both the game of baseball and the slog of life require grit. A spirit of determination and relentless hope in God’s redemptive power is necessary. We are dependent on God’s grace, yes. But as a team, we have to play ourselves out of slumps. We pick one another up. We challenge, affirm, and celebrate one another. We admonish our teammates to never give up.  

Remember those woe begotten Braves? In their fourth game of the season, they would go on to beat the Chicago Cubs 8-0 to open their season in their home park in Atlanta. The Cubs would commit 6 errors.  

It’s good to be back in the win-column, though there’s no telling how long we’ll remain there. 

The comical baseball player, Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh from the movie, “Bull Durham” says it well: “‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball. You hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.’” 

Memorial Service Arrangements for Betty Stillwell

The family will receive guests for a time of visitation this Friday, April 5th from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center at First Baptist Church of Sylva. A Memorial Service will take place in the Church Sanctuary at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 6th. A Graveside Service of Interment will take place at Grassy Creek at 3:00 PM that same day.

MISSIONS NIGHT -- APRIL 10TH

Come to the Wednesday night supper and stay for a special evening that addresses the Mercy Challenge of ministering to the poorly clothed.  Our GAs kick off the evening with an international fashion show.  Although they will not be poorly clothed, they will remind us of the importance of culture and clothing.  We'll hear a report from Charlie and Diane White about the clothing ministry they have been spearheading with poverty stricken counties in West Virginia.  The evening will conclude with a hands-on missions project that will help bring warmth to the children receiving Christmas shoeboxes.

One more opportunity to minister:  bring an item of clean, in good repair, clothing (or several items) for the Sylva Linings Resale Store.  There will be a box for these items as you enter the MFC.

Thanks in advance for helping make our first quarterly Missions Night fun and informative!

Sylva FBC WMU

Compost Items

Empty Bowl Fundraiser at the Community Table

Western Carolina Community Chorus and The Mountain Winds in Concert!

On Sunday afternoon, April 7, a free concert will be offered to the community at 4 pm in the Recital Hall of the Coulter Building on the WCU campus.  Members of the audience will hear a "mixed bag" of musical styles, which will be performed by the chorus alone,  the band alone, and, finally, four selections for combined forces.

A special feature of this program will be a composition which Bruce Frazier wrote, which is in memory of Michael Nichols, and dedicated to the ensembles and their conductors.  Nightingales is a wonderful setting of the poem by Robert Bridges, which captures Mike's love of nature, and specifically, birds. Dr. Frazier will be leading the ensembles for this piece. The program will conclude with a rousing performance of America the Beautiful.

The community chorus is under the direction of Bob Holquist, and the band is conducted by Jon Henson and Bob Buckner.  The directors and members of the ensembles hope that you will come out to enjoy the concert, and bring your friends.

Safe Kids Day

Service of Lament for Victims of Gun Violence

Every year thousands of people die due to gun violence in the United States. While few of these deaths make headlines, each represents a life mourned by others, a life of unmet possibilities, a life of a beloved child of God. As a community of faith, it is right that we should gather to remember the sacredness of those lives and to reflect on the loss they mean to us all. The downtown Sylva churches invite you to join us on Thursday, April 4 at 12:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Sylva for a brief service of lament, prayer, and hope.

The BALL Club (Being Active, Living Longer) Is Back!

Let’s rejuvenate the B.A.L.L. Club. All seniors 50 and older are invited to participate. First, let’s meet together to share ideas and start planning events for the next few months in the Mission Center on Thursday, April 4, at 2:00 pm. 

If you have questions, please call or text Linda Phelps at 270.784.2547.

Learning About God by Watching You

“For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” Jonah 4:2 

How did I learn that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and ready to relent from punishing? Yes, I read it in the Bible. But that’s not how I learned it. I learned about God by watching you.  

This past week, when I was tidying up in my office, I glanced up at my certificate of Ordination that hangs on my wall. The date on the framed document made me stop and do some math. 

March 14, 1999.

This month, I conclude 20 years of service as a minister, set-apart and ordained to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

I remember that Sunday evening service well. It had snowed that afternoon and I was worried about people driving to the service at the First Baptist Church in Asheville. The domed church on Oak Street in Asheville had been my home church while I was a teenager, and in college, and during my years in seminary. The people who gathered around me and placed their hands on my head and shoulders knew me and loved me, and I still feel their touch and their prayers to this day.  

The community of faith that gathered to ordain me to the Gospel Ministry gave me a warning, however, as I began my career as a vocational minister. They told me to remember and to cling to God’s love and grace in the midst of hardship and difficulty.  

This proved to be sound advice for I found that congregational ministry can be hard. Now, in full disclosure, I must confess that my early days in church leadership were rocky. I was more reactive to circumstances and challenges than I should have been, and I was frequently immature in my responses to the demands of full-time ministry. What kept me afloat in those early years of ministry were individuals in the churches that I served who were Godly, and who practiced Christ in their daily lives. 

By Godly, I mean that these church members were gracious and merciful to me when I took the wrong tact in my ministry, or when I bumbled or neglected important tasks. These colleagues, mentors, friends and broader members of the faith supported me with a steadfast love that I neither earned nor deserved. Without this Christ-like love, I would have left the ministry many years before. 

Without question, the First Baptist Church of Sylva has shown me what God’s steadfast love looks like. I have seen God’s grace and mercy in our church’s commitment and care for members of our community. I have felt God’s love in our church’s desire to provide hospitality to those who are hurting, grieving, and in need. I have seen God’s face in our church’s willingness to give second and third chances. I have been humbled by our church’s practice of caring for others when most others wouldn’t. I have been warmed by the loyal friendships at our church that have been nurtured through the years. First Baptist is gracious to a fault, as generous as my stately grandmother, Mabel Priester, and as Christ-like as any congregation I’ve ever been privileged to serve. 

Thank you, First Baptist Church, for teaching me—and our community--about God’s steadfast love. I feel strong in Christ because of you.  

And I’m certain that others do, too.