softball ministry

This past weekend I got the opportunity to spend a bunch of time with my 9-year-old, Faith, at a softball All-Star tournament.  We got up early on Thursday morning and drove three hours south to San Angelo for a weekend of softball.  It seemed like all of West Texas and part of New Mexico descended on the town for a softball extravaganza.  Every hotel room in the town was booked and they were even housing people at Angelo State University.  It was crazy!

As far as softball goes, it was a good weekend.  We had a great team of 12 girls, ages 7-9, and an amazing group of parents!  We ended up going 3-3 on the weekend and got eliminated in a game where the ball just didn't bounce our way.  It was a great introduction to competitive softball for both Faith as a player and for me as a coach.

It was also a good opportunity for me to spend some quality time with my 9-year-old.  We ate junk food and watched Disney Channel and hung out all weekend.  Wendy (my wife) and I decided that this summer would be a good opportunity for me to spend some one-on-one time with each of the girls before their little brother comes next month, so this was my time with Faith.  And we had a blast!

But I think that my favorite time of the weekend was a 2-hour late lunch with the team's head coach and his wife.  After our elimination game, we hung around the complex and watched a great game between two of the other Lubbock teams.  Then we went to lunch at Schlotzsky's and really had our first chance to have an in-depth conversation.

I've been coaching with this guy for two years now and have a great respect for him -- the way he looks at softball and the way he looks at life.  He is in the process of raising three young ladies, all of whom play softball and all of whom are pretty amazing girls.  In these two years, we've never really had a chance to just sit and chat.  In this lunch convo, we talked about Jesus and church, softball and coaching, parenting and broken homes.  I got a chance to get to know who he is on a different level.  It really was a blessed conversation.

What struck me most about the conversation was the affirmation of what has been going on in my heart recently -- the notion that ministry is all around us if we only have the eyes to see the possibilities.  Every girl that I coach in softball or basketball, every parent that I interact with, every opposing team that I talk to and play against is a chance to show the love of Christ.  For some of these girls that played on this All-Star team, this will be my only interaction that I have with her and her parents.  Have I made a positive contribution to who they are as unique children of God or has my contribution been less than it should be?

I may never again bear the title of Pastor, but that doesn't get me off the hook of shepherding people.  As a matter of fact, it looks like I'll have MORE opportunities to pastor now that I've lost that title.