One night a few weeks ago, I was involved in a Bible study, a very unusual Bible study. It was in Arizona, and involved about 20-30 major and minor league baseball players and their wives and girlfriends. The meeting was held, ironically, in an upper room at the sprawling complex of the Scottsdale Bible church. It was during spring training and the players were from the various baseball organizations that get ready for the season in the Phoenix area. A headcount showed that the San Francisco Giants had the most there, but the Oakland A’s, Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City Royals were also among the teams that were represented.
I was there as a guest of longtime friend, Matt Herges, now of the Cleveland Indians. I was in Arizona to do a radio interview with Cleveland second baseman, Jamey Carroll. But God has his own plans. While preparing for the Carroll interview, I felt led to look on the rosters for another player who might be a Christian, and recognized the name, Brian Bannister, a young starting pitcher with the Kansas City Royals. When I called the Royals organization, their media person agreed to set it up.
The Bible study was on a Wednesday evening, and I was scheduled to interview Brian the next morning at the Royals’ complex in Surprise, a retirement community west of the city. While doing my research, I noticed that Brian had accepted Christ at a young age at Scottsdale Bible Church, the very church where I was headed for the Bible study. I arrived at the study right before it was to start. Couples were seated around tables. I sat next to Matt and his wife Jane. I mentioned to Matt what I had found about Brian, and Matt pointed across the table. It was Brian Bannister and his wife.
I believe in divine providence rather than coincidence. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” I thought, “What a stroke of luck that I am not only in the same Bible study, but at the same table with a guy I am supposed to interview.” I thought perhaps Matt had invited him but in a conversation later that night, I discovered it was Brian’s first time at the Bible study, and he and Matt had never met. In other words, God had arranged this in his timing.
The next morning, hours before the Royals and White Sox were to meet, Brian Bannister and I sat in the seats of Surprise Stadium and talked about how God works. The air was chilly, but conversation was warm. Brian loves to talk about Christ. The meeting had been delayed because the Royals were holding chapel. They are a team with a strong spiritual core. They have a Christian manager in Trey Hillman, and a Christian General Manager in Dayton Moore, and both are very open about their faith. For years, first baseman Mike Sweeney has been the spiritual leader in the clubhouse, but Mike has moved on to the Seattle Mariners. Brian Bannister is now the leader.
He knows that having Christian players doesn’t guarantee a winning season. In fact, the Kansas City Royals haven’t had a winning season since 1994. But Brian also knows that he is with Kansas City for a reason. “Baseball is my mission field,” he says. As a young player, he knows that he has a better opportunity to share Christ than anyone. And who knows what those young players in the Bible study could do. Christ challenged twelve men in an upper room long ago, and they changed the world. I still am amazed when I think of how the interview with Brian Bannister came about. It reminds me of the oft quoted verse that I hear from athletes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”(Phil. 4:13). In His time and in His place, I certainly can.
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