I was just telling someone the other day that we probably like playing baseball more than we like watching but I still like
Watching baseball when I was a kid
I played baseball for one year and then I played soccer for two years and then went back to baseball I think for
Four years, but I'm 44. So my memory isn't that great anymore, but I do remember
That this summer it'd be hard to forget I coached my son's 12 and under
Little League team and I also got to coach at the end of the year the all-star
Team not because I was some great coach but because the other coach said well you have at least a little more experience than
I do so why don't you do it?
And so that was how I became the all-star coach and one of the reasons that I said yes to coaching
this team
In the first week other than just all the texts and emails saying hey, we still don't have a coach yet
Oh was because I knew that I was gonna be on
sabbatical so I just want to say thank you to to this church to you guys because you're part of the reason that I
Was able to coach and the reason that I was able to put so much into it because I am not exaggerating when I say
That I spent way more time
Thinking about rosters and batting orders on base percentages and batting averages than I ever
thought that I
Would I used to wonder how is it that someone can be a coach as their full-time job?
And now I know because this was just a little league team
And I spent hours planning for every single game
You have to keep track of ten kids and at this age you have to keep track of how many pitches they pitched
Because there's health protocols like oh if they pitch this many pitches
They can't pitch the next day or for this many days you have to keep track
Well, you have to keep track of how many times they were up to bat you have to keep track of how many innings they
Played and then you have to keep track of their stats if you actually
Want to start shaping that lineup in a way that helps the team get to a place where they might win games and you know
Puts their their best abilities
Forward and then you have to keep 20 parents in the loop
And you have to manage their expectations and
Communicate with your assistant coaches and the coaches of the other teams and the other cities where you're gonna play
It's it was a lot so along the way what I did was not necessarily on purpose, but I found myself going okay
These are my rules for coaching
These are the basic ideas these are the things that that that I have to do these things these are things that I care about I
Needed some reminders
Of what it was that I was doing
Why I was doing it and
What I hope the kids would experience
So today I actually want to share my five rules for coaching baseball
So let's open our Bibles
All right, we're open our Bibles to the book of Matthew
Matthew is the first book in what's called the New Testament goes Matthew mark Luke John and so it's called what's one of the Gospels
So if you see Matthew mark Luke John acts Romans any of those you know
You're in the right neighborhood if you don't have a physical Bible and you would like one we have they're blue
They're out on the bookshelf next to the front door feel free to take one of those with you
You know otherwise just download a digital Bible from one of the app stores, okay, so Matthew
19th and we're gonna be 13 and 14 and if you would stand with me as you are willing or able as
We read the scriptures says
This Matthew 19 13 14
Then people brought little children of Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them, but the disciples
Rebuked them Jesus said let the little children come to me and do not hinder them
For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these
When he had placed his hands on them then he went on from there. Let's pray
Father God, we thank you for the scriptures
We thank you for your son Jesus
What he taught what he did?
Thank you that we can read about it and learn from it today
Whatever you have for us to learn and pray that it would stick
That would become a part of the framework of our faith that our faith would become stronger that we would be more like your son Jesus
Amen. Thanks. Y'all. You can have a seat
All right, so this isn't one of my baseball rules, but it should just kind of go without
Saying that kids are really important to Jesus
Okay
I'm just gonna give like a little disclaimer right up here at the front that I have Kleenex down here because I cried so many
Times when I was writing this sermon and so just just be prepared men are allowed to cry and many of you
That know me have seen it many times, but I feel like this is one of those important ones
There are things that that we need to understand in the first place
That first baseline is just that kids are really important to Jesus
I
coached
baseball for the kids not just
my kid
Does that make sense?
