Episode Transcript
HEAR
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER
Today our Holy Spirit story comes from Pastor Marc O'Neal. Marc is an ordained elder within the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, currently serving at Mt. Olivet UMC in Manteo, North Carolina. He and his wife, Heidi, have two children in college, Caroline and Grey. He lives happily at that beautiful intersection of faith and sports, and firmly believes in one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all . . . and that there is one Carolina, located specifically in Chapel Hill.
In this story, you'll be encouraged to hear how the Holy Spirit met Marc and his friends on the local softball field. Below, you can read the story in his own words, and, if you listen, you will hear it in his own voice.
When you think of Rec League Softball, what immediately comes to mind are gloves and bats and balls and things of that nature. But this summer, in the County Co-Ed League that our church is a part of, there's something else happening: prayer. And with it, a move of the Holy Spirit, and an impact.
Our church, Mount Olivet UMC in Manteo, North Carolina, put together a team to compete in the summer league this year. Our team is made up of players from different churches, of different backgrounds, different races, different genders, different skill levels, different experience levels, and different competitive fires. As a team, before games we gather in a huddle and pray with each other, and then, when the game is over, win or lose, we gather around home plate and invite the other team to join us.
And that's where the impact has been found.
As many times as I’ve been on a ball field, spanning the last forty-two years or so, there is just something different about gathering with those you just competed against—dirty, sweaty, hands on each other's shoulders, and praying. There's this joy, win or lose, just happiness and thankfulness and peace, and I have no doubt it’s because God comes down and makes Himself known to us, if we were willing to pay attention, right there in that prayer circle, on a softball field, after a game.
And, friends, it would seem that I’m not the only one.
A few days after one of our games early in the season, I was forwarded an email that was from someone on another team. It said this: "I’ll admit: at first I didn't know why a church would have a softball team in a league with a bunch of businesses. But I'm glad they did. We played them this week, and they were the nicest team and seemed really happy even though they lost. Afterward, they asked us to circle with them and pray. Not all of our team stayed but some of us did. It meant a lot to us. So I thought: Maybe that's why they have a team? So they can bring God to us in a way that is inviting, nonjudgmental, and where we are. Some of our team goes to church; some do not. But all of us talked about it afterward, and I'm not sure we would have talked about God if it were not for them."
Our extraordinary God, showing up in the most ordinary of places. How about that? The Holy Spirit moving wherever He wants, whenever He wants, and planting seeds of His own, right there on a softball field. Since that time, we've had a few more games and have prayed after each one, and each time the Spirit has moved in a different way. I have received any number of texts or messages a day or two after each game. One text said "I wanted to say it was so cool to pray after our game; the team really appreciated it and everyone thought it was nice." I got a few social media messages about how they "loved the demeanor of the team and the prayer circle afterward"; others that we are a "breath of fresh air out there," another that they had been wanting to get back into church but hadn't found one here yet and were going to give us a try. In fact, after one of our games, one of the players on the other team was so moved that he first commented on one of our church's Facebook posts; then followed our Facebook page; and THEN worshipped with us the following Sunday. And, more recently, we were approached in the parking lot after a game and one of the other players said it was the first time all year that they actually had fun playing, and that it just “felt different." All the while, the prayer circle after the games has gotten larger, happier, and more Spirit-filled each time. Never would I have thought doing something so simple would have been so impactful. I suppose that when we talk about sowing for the kingdom, we should not forget that we do so wherever we find ourselves . . . even in the dirt of a softball field.
PRAY
Lord, we are humbled by You and in awe of all the ways You show up around us. We ask You to keep our hearts open to how You are moving in our everyday lives. Give us a hunger to pray for our local communities and show us how we can be Your vessel each day. We ask for courage to be bold to share Your love this week in the simple situations we find ourselves in. Praying this in the name of Jesus! Amen.
