Spring Training tagged: , ,

Spring Training

Posted by in Church & Missions

Only 48 more days until spring training. The college players have already begun since their season starts earlier. The High School kids won’t be far behind. The pro’s, though, report to Spring Training Camp in 48 days. When they arrive, they’ll do the same things the lowliest freshman on a JV team will be doing: throw the ball, catch the ball, and hit the ball. Spring training is time for all players to practice the fundamentals of the game. No matter how good you are or how experienced you are, there is always a time to pay attention to the basics. (At least that what Coach Rainey always said, and I believed him.)

The same is true for all sports or any endeavor. A few years ago I watched a practice round when the PGA came to Tulsa. I remember watching Vijay Singh drop one ball after another into a bunker and hit it out of the sand. I moved on after 45 minutes and he was still hitting balls our of that bunker. Everyone played through and kidded Vijay about being stuck in the sand. No wonder Vijay – the “hardest working man in golf” – has consistently been a top money earner for years.

Our new pastor (he’s been on the field for 8 weeks now) has declared that we will do two things simultaneously: we will minister to the community in non-traditional ways (I noticed he only uses the word “missional” in front of the under 50 crowd, never when he’s with the senior adults) while we also work at growing our Sunday School classes. It doesn’t get much more traditional for a Southern Baptist Church than Sunday School.

Last Saturday the pastor brought in a consultant who spoke to 90 of us about Sunday School basics. Sort of a Spring Training for small group leaders. After the session one of our pastors asked me if I learned anything new. No; not really. Not anything new. I was reminded of stuff I had forgotten. I was confronted with some basics that I have not practiced in a while. But I can’t say I heard anything new.

Meet your neighbors. Develop genuine friendships. Invite them to church. Tell your story: how you have encountered God. Minister to people where they’re at. Pretty basic stuff. I was embarrassed that I had slowly stopped doing some of the things that I knew would make a difference to people.

Spring Training: we all need it.