baseball

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Encouragement Matters

(Author’s Note: This article was originally written for the July 2025 Newsletter of Palestine Methodist Church where the author serves as pastor.)
.189 batting average for the year. 1 hit in his last 35 at bats (.029 batting average.) That’s how LSU 3rd baseman Michael Braswell III entered the College World Series. Ice cold. Driving the struggle bus. However you want to say it, it was not good.

But instead of criticizing or booing him, LSU fans started a movement on social media to give Braswell a standing ovation when he walked up to the plate for his first at bat in the College World Series. He didn’t get a hit that game, but he made some great plays in the field that contributed to LSU’s two game sweep and eighth National Championship in college baseball. LSU fans continued to cheer for Braswell, and he finally got a hit in the eighth inning of the game in which LSU won the title.

When asked after the game what it meant for the LSU fans “to wrap their arms around him like that”, Braswell replied “It meant the world to me. Those are the moments you dream of. You don’t dream of hitting .180, but you dream of a whole fan base being behind you and supporting you and I couldn’t ask for a better fan base ever.” (Watch Braswell’s entire interview at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b02iMJN0mnM.)

Encouragement makes a difference. What if we decided to be an encourager instead of a discourager? Upbeat instead of Debbie Downer? As you might guess, the Bible has quite a bit to say about encouragement. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Ephesians 4:29 may be even stronger: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” These are only two of the hundreds of verses that encourage us to cling to our faith and to encourage others. The Bible is clear, God intends for us to be encouragers.

A daily devotion I read is titled “The Wake Up Call” published by Seedbed and written by John David Walt, a pastor in the Trinity Conference serving Gillett Methodist Church in Gillett, Arkansas. The theme for this summer’s Wake Up Call is the “Summer of Encouragement” with each devotion designed to encourage and uplift the reader or listener. By the way, you can receive the Wake Up Call for free every day in your email box by subscribing at https://seedbed.com/wakeupcall/. You can listen at the same address or at apple podcasts, spotify, or iheartradio. Just reading or listening to it has encouraged me.

Who do you know that could use a bit of encouragement? How might you do that? Maybe you don’t have to give them a standing ovation, but you can encourage them. Maybe a word, maybe a letter or a text, maybe just a hug. Be an encourager. Because encouragement matters. Just ask Michael Braswell III.

Striving to be an Encourager,
Kevin D. Smith

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Keep Your Eye on the Ball

March means that spring is here. The days warm and lengthen. The flowers bloom. But the surest sign of spring, may be at the ballparks all over the country. The sound of ball hitting leather, bat hitting ball, and the umpire yelling “play ball” brings to mind memories of days and evenings spent at the ballpark. Spring training for Major League Baseball has commenced, and my beloved LSU baseball tigers are already several weeks into another season.

One sound you’re likely to hear at the ball park is the coach sayinbaseballg “keep your eye on the ball!” “Watch for your pitch!” “Focus!” Of course, focus is not exclusive to baseball and is needed for all sports such as basketball, football, track, and many others. What is true at the sports field and basketball court is true for life, we must maintain our focus and keep our eye on the ball on all things in life, including our faith.

 

Hebrews 12:2 reads “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, hebrews 12_2the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It is easy to become distracted while playing ball, and it is easy to become distracted in life. In life, we can become distracted by the busyness of life, work, school, family, and so many other things. While those things are not bad things, they can distract us and take our focus off of Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Consider where your focus is. Is it on Jesus? Why or why not? What is keeping you from focusing on Jesus? Like the coach saying to his ball player “keep your eye on the ball! Focus!”, we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by anything around us. Keep your eye on the ball and, most of all, on Jesus!

Keeping my eyes on the ball and on Jesus,
Kevin Smith

Sacrifice for the Good of All
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Sacrifice for the Good of All

(Author’s note: This article was originally published in the March 2018 FUMC Winnfield Newsletter “The Cross and Tower.”  The entire newsletter can be accessed at www.fumcwinnfield.com)

lsu baseball logo

It’s that time of year again! The crack of the bat! The ball hitting leather! Stand for the national anthem, then the umpire says “play ball” and the baseball or softball game begins. At the writing of this article, I have just watched Winnfield Senior High’s first baseball game of the year, opening weekend for the LSU Tigers, and am anxiously awaiting to see if my favorite Major League team, the Houston Astros, can become the first World Series repeat champions since 2000. Yes, it is time for the rite of spring, America’s game, baseball and softball.

This game that is often called “America’s pastime” contains something unique. It is an idea that carries over into the life of the church and especially applies to us during Lent, that spring season when we prepare our hearts and lives for the death and resurrection of Jesus. The idea that bridges faith with baseball and softball is sacrifice.

In baseball and softball, a sacrifice occurs when a batter voluntarily makes an out for the good of his or her team. Often, this is done to move a runner to the next base or even to score a run for the team through a sacrifice bunt or a sacrifice fly ball.

 

sacrifice cross

In faith, a sacrifice is an animal or person who gives his life for the good of all. In the Old Testament, this was done through the shedding of blood of animals. In the New Testament, one man, Jesus Christ, gave his life so that we might have life. 1 John 2:2 says “He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (NIV)

I am thankful for baseball and softball. Not only because I enjoy watching it, enjoy watching the children and youth of our church play, enjoy being outside,  but because it keeps this word “sacrifice” in our vocabulary. Think about it. When is the last time you used the word “sacrifice” outside of a baseball/softball or faith context? When is the last time you thought about what it means to make a sacrifice and what it costs? The haunting question that comes back to us is what have we sacrificed for the good of others, for our team, for our faith. The truth is that we don’t really like to sacrifice our wants, our desires, our at bat, for the good of others. But that is exactly what the batter is asked to do. That is exactly what Jesus did.

 

The next time you watch a baseball or softball game and a player makes a sacrifice for the good of the team, I hope you’ll think of Jesus, who sacrificed himself for the good of all

Questions to ponder:  Are you a baseball/softball fan?  Why or why not? When is the last time you mentioned sacrifice outside of a baseball/softball or faith context?  What have we sacrificed for the good of our team or our faith?