It's almost time for pitchers and catchers to report!!

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Matthew 9:36-38

As a native of St. Louis, there are two things we learn early on; we are the "Gateway to the West" and Cardinal Baseball is a religion. Most people I meet who live outside of this great city don't feel baseball to be that exciting, unless of course you're playing.
For cities with a history like ours, the game of baseball created heroes and legends. We love the game so much, that many of us can remember what it sounded like to hear the crack of the bat for the first time, like it was yesterday. Or, we find ourselves at a barbecue with friends and we say things like, "these hot dogs are okay, but not like the ones at the ballpark."
In St. Louis, ballplayers aren't just ballplayers, they live where we live. They serve the community as if it were theirs to care for. Heck, we even celebrate our heritage with our local brewery, Anheuser-Busch. Not because their products hold together our city, but their part in the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball season opening day parade around the ballpark. The team of Clydesdales pulling the familiar delivery wagon to their theme can only mean one thing, for the next 162 games of the summer, our hearts will soar and fall with our beloved Redbirds.
Now the love of sport is not something foreign to the rest of the world, but in St. Louis, we feel nobody does it better. "Just try it once, and you'll never be the same," is what we always tell the naysayers.
You might say, "Big WOW, what's that got to do with Matthew 9:36-38?"
September 17, 2011, was the day I discovered how it was all linked. One of the traditions in my life is to celebrate the start of the baseball season by watching one of my favorite movies, "Field of Dreams." If you've never seen this movie, stop what you are doing right now and go watch it!!
For those of you who refuse, this movie has shaped much of what my next 5 blogs will be about. I know what you are thinking, BORING, but that's because you haven't been to a Cardinals game. See what I did there?
Seriously, the story is based on three characters, all of whom had tremendous pain in their lives. The first character we are introduced to is John Kinsella. John is the father of Ray Kinsella, and since John was in his fifties by the time Ray was born, I'm sure he was rather intolerant of his young son. Ray's mother died when he was three, so it was just him and Dad. Ray was your typical rebellious teen and did things in spite of his father, and when he chose his college, it was on the opposite coast.
Ray was a product of the 60's and John was shaped by World War I. Obviously, this was going to be strained.
John died early in the 70's and never got to see Ray grow as a father and husband, nor did he get to meet his granddaughter. Ray seemed to always feel the grief of this loss.
The third character we meet, is "Shoeless Joe" Jackson. Joe played major league baseball with the Chicago White Sox and in 1919 his team threw the World Series to win at gambling. This had Joe and seven other players banned from ever playing in the Majors again.
"Getting thrown out of baseball is like having a part of you amputated." says Jackson in the movie.
Needless to say, all three of our characters needed relief.
So what does all of this have to do with Matthew 9? I believe the movie "Field of Dreams" is the tale for all of us seeking for more to life than what we have.
In the next few posts, we will unpack what I think, is the typical journey of the believer. Just like with Ray in his cornfield, it all starts with a whisper. Except the whisper we hear is,

 "The harvest is great and the workers are few."

Is the whole batch ruined with just a little poo?

       My pastor preached a sermon recently on 1 Corinthians 5:6. Paul is addressing the church in Corinth about allowing sinful people to exist within their fellowship. Paul uses bread dough to illustrate this point.
       Paul asks "Don't you realize that sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?" His thought is quite profound, and I think we need to sit up and pay attention. Too many churches have "yeast" or sin, running wild throughout our congregations, but most of us defer responsibility to do something about it to someone else. Before we know it the "yeast" has consumed the group and we've all become sour.
       My pastor asked this question. Suppose you have a batch of chocolate brownies, and somehow a little doggie poo fell into the batter. Is the whole batch ruined