Hanging Out with Baseball Chapel Leaders

I'm in Chicago today, learning about my new role as the Baseball Chapel leader for State College's new minor league baseball team. The Spikes open their season June 20 against the dreaded Williamsport Crosscutters.

I'm sitting in a conference room with 20 other guys from all over the country. Many of the men are Latino, which is great, since so many teams are finding players from Spanish-speaking countries. I may have to brush up on my Spanish. I can ask the guy where the bathroom is, but that's about it...

There's a lot to learn about being a chapel leader for a professional sports team--a lot more than I realized. Forms, paperwork, timelines, chapel topics, "do's and don't's," policies about not reaching into players' lockers, no eating the food in the lockerroom, no cameras...The conference leaders (Rob Crose and Wayne Beilgard) really drove the point home that almost everybody who comes into contact with the players wants something--an autograph, a ball, a hat...These guys get swamped by this stuff and need to know that the Baseball Chapel leader is not there to get something from the ballplayers, but to serve.

That seems to be the recurring theme that I hear the Lord saying--Serve people. Love God, love others. Another variation on the idea that it's not about me. I will be glad when that concept puts down roots in my heart.