And I don't think that any coach should coach a team if it's only for
their
Kid I had to care about all the kids or I wasn't going to be
a good coach period
And here at church, that's the primary reason that we've always had treehouse for our kids during the school year
Because kids matter to Jesus
Kids matter to Jesus. He really really likes them
One of the best things that a kid can get at a church is an age-appropriate
Bible lesson with other kids their age and so we need to be able to teach them
Kids their age and so we've just always
Offered that during the school year to our kids. So i'm happy to announce that as always treehouse will be back in mid september
A round of applause. Yes
And i'm thinking maybe for the first time in a number of years
It's gonna it's gonna have just a different field because we've gotten past a lot of challenges
In our society, but we are going to be making a change that we hope will translate into even more kids getting to experience treehouse
The first five and a half years of this church
Some of you were have been here as far back as that treehouse happened
At the same time as this service because we used to meet at rock island high school. Okay
Some of we some of us are having flashbacks. It's fine
We used to meet in rock island high school
So the kids were in the library while the adults were in the little theater and then when we moved here in january of
2019 we kept it that way for a little little time, but we had all this space
We didn't have the same time restraints that we had when we're loading and unloading everything into a school
And so we split it up
We put treehouse at 9 30 and decided to have all the kids in here for the whole service
At 10 30 and i've actually really enjoyed that
I regularly tell parents when they think their kids being loud not nearly as loud as you think they are
It's all just part of it. It's it's all
good
We thought when we made that change when we split it to 9 30 and 10 30
The truth is we thought we would see an attendance drop in treehouse just because we're asking people to come
Earlier in that and that's difficult sometimes and we did
um
But we were hoping that the extra time would actually be a benefit
to
The kids but we also figured that people would eventually just get used to it and then kind of the numbers would go back
To where they were all would and then the world's completely changed
We were only five months into the change when when the world just went absolutely
crazy and so then
Starting in 2020. We just didn't have consistent treehouse for the longest
Time for something like a year and a half and when we did bring it back on sunday mornings instead of 18 ish kids
When we were at rocky and 12 ish kids when we had changed the time now
It was just a few kids
And we always say
You can go check the tape. We always say anytime we make a big change that if it doesn't work
We'll try something else
So we've found that statistically and practically and literally that having treehouse at 9 30 instead of during this service at 10 30
Is translated into just fewer kids getting to go to treehouse
Which means that fewer kids are getting that age-appropriate bible lesson about jesus with other kids their age at the same time and so
We're going to change it back
We're going to change it back with one primary difference
If you're a parent or a guardian bringing your kids, they will start in here with us at 10 30 just like they do
Right now they will worship with us
They will say our weekly prayers with us and then during the two minutes for one question is they're telling each other what their answer is
They'll end up going into treehouse. So while we are having our age-appropriate sermon, they can have their age-appropriate lesson as well
and I know
That that's a big change
But the honest to god truth is that we're doing it just to give more kids a chance to have that age
Appropriate lesson we want kids to be able to climb into god's great
Story, we want to give them the best options that we can it's not required. Of course keep your kids in here
I love your kids in here. It's completely fine
It's not required at all
But we do also recognize that that means that some teachers will miss the sermon a couple times a month
But you will have gotten to worship with everyone and if we have a big team wink wink
If we have a big team, no one will have to serve all that often
And so you will not have to miss my amazing sermons and chris's amazing sermons and jen's amazing sermons
We know how great they are. No one wants to miss any of them
I'm going to make this commitment
If treehouse needs another team member, I'll be on that team. I'll be on your team robin
Because there's almost always a sunday every month one sunday where i'm not the one preaching
So i'll lead songs and i'll put my guitar down and i'll answer two minutes for one question
Then i'll go and i'll serve the kids
Because that matters
Because they're important and them getting this is just one more way that we're trying to help them grow up into who god
Wants them to be so let's just give them the best chance of that that we possibly can because
kids matter to jesus
Now we also plan on having nursery
So we're going to be building that team up and coffee hour in the shed is going to happen at 10 to 10 30
So hours more like in quotes now, it's just only 30 minutes, but it's it'll be great. It's going to be great
okay, so
Now
That is all
Intentional part of my sermon. It was all written down. It wasn't an aside
