Forget the Kentucky Derby, my friends, or University of Louisville basketball. Last night marked the beginning of the most cutthroat competition in the entire Louisville Metro area, the most anticipated sports season of all… church league softball. For those of you who think that my fastpitch superstar sister is the only athlete in the family, I beg to differ. My team, Westport Road Baptist Church (I’m still Presbyterian, though), played 1st Baptist Middletown at the Methodist church yesterday. Unfortunately, we lost 10-0. I was wounded in the effort, too—a throw from the first baseman to me at third came out of my glove and into the corner of my left eye. My makeup covers the redness pretty well, but I can feel the swelling today.

I actually really like church league, for a couple of reasons. First, I still love the game of softball after all these years. I grew up on the softball field, and evenings at third base evoke memories of watching dad play fastpitch, as well as years of practice and play of my own. The strand of softball connects people in my family, from my grandfather and father who were pitchers, on down to my sister the pitcher and me. For us, it is a common language of situations and strategies, a level on which we can relate across generations and life experiences.

Church league also brings a uniquely spiritual element into softball, one that goes beyond prayers before and after every game (which is kind of strange for me, considering that my high school teammates were more likely to lay out a string of curses after a game than a prayer). In two years of playing church league, my sense of being completely accepted for myself in God’s family is probably greater than it has been in many Sunday worship experiences throughout my life.

Okay, so that came off sounding bad, but let me explain. When I come in the door on Sunday morning, people introduce themselves to me. Do they remember my name later, though? Usually, no. Do I mean much to them beyond the generic fact that I’m a child of God? Let’s be honest—not really. When Melissa introduced herself to me last night, I remembered her name because she was the shortstop next to me. I needed her and she needed me if we were going to cover for the fact that we were playing shorthanded. The eight people on the field last night formed a community that had to work together for the survival of all.

Sometimes people in that community screwed up—I made several errors myself. What I’ve noticed in church league particularly, though, is that we tend to forgive one another for the miscues, even when they hurt the team. After hitting a ball down the line that resulted in an out, one of the other players still complimented my swing. The whole point of church league softball is to build one another up rather than tear one another down.

A final point in this little church softball/Body of Christ analogy is that we don’t choose our teammates. I met mine right before the game. We picked the spots we wanted to play, and then we began feeling one another out. In the course of the game, I learned that Adam has wheels, that Melissa brings good field awareness, and that Dave can whip it across the diamond (I have the shiner to prove it). We learn about one another along the way, compensate for our individual weaknesses, and put differences aside to work toward a goal.

Maybe the Body of Christ should spend some more time playing church league softball, where every single member is valued for her or his gifts to the team. And maybe more people should stop sitting the bench, and join in the game of serving God in the world with our sisters and brothers on the field. We need one another, regardless of whether we know it or not.

“Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” --1 Corinthians 12:14

Kelsey

Hi Kelsey!!
I enjoy you're softball stories!
I also enjoyed being your dad's catcher and coach for a number of years! He was 14 the first year I caught him in the men's fastpitch softball league. He and your grandfather pitched us to the state tournament when your dad was 15 and 16 years old! That was the Viking-Pedros men's fastpitch softball team years in Wenatchee!
I have enjoyed watching you and sister Rachel play softball for your school teams. I am going to go to Rachel's games this saturday.
They play Ephrata in a double-header! You're an excellent writer! Keep up the great work!
Love,
Vern Neel