Baseball and Lessons for Life

Springtime always brings to life baseball, and it is a season that I enjoy. There is nothing like chewing on some sun flower seeds, eating hotdogs, listening to music from the speakers, and the sound of hearing the umpire in chief yell, “play ball”. Baseball is a season filled with great moments including the rain delays and even cancelled games for no apparent reason at all.
Over the years I have established some of the most cherished of friendships because of the game. As a sport official, working the baseball diamond at the college level has given me a several groups of friends that I just would not want to part with for anything. I would not want to part with the friends I have made from working the plate or the line either.
The lessons one can learn from baseball are many. I hope you can use some of these lessons I’ve learned if you find yourself walking back to the dugout of life thinking you’re a failure. Being grateful for the opportunities of life should be our standard disposition, but sometimes we accept the “lost attitude” when we should remember the simple truths of the game.
Baseball is a game of one thing at a time. Sure everyone wants to hit a homerun and be the hero, and while that is a single event that sometimes happens, it’s not the norm or the single focus approach that works and creates the continued success we strive for. For the pitcher in the game of baseball, it is one pitch at a time. Sure a pitcher wants three called strikes with a batter standing, just looking, afraid to take that bat off his shoulder and swing. A good pitcher understands and wants to whiz pitches by without the hitter making contact, but it doesn’t always work that way. The goal of a pitcher is to find that spot on the plate that the umpire likes and keep it there, but it doesn’t always work that way either.
For those stepping up to the plate, their simple goal for continued success is to simply get a hit. You accomplish that by hitting the baseball to a place on the field where the defense cannot get to it, allowing you to get on base without them being able to attempt to make a play. Now that’s a good hit! For the next batter, the goal is simple, get on base, and/or move that runner in front of you over. The goal for the next batter is to repeat steps one and two, and hopefully we can score that front runner. Now that’s the most basic teachings in coaching baseball, and from life we can see the basic as well that provide a foundation for those rainy delays or game day cancellations.
If coaches teach from a positive position, even the negative situations become learning curves for the future, and that’s a good thing. The flip side is, unfortunately we don’t always have such coaches in our dugouts. Sometimes we find that voice, the one from the side we hear yelling, not serving as an instrument of encouragement. It is then that it is easy to quit. It is easy to say or think, there has got to be something else I can be doing with my time. However, this coach says, “Hang in there! The game isn’t over yet! You’ve got another chance at bat. Get ready to go out in the field because this is a nine inning game today, and tomorrow we’ve got a double header before this series is over.”
Striking out at bat is never any fun, but it is a part of the game. Personally, I was never a good hitter, and maybe you find yourself in the same cleats I’ve worn. If that be the case, we need to find another way to contribute to the team’s effort. In their early years of playing baseball, young folks would rather just walk to base after four called balls. However, in the next levels of baseball one learns to get hit by the pitched ball instead of just talking a walk. Now, that’s not going to be a fun experience at all. Most folks don’t grow up to play the game to be that player who learns to take one for the team, but it’s a valuable position. Most coaches love those players, especially since they don’t have to be the one getting hit by the pitch.
I’m not sure where you are in your game, but remember it’s one pitch at a time. It’s one inning at a time, and every game has a 7th Inning stretch. You may be up to bat as I write, or you may be standing out on second base wondering if anyone is ever going to get hit the ball so you can attempt to score. It could be you are on the bench waiting to get into the game.
Wherever you are, this coach says, “Stay alert and be ready because things can change with one hit.”

Until then

Pauletta Dick, Dr. James Castlen and Clear Creek Baptist Bible College

There are from time to time stories I read, announcements I see being made, or pictures I see in newspapers that creates the ‘re-connect in my mind’ and this column is the result of just that type of newspaper experience. I read with regularity the Western Recorder. For many of you that name will mean nothing, no bells will go off, no lights will come on. It is the state paper for the Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC) and truth is, many Baptists will not know that’s the name of the state paper, and they may not even care, but it is nevertheless. While reading through it, I looked upon two different photos that brought a flood of memories and a reminder of the impact and connection of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College (CCBBC).
In 1978, I met Joel and Paulleta Dick through Clear Creek Baptist Bible College. Both were students at CCBBC and members of First Baptist Church, Pineville, KY. Our paths would cross many times over through the years. In ministry I served the Immanuel Baptist Church in Monticello, KY. Paulleta was a native of Monticello. As a student at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, because of my role with the Baptist Student Union, I often found a friendly face in Paulleta, as she served the Student Ministry Department of the KBC after her days at Clear Creek. She was always around at the state events directing students and making a different through her role. Later, when I joined the staff of the KBC as campus minister of the Baptist Student Union at Union College in Barbourville, KY, I was delighted again to discover Paulleta still involved, as I attended staff meetings and training events. Her late husband, Joel, was a dandy man and just as giving and caring. The picture that created my memory rush was the announcement that after some 33 years of service, from her days at Clear Creek to the Kentucky Baptist Convention, she was retiring with confidence, knowing, “I see how the Lord was leading me step by step.” she said.
The second flood of memories and thanks to God came from the Annual Meeting of the KBC and the election of officers. Dr. James E. Castlen was elected to serve as the 1st Vice President of the convention by the delegates. I have such high respect and appreciation for his service, which also includes Kentucky Baptist and Kentucky Baptist Institutions in a number of roles. In addition to his elected officers position with the KBC, Dr. Castlen is the full-time Director of Missions for the Three Forks Baptist Association in Hazard, KY. The association consists of some 22 churches. My thoughts of Dr. Castlen go back to his time as a professor at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, his love for music, theology, and people. A few years have passed since I last saw Dr. Castlen, but I know it would not take us long to catch back up on the happenings in our lives and ministries.
Both of these individuals underscore a reminder for me of the importance of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, and the impact she has played on the lives of not just folks in Southeastern Kentucky, but throughout Kentucky and the world. My testimony is but mine, just one voice sharing one story. Imagine what would happen if all the voices joined together to share of the good times and the difference made because of one other man’s vision, Dr. L.C. Kelly, CCBBC founder.
I have been richly blessed by Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in many ways. President D.M. Aldridge and his wife were great encouraging supporters of my personal ministry, always sharing a word and not afraid to tell me what I needed to hear. Those types of friends you never forget. President Leon Simpson and his wife were without question great visionaries, whose leadership not only brought the school to academic accreditation, but Dr. Simpson created the vision for the Student Life Center that has been such a blessing to not only students but the community at large. Dr. Simpson began the total campus “make over” that continues today. His impact and guidance provided real examples about what leadership is, and today it is easy to spot because of his time at Clear Creek.
President Bill Whitaker also has had an impact and I appreciate the invitations that he extended during his tenure and his genuine desire to see things done properly while continuing to advance the college in every aspect. Dr. Donnie Fox now serves as President of CCBBC, and he and I too share in friendship because of the years and connections we have both shared at Clear Creek over the years.
Today I write because of the ‘re-connect in my mind’ and the impact of just one or two here and there which adds to the lives of each one. My list of friends just keeps growing and growing. It is amazing how life works down here, and I’m just glad to be me in my part of it.

Until then