It is intentionally in here, but you're all probably going that has nothing to do with baseball greg
I thought you were going to tell us your five rules of baseball and you all seem very eager to find out what those were
So repeat after me when I say rule one and then i'll say what the rule is you just say the rule. Okay
Okay rule one have fun
Have fun rule two my bad move on
Number three every position is important
Rule number four baseball is magic
And rule number five keep playing
All right, so i'm gonna go back through those and explain these okay, so first have fun baseball is not worth playing if it's not fun
Period i'm talking about at any age level i'm talking about little kids playing little league i'm talking about people with multi-million dollar contracts as adults
It is not worth playing if it is not fun. It is a sport
It is a sport it is meant to be fun and let me be clear if kids are not having fun
It's not their fault
Can I get an amen a couple of mm-hmms from the back
The adults have to make it a priority to let kids have fun
And I say let on purpose
Because left to their own devices
Most kids are just gonna have fun playing baseball
Left to their own devices most kids are just gonna have fun doing whatever it is that they're doing
Years ago I knew a kid that was on a travel ball team and they quit after one season because of the adults
Parents would be in the stands yelling at the kids like they were professionals throw the ball
Throw the ball run faster. You have to swing harder
I don't know why
Maybe they were trying to live vicariously through their kids
Maybe they were trying to relive the glory days or maybe they were just trying to get back to the ball
Maybe they were trying to relive the glory days or maybe they were just trying to push their kid to be better than they ever would
But at that age it is not fun
When adults don't let them have fun and if it's not fun it is not worth it
When adults are involved in anything that is meant for kids the adults have to be the ones that are intentional about keeping it fun
I coached the all-star team in our third and final game
Instead of having them do a bunch of drills what I did was I just let them play wiffle ball before the game
I could have had them do a bunch of skill drills. I could have had them kneeling on one knee
I could have had them doing extra ground balls or pop flies
Would those drills have made the difference between winning and losing that particular game?
No
They needed to have fun
They needed to have fun in a moment that felt important
Wow, this is so important
They needed to be reminded that the number one reason that they were there was to have fun
So rule one have fun rule two my bad move on
And baseball you have to get really good at moving past your last mistake
Because what was rule number one
Have fun and baseball isn't fun if you're being too hard on yourself
It just isn't
Maybe you're playing third base and the ball gets hit at you like a rope
And you make a bad play you bobble the ball you throw you make a bad throw to first base that kid now
He's on second base. They got someone in scoring position. You can't dwell on the last play
You have to be willing to say my bad move on because in 10 seconds the next kid is going to be up to bat
And the ball might come to you again
And if you are still sulking about what happened on the last play
Then the chances of you making a good play this this time are diminished
You have to get really good at saying my bad move on third every position is important
Here's the truth. Not every kid wants to play shortstop
Some of you don't know what shortstop is
It's an important spot. It's fine. It's an important spot
Not every kid wants to play that spot, but here's the truth whether they admit it or not
Every parent wants their kid to play shortstop
Because shortstop has this perception like it's the most important spot on the field
Even the parents that say they're fine with their kid playing anywhere. I'm good
Whatever is best for the team deep down they want their kid to play shortstop
Or at the very least they want the coach to put their kid in the infield
But every position is important especially listen especially when you get to 12 you 12 and under
Because 10 11 and 12 year olds are starting to hit the ball into the outfield way more than they were in the 8 9 and 10 year old league
Some of these kids are hitting home runs y'all
In our last all-star game at the end of the season one of the kids on that team hit a home run over the fence
The team that ended up winning the local tournament in the last inning they hit three home runs over the fence
They're all 12 and under
But here's the thing this past season we saw plenty of home runs
Where the kid just hit the ball into the outfield and it got past a player
And the kid was fast enough to run all the way around the bases every position
Is important if the kid in the outfield can't catch or at least cut off a line drive then the other team scores extra runs
That's what I told my team all year long if you are on the outfield it is not because it's unimportant
Is because I need you to cut off that ball it's because I need you to catch that ball
I need you to be the one that keeps them from hitting the ball
I need you to catch that ball. I need you to be the one that keeps them from scoring those extra
Runs and not only every position is important, but every player is important
This regular season that I coached this summer sponsored by cool beans by the way
