“Foul Ball”

You’ve probably never heard of Steve Bartman. But ask someone in Chicago, specifically a Cubs fan, and you’ll get more than an earful! It was game 6 of a Cubs playoff game against the Florida Marlins, with the Cubs leading 3-0 in the game and 3-2 games in the series. In the eighth inning, with only five outs away from the World Series, the Cubs players and fans were thinking the impossible was about to happen. Enter Bartman.

Bartman was sitting in the front row near the left-field corner wall, when a pop foul came toward his seat. The Cubs left-fielder leaped into the stands with his glove extended to make the catch and subsequent out, but Steve Bartman’s eyes were also on the ball. As he also went for the catch, the Cubs player was unable to make the play, and the ball fell into the stands. The Cubs tried to argue for interference but because it was in the stands it was considered out of the field of play.

The Marlins drew life out of the coincidence, and then came back to not only win the game, but also the next two games, eliminating the Cubs from the playoffs and heading on to defeat the Yankees in the World Series. Bartman’s life was threatened and he had to be escorted off the field with a detail of security guards. Fans now take pictures of Bartman’s outfield seat and reminisce about what could have been. Then months of media interest and fan fury drew too much attention to poor Steve, and he issued a formal apology for the “accident”.

I find in this story such a sad truth. Often in the church leaders will draw unnecessary fire for their ‘interference’ in the plays. Steve was simply going to make a catch, along with the dozen people around him, but because his hands dropped the ball, he received the criticism. Pastors and church leaders are often attacked by the sheep because we fail to make the play, or get in the way of what others believe is the right play, and seem to make decisions that are not in the best interest in the crowds.

Jesus made such an ‘error’. In John chapter 6, when His following was greatest, His notoriety most widespread, He drops a theological bomb on His followers. He explains that if you weren’t drawn by the Father, you’re wasting your time, and that some were there that did not believe. I can see the disciples smiling and trying to reassure the masses of people leaving that “perhaps what Jesus meant to say was…”, or “now don’t take Jesus too literally! He’s just being sarcastic!” At the moment of greatest impact, Jesus chased some people away. But His reasoning was that He “knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him” (John 6:64). On the field it appeared to be a foolish play, but Jesus had a purpose and intention.

Church leaders should not make the plays dictated to them by the stands. We are not elected officials who are nominated to represent the people’s wishes. We are men called by God to lead the church of God by the Word of God under the direction of the Spirit of God for the glory of God to be faithful to the gospel of God. We care far more about what our Coach thinks than what the critical columnist writes. So take heart if you are in the stands. What seems to be a bad play may actually be exactly where God is leading our team. And if you are Steve Bartman, be encouraged. Five days after that fateful game, a group of 13- and 14-year-old baseball players whom Bartman had coached in little league held a rally for him, where one kid called him "a great coach, a great person and a great role model". That probably meant more to Bartman than we’ll ever know.

-Pilgrim