By: Phil Hart
They call them the dog days of summer. For our boys, the dogs have been howling. As the inaugural Mars Hill Softball season is on deck for the last time, a moment of reflection is in order…
Before we do that, accolades are due for the MHO Boys of Summer. They achieved a top 5 state ranking and have been invited to compete in the USSSA Church State Championships. You are invited to come and cheer on your team Saturday Aug. 4th at Sprinker Fields in Spanaway, where they will be displaying the unique Mars Hill worship in sports, playing for the Glory of God and the ministry. Mars Hill Church Outdoors Ministries Softball Team (as we are officially known) ranking 5th in the state out of 36 teams is not a bad start for an infant program!
Now, onto my musings.
It all started with an open invitation for fellowship and praising God through team sports competition. Little did I know this was a call for iron ‘sharpening’ (re: pummeling to submission) my iron, as God had plans for this mission far greater than hitting, catching, and throwing an orb.
Teams were created by providence and personalities brought together to foster opportunities for growth. Bonds were being formed, friendships being made… some for a season, some for lifetime, all for a reason. For me, mentors disguised as softball players were revealed and promptly put my head on a swivel, making sure scripture relating to thought, word, and deed were imprinted on my being. I came to know the previously ambiguous term of “servant leader†rather intimately, and (quite honestly) fearfully.
Wins and losses were recorded and the weeks passed. As the summer heat scorched the mid-summer’s grass, one tournament in particular encapsulated this year. At a tournament in Enumclaw it was your typical Seattle June, wet and threatening more liquid sunshine. The men of Mars Hill were prepared for torrential downpour. Seeing a team from the Tri-Cities came completely unprepared, without any prompting from their coach they abandoned their tents and umbrellas, inviting the wives and children from the east to shelter. They sat in the rain in exchange! But my amazement did not end there. I gleamed as grown men in ‘tights’ began fathering other teams’ children, playing soft-toss and splashing in puddles with 3-year olds. I spoke openly about the importance of mission and team. What I got in return was exaltation, and a second place finish to boot.
I have been blessed to be part of Christ taking residence in the wounded hearts of men. I have watched the mature Christians pray over the macho and witness flesh melt. I have been moved to mist on more than one occasion as I am reminded, “God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise†(1st Corinthians 1:27)
I thought I signed up to administer a game. What happened was the miracle of salvation and transformation. So much more happens in the Sports ministry than just hitting an orb and running around. So much, much, more…
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