Yep, so thanks to annette and cool beans for sponsoring our baseball team
But when we got to game 11
All right when we got to game 11 we had lost the first 10
We were o n 10
I could get on my soapbox about why teams were a little uneven. It's fine
But I want to tell you a story about a girl named zoe. It's not a real name, but uh,
She was the only girl on our team
And in our first practice it seemed pretty obvious to me that that zoe
Definitely did not want to be there
She wanted to keep her phone in her pocket
She hung out in the dugout longer than anyone else sometimes when we asked everyone to run her jog. She would walk
Don't think that she had ever thrown a ball. I don't think she had ever caught a baseball
I definitely know that she had never swung a bat
But her mom wanted her to play a sport
She had played volleyball the year before apparently she didn't like that very much either and so her mom was like well
You're gonna play on this team with your brother
After the first 10 games listen
Every position is important. Every player is important after the first 10 games
So we had a batting average of zero
Zero zero zero
Zero zero zero with 11 strikeouts and two walks
Oh and she got hit by pitch two times because she'd never played baseball before she didn't know how to get out of the way
Now
By the time that we got to our 11th game
I was starting to feel like as a coach like I was finally getting some things right like
The lineup was starting to make sense because I knew some of the stats these kids had that I just wasn't making it up
I was looking at what they had done and I was shaping the order that they should bat in and we were getting
Closer to winning game. So game 11 in the last inning
We were tied
with two outs
And the winning run was standing on third base
All we needed was a base hit to win this game
You know who was up to bat? Zoe
She watched a couple pitches
She swung at a couple pitches and missed
She ends up having what's called a full count three balls two strikes
You only get four balls or three so she was either going to get a walk or she was going to strike out
Or maybe she was going to get hit we were one strike away from losing one
Ball away from the next batter that was a little better of a batter to come back at the top of the order
Or one hit away from a win
With the person up to bat that had never gotten a hit. So now i'm praying
You know
They say no crying in baseball. There's definitely crying in baseball and i'll tell you right now
There's a lot of praying in baseball a lot of coaches standing on first base going please lord jesus
I will go to church this sunday if you let this kid get a hit
Please lord jesus
So i'm standing on first base because i'm the first base coach because I like to be there to encourage the kids when they get there
And i'm like legit
It's our 11th game. I like jesus, please
I mean, i'm not sure this is how it works, but please
Just please help her just help her help her get a let the you know
Trip the pitcher make them throw a ball. I don't know just let this kid get
On base now everything is in slow motion the pitcher winds up pitch pitching the ball
I see zoe
Starting to swing the bat
And she makes contact
And so i'm on first base i'm like go go go everything's in slow motion
She starts to run the runner on third base starts running home trying to score and then the ball
Gets past the other team
She makes it to first base safe
the runner
From third base makes it home everyone is cheering everyone in the dugout is jumping
Up and down as excited as they've been all year long. I run over zoe's just standing on first base
I don't think she has any idea what just happened, but I put my hand on her helmet
I look right at her. I go you just won the game for us. I'm so proud of you
And just like in this moment I was holding back tears as I told her how proud I was of her
In those last six games of the season
We ended up winning three games in a row
Losing two and then tying our last game against the best team in our division
Because every position is important
Because every player
Is important in the first 10 games zoe's batting average was zero, but in those last six it was 500
Which means that she got a hit half the times she was up to bat
Her on base present present
Percentage was 750 which means that she was on base three-fourths of the time in those last six games
I just wanted her to have fun
For whatever reason she didn't want to keep playing volleyball
I just wanted her to learn how to move on from the strikeouts
And to know that even if she never played baseball before and if she never got a hit that entire season that she was
important
At our awards ceremony at the end of the year
Everybody got the same exact trophy
Said the exact same thing on it
Same exact shape but I told the entire team that zoe was our mvp because she was the most improved
And she never quit
So we have fun
We say my bad and we move on every position and every player is important
Because rule four baseball is magic
That moment when zoe got the game-winning hit that was magic
It felt like magic it actually
It's better than magic. It's better than illusion you see on stage because it's real
So now I have a confession to make all right
This is something that you're not really supposed to say about baseball because baseball is magic
Because baseball is real but because baseball is real baseball can be kind of boring sometimes
I can't i'm sorry. I I love I love baseball but
A lot of baseball is just watching something not happen
Does that make sense?
