Behold A Baseball Game

Behold, a team went forth to play a game of baseball.  Just as the National Anthem was played, the catcher arrived and hurried to his place behind the plate. The center fielder didn’t show up at all...  but he did send the pitcher a text message to offer his regrets. The pitcher turned to his third baseman only to find that he also had failed to come to the game, having been up late the night before. The pitcher turned to his manager to ask why none of the reserve players were taking the field in place of the regulars but he discovered that the first base coach  and the reserve players had gone to Six Flags together... but they told the third base coach that they were there with them in spirit. 

The pitcher went to the mound and looked around the field. His heart was heavy, for many of their positions were empty. The opposing team was there and the fans were in the stands, and there was nothing to do but pitch the ball and hope for the best. But in addition to pitching, he had to cover third base, as well as shortstop and there was no one in center field.

The shortstop  did arrive midway through the third inning but caused such a disruption as he entered the field that the second baseman was looking at him and missed a ground ball that would have been an inning ending double play, allowing a run to score.  A fly ball was hit to right field but alas... the right fielder had forgotten to bring his glove, resulting in an inside the park home run. There was no relief pitcher because they too had made the trip to Six Flags leaving the pitcher to face the opposing team all on his own, no matter how weary he became. The team struggled through a painful game and suffered a humiliating loss, being beaten by more than 10 runs.

When the absent players heard that their team had been beaten so badly, they were very upset and called for a team meeting. They decided to get a new pitcher.

When things aren’t going well in the church the tendency is to blame the pastor. The pastor is always the easy targets because they are most visible. But like a baseball team, the church can’t survive without everyone pulling their weight. The pitcher—the pastor—is important, but unless everyone else shows up and fields their position or gets a hit, the game will be lost.

He who has ear to hear, let him hear.