Sorry to have posted this
article so late. My wife, Nancy, and I
took a trip in our little Nissan Rogue car beginning on September 7th
and arriving back home in Lavon, Texas on Oct. 28th, 2012. We drove almost 6,500 miles.
Speaking
in the Churches
During this time I conducted
what is generally called “gospel meetings” for six different churches located
in Virginia, New Jersey, Maine and Alabama.
I preached on 33 different occasions.
In addition, I spoke to many groups of
young people from K-12 in both public and private schools. I was interviewed
by the local newspapers and radio sports programs in some smaller towns and we met
all kinds of interesting people. All
together, Nancy and I met hundreds of people both inside and outside the
church. Also, along the way we
experienced the beauties of nature and the turning of the leaves. We drove the mountain roads around Clintwood,
Virginia, as well as saw many of the historic sites around Williamsburg.
These gospel meetings were
generally on week-ends (Friday thru Sunday) and so that gave us some time to do
some sightseeing. The meeting work was
generally on two major topics, “The Emotions of a Christian” and “The Authority
of Jesus Christ – How it is understood and applied.” These lessons are designed to motivate Christians to whole hearted devotion and
service to Jesus Christ and are generally well received. Usually the best compliment I receive has to
do with helping others understand the Bible text and how it applies to daily
lives. In other words, I break it down
in plain words for the common person.
The lessons on “The Emotions of a Christian” has to do with developing
the emotions of God – to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. These lessons are hard hitting but
practical. The series on Bible
Authority is primarily taken from the letters of the apostle Paul to the
Corinthians. Paul is careful to
establish the authority of Jesus Christ, which includes apostolic authority, as
the foundation of the church, and uses this basic premise to solve every
problem in the church at Corinth. In
these series, I usually include one lesson on Psalm 73 and another on “Living
Godly in an Ungodly World” based upon Peter’s writings.
Each local congregation is autonomous
and independent of any other church or rule except that of Jesus Christ. Desiring to do some preaching in the Northeast,
where I had spent so much time as a professional baseball player, I contacted about 100 churches and six invited
me to come and speak. I am always
grateful for such invitations and realize the grave responsibility of
proclaiming the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.
I ask people not to accept what I teach based upon my person, but to
prove all things in the light of the Bible.
My lessons are Christ centered and Bible centered.
Speaking
in the Schools
My baseball background
usually gets me into the schools. Most
kids are willing to listen to a 20 year veteran of Major League Baseball. I usually go with a friend who has some
contact with the schools and talk to the principal and explain my purpose in
speaking to the young people. My main
message has to do with morals and ethics by drawing from my baseball experience. I usually end with a “question and answer”
session with the kids. I keep it lively
and interesting and generally have no problem connecting with the kids, or if I
am addressing the upper grades, “young men” and “young women”. Sometimes I will wear my “monkey suit” as I
call it – my Yankee cap and uniform! In
the public schools, I am not allowed to mention God or Christ, but generally
the lessons I bring are based upon biblical principles. In the public schools I usually stress
staying away from tobacco, alcohol and drug use and emphasize the three
“R’s”. When drawing from my baseball
experience, I emphasize both my “highlights” and “lowlights” in teaching
values. I place special stress on how to
overcome adversity and the obstacles in life and how we ought to treat others. In the private schools, there generally is no
limitation on speaking about God and Christ.
I speak in all the schools without accepting a fee.
One of the most unexpected
events was at a middle school in Maine where I spoke to 250 kids and wore my
Yankee cap and jersey. Even though this
was “Boston Red Sox” country, I was received with much yelling and applause,
and after a long question and answer session, many of the kids came up to hug
me and wanted photos with me. For a
brief moment, I was treated as a celebrity--Strange world!
One of the most interesting
schools was “Athens Bible School” in Athens, Alabama, where I spoke to the
upper grades and the baseball team. This
is an accredited private school (K thru 12) that uses the Bible as the heart of
its curriculum. They also have a very
good sports program. This school was
established in the 1960’s and receives no funds from churches or other religious
institutions, but has graduated outstanding students who have gone on to
institutions of higher learning. It
gives parents a real choice in the education of their children.
I give away these little
autographed cards with my photo and stats.
It is amazing what a small thing can do to make people happy and be willing
to carry on a conversation. Baseball
crosses all ethnic, social, political and national boundaries. The same is even more so regarding the
religion of Jesus Christ which literally applies to all men everywhere and can
span all boundaries. And on the scale of
importance, baseball pales in comparison.
On this trip I gave away about 600 baseball cards. Also since returning home, I have mailed out
650 cards to schools who requested them, for which they were willing to pay a
nominal fee. On the card is my website
which will direct people to the “Pitching for the Master” blog. Hopefully some of these people will read the
blog.
Nancy and I took a lot of
interesting side trips. We spent three
days in Amish country outside of Lancaster, PA at a “bed & breakfast” with
a Mennonite family who owned a dairy farm.
We also spent three days in the Cooperstown, NY area, where the color of
the trees had reached a brilliant peak.
I visited the Baseball Hall of Fame several times, wore my Yankee cap
and jersey and signed a lot of autographs for the people. We also drove through the White Mountains of
New Hampshire and along the coast line of the Atlantic Ocean. We visited many small historic towns along
the way both coming and going. We
stopped by and visited old friends.
Between us we took about 1300 photos.
We had a great time, and it is a trip that we will long remember.
I might add this final
note. During this trip both the Major
League Play-offs and World Series were taking place.
The presidential election was going hot and heavy. In some places we had no access to T.V. Since returning home, Hurricane Sandy took
place and the elections were finalized.
Both events have affected millions of people. Fortunately none of the churches I visited in
New Jersey were severely affected by the Hurricane, but everyone will be
affected by the elections.
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Note: All of my articles can
be accessed by going to lindymcdaniel.com
and then click on the Pitching For The Master blog button. If you
desire to be placed on my special e-mail list for advanced attached copies of
monthly articles, or if you know others who would like to be placed on the
list, please let me know by contacting me at my E-Mail address: lindymcdaniel77@reagan.com. The
photo at the beginning of this article shows my wife Nancy and me on the only
sandy beach in Maine at Acadia National Park. I think that this is about the only ocean beach to be found in Maine.