I mean
Something is happening someone is pitching and someone is catching and someone is up to bat
But if no one's getting hits if no one's scoring runs if no one is getting on base
Then i'm sorry. It can be
It can be boring
Until it's not
Baseball has this way of surprising you with moments
Has this way of having magical moments sneak up on you
Has these moments that are both exciting and sometimes scary
Moments that are triumphant and heartbreaking
And it's the boring it is the mundane that actually leads to the magic
I want to show you what i'm talking about
I got a little video. I want to show you this
Just happened this video we're going to show this just happened this week at the little league world series
And don't don't worry. Everyone's okay. All right
But watch watch this video
Oh my god, that's awesome
Oh look out oh my god, that's awesome
Wow, that is a tough kid right there
So
This is really cool because as a pitcher bubs looks shaking up right now
Because of what he did and look at zay jarvis. This is such great sportsmanship
He wants him to know that it's okay that he'll be fine
Um
What a stud right there zay jarvis
Tears anyone
I'm gonna tell you something about baseball. It's a game of
If baseball was just a competition
It was just a battle if it was just a game with winners and losers than this moment of deep humanity this magical moment
Where one kid comforts his opponent
Would never happen
And they would never know how to do the right thing not just with a baseball but with each other
That kid that got hit he knew that baseball was supposed to be fun
He knew that this pitcher needed to just say my bad and move on he knew that this kid was important
And I think that he knew that in that moment that there was potential
for magic
Sometimes you have to look for the moment that's meant to be magic.
You have to be willing to leave the base you're standing on.
To hand it to someone else.
So have fun. My bad, move on. Every position is important.
Baseball is magic. Rule five, keep playing.
This is honestly probably less of a rule and just more of a hope that I have.
My hope as a coach is that these kids will want to keep playing, hopefully baseball, maybe another sport.
That's fine. But if they, and if they don't, at the very least, it is my hope that because of how I coached them,
that they'll believe that they're wanted and that they are important.
And that it is possible, it is actually possible to be on a team
or even follow a leader that cares and can be trusted.
Because so many kids give up or quit and I think it's mostly because the adults that failed them.
Adults told them they weren't good enough at baseball to keep having fun.
Adults told them they couldn't just move on after they made a mistake.
I had one kid on my team that told me at the end of the game
they knew they were going to get a lecture all the way home because of how they played.
Adults are the ones that keep telling kids that certain positions are more important than others
and it's adults that suck the magic out of baseball.
The adults should be able to control their own emotions and their own expectations.
Because if they won't, if us, if we as adults, if we won't, why would kids want to keep playing?
This is where it should be like abundantly obvious that everything I've said today isn't only about baseball.
It's parabolic. It's a metaphor for this church. It's a metaphor for Christianity.
For our own kids, for the kids in our community that need to know Jesus.
Because whether our kids have fun and learn to move on, whether they feel important or see magical moments,
whether they feel like they can keep believing, has a lot to do with us and how we coach them, how we disciple them.
Whether they see us doing these things, we can follow these same rules and I can follow these same rules
in how I pastor this church. Rule one, have fun. The word fun does not show up in the Bible, but it is all throughout it.
It's in creation. It's in the Psalms. It's in the friendship between David and Jonathan.
It's in the way Jesus welcomed children when the adults were being too stuffy.
Following Jesus should be fun, especially for kids. Because we all know this, a lot of life does end up being hard.
But fun is age appropriate, no matter how old you are.
Years ago, years ago I heard someone telling kids to stop climbing on the chairs at the church that I was at.
So I pulled the adult aside and corrected the adults.
Kids should run in church with their parents' permission. Kids should climb in church.
Kids should not be punished and made to pay for things they accidentally broke in a church.
Because kids need to have fun, not the existential threat of something being wrong.
And I think adults, we need to learn again how to have fun in church.
Two, my bad, move on. Jesus wants us to be the kind of people that forgive.
Because that is what God is like. We're told this over and over again. Forgiveness is codified in the only prayer that the Bible records.
Jesus teaching his disciples, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And we're not only meant to forgive others, but ourselves.
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind.
The second commandment is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. How do you love yourself if you can't forgive yourself?
