Number 6

Recently, I asked my almost 6-year-old son to name his favorite Atlanta Brave. I knew what the answer would be, of course. I was fully prepared for "Chipper!" (what 6 year old could resist that name?), but instead, I got an entirely different answer.

"Number 6," he said, "because that guy CONTROLS CHIPPER JONES!!"

Clearly, the baseball "force" is strong with this one. Somehow, he'd managed to see past the obvious choice and named the real power that drives the team's success. Although I'd never really thought of it before, I had to admit that "Number 6" is my favorite Brave, too.

You know the old question: "if you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?" Gandhi? Lincoln? Einstein? Shakespeare? Too much pressure.

Bobby Cox? Perfect. If any of you out there have a line to making this happen for me, I promise to put in a very good word for you with regard to your eternal benefits package.

Sit down to dinner with "Number 6" and you just know that you'd have a great time talking baseball and life (after that, what else is there, really?) over a nice, juicy steak. I'd ask questions, and listen, and see what I could learn about how he's done what he's done.

You know what he's done, right? If not, you're been pretty confused by what I’ve written to this point, but thanks for hanging in there. Bobby Cox is the manager of the Atlanta Braves, and they finished in first place in the N.L. east this season. Oh yeah, and they've done the very same thing every single season since 1991*.

1991 was a different lifetime ago for all of us. If you're a teenager and reading this (does that happen?), you have no memory of the Braves except as winners. That fact is nearly too much for me to comprehend.

The Braves of my childhood were just plain terrible. My dad taught me to love the Braves from the time that we got TBS on cable when I was 7. We suffered through some bad, bad times. Georgia comedian Lewis Grizzard said back then, "do you know what Michael Jackson and the Atlanta Braves have in common? They both wear one glove for no apparent reason.”

Times change. Now, Michael Jackson jokes just aren’t that funny, and nobody’s making fun of the Braves. The Braves have been a first-place team since Bill Clinton was just the Governor of Arkansas and George W. Bush was helping run the Texas Rangers.

They’re winners. How did that come to be?

Well, that’s the first “dinner with Bobby” question that I’d want to ask. How did you do it? When the Braves went from last place in 1990 to first place in 1991, we were all amazed. What we didn’t know was that we were only watching the first act of a cultural revolution.

The team has undergone a fundamental shift in culture and identity. There was a time when you could see defeat in the eyes of Braves’ players before the first pitch was thrown. Now opposing teams walk onto the diamond at Turner Field with hints of intimidation and doubt peeking through. The entire Braves’ organization, from top to bottom now radiates something that can only be called --- confidence.

Number 6 has had a whole lot to do with this. I think that he’s only operated with one assumption since taking the helm. “We’re going to win.”

In a real sense, his job is to “control Chipper Jones” and all the other guys who fill out the team roster. This year was particularly challenging. The Braves haven’t won because they have the most expensive players. In fact, just the opposite has been true for the last few years. In 2005, they fielded 18 rookies during the course of the season, which is generally a recipe for finishing anywhere other than first place.

In April and May, things were getting ugly. The team was not doing well, and many of the fans were beginning to doubt. Bobby was just like a wise old pastor reassuring his church as it goes through a troubled time, if your image of a pastor can include a cigar-chomping, cantankerous old man who likes to pepper his language with well-placed expletives while wearing a ball cap kicked way back on his head --- and don’t forget the nylon baseball pants. Why not?

He never panicked. He simply reminded us all to remember who the Braves are. Winners. It would be o.k., and it turns out that it was. He knew it all along.

The very same unflappable attitude which allows for success in the long-haul of a 162 game season has also been blamed for the Braves’ historically quick exits from the playoffs. The Braves, it’s been said, are built for the marathon, not the sprint.

Maybe. But that’s why the lessons Number 6 teaches us could be so directly applicable to our lives. At its core, the Christian life is more like a marathon than a sprint. Faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ causes nothing like than a change in identity. That new identity allows us to run.

Some folks have trouble watching baseball for the very reason that the season is so long. If you play 162 games, how can any one of them really matter? And that’s exactly the point. The trick of the game is to learn the importance of perspective and perseverance. When the Braves lose 5 in a row, or 8 out of 10, or even most of the month of April, Bobby Cox never waivers in his faith.

We’ll all hit some bad streaks in our lives, as well. There will be days, or even strings of days, when things don’t go just like we’d planned. There will be times when the wind will blow and we’ll be tempted to doubt whether the anchor will hold. That’s when we have to remember who we are. That’s when we dig deeply into the culture of church --- the resources of that group of people who are committed to one another through a common faith.

We are a people who live in confidence. Through Christ, victory is assured. There are times when we will sprint, but most often, faith feels like a marathon (not that I’ve run one, but I can imagine). The good news is, we can run that race with assurance, peace and joy.

The playoffs start today. Come on Bobby, get them boys to sprint to the finish!

Peace,
Adam

*Note to the baseball purists – the only exception was 1994, which was shortened by a player strike. The Braves were 6 games behind when the strike happened, but we all know they would have finished first. Trust me on this.

LIFE AT SOTH:

Even though the Braves’ game does start at 4:00 this afternoon, we’ll still begin our Bible Study at 7pm in our worship space. Read chapter 5 in our book, God is Closer Than You Think. I’ll see you there, and pay no attention to the tiny headphone in my right ear.

Charge Conference: Remember that our charge conference will be held at our 8:30 worship service this Sunday. Our new District Superintendent, Rev. Jacqui Rose-Tucker will be present to preside. This is an important time of business for our church, but it will happen in the context of worship and celebration. Don’t miss this chance to participate and learn about the life of your church.

The Pumpkins are Coming, The Pumpkins are Coming!!!

October 14^th, our pumpkins will arrive in the afternoon and all available hands are needed to help with unloading. This is an awesome event, a lot of fun, and serves as the primary annual fundraiser for our youth. If you have any questions, contact our Youth Director, Cindi Bartlett at cindi@sothumc.net