And how do you love your neighbor if you only love yourself halfway?
Following Jesus means that we acknowledge our sin and our mistakes. And because of what God has done, because of who he is, we move on.
We can't get stuck on our errors because the next play is about to happen.
We need to have fun. We need to forgive and move on. Rule three, every position is important.
Jesus taught his disciples that the rulers of this world lowered their power over others, but they were meant to be different.
That for them, the first was last, the last was first, the best served the least.
Later, Paul would teach that the church, that every part of the church deserves honor.
Listen, I might be the one that in general when I'm not on sabbatical, preaches the most.
I might be the one that plays guitar. You might see me in the front a lot, but every volunteer on our framework team is important.
And there is no position on that team that is unimportant. There is no person on that team that is unimportant.
When the facility crew comes and cleans the building without anyone else realizing that it happens,
when someone makes the coffee or waters the plants, when your kids are taught in tree house,
when the communion gets put under your chairs, or when the sound gets turned up or down,
when someone gives one dollar or a thousand, every person in every position is important.
But not just the people giving or serving on the framework team. Every person matters.
Because the Bible doesn't say for God so love the people that serve.
It doesn't say for God so love the people that showed up. God so love the world. God loves everyone.
We aren't just here for the people that show up. We are here for everyone that God is here for.
Not as everyone. Because while church isn't magic, it is miraculous.
The idea that two or more can gather and get along for any length of time, let alone 2,000 years, is a miracle.
Because Jesus is among them. For the church to have persisted for two millennia is miraculous.
Because there aren't any perfect churches, are there? There aren't.
There aren't any perfect people. And yet we still have churches.
And maybe church feels boring most of the time for some people,
but it only makes the moments of miraculous all that more special.
Like, how about the idea of giving to God through the local church seems boring to some of us.
But here's the thing, in the last eight months we have given away thousands of dollars to people that are in need.
That's miraculous. Just this summer, summer which is notoriously a time where you wonder if you're going to hit budget,
but just this summer you all gave above and beyond the budget needs and we gave $2,500 to tuition needs,
to people that had babies, to people with car issues and to missions.
And maybe for the first time ever, maybe since the first year of this church, we've gone January through the end of July without missing budget once.
Listen, and we did it after a pandemic, during inflation and a looming recession.
That feels pretty miraculous to me.
Maybe you feel like you haven't had your miraculous moment yet, but I believe that it's here.
And I think if I have been any kind of pastor this past nine years,
it's been the kind of pastor that's just trying to help people to keep playing, to not give up.
This summer, someone that had been a part of our church for four years had to move away
and she wrote me a letter saying that if it hadn't been for the way I'd pastored her,
how I walked with her through the most difficult time of her life, she just wouldn't believe in Jesus anymore.
This past week I sat with someone and I asked if they had faith and religion in their background
and they said they used to, but they had watched as the church excommunicated their close family friend because their child was gay.
She said that lately she's been trying to believe in God and I told her it's just amazing and special that she hasn't given up.
I'm affirming I am anti-racist. I am always learning as a pastor in part because I just don't want people to give up on the goodness of God
because I believe that maybe God is just a little bit better than so many of us have allowed him to be.
And I believe that we are and we have the opportunity to create here a culture where people will just keep playing.
They will keep trying. They won't put the ball down and go home.
Because this should be fun, y'all. Amen.
This should be forgiving.
If there is anywhere on earth that everyone should know that they are important, it should be here.
It should be in the church because it's not magic, but it's miraculous.
Let me say this as I close, even if only a couple of those things happen at any one time, maybe that will be enough to help them keep playing.
We won't be perfect all the time. As a church, we won't hit every base.
Maybe we can help people keep playing, to keep believing, to keep looking because Jesus never stops looking for them.
Amen. Let's pray.
Father God, we thank you for your word.
And I thank you for baseball.
I thank you for all the games, all the sports, all the silly ways that we come up with to spend our time.
And I thank you that you can even teach us something through those.
Help us to love you, to follow you, to trust you, to have fun, to forgive, to really treat everyone like they're important,
to look for the miracles and keep playing. In the name of Jesus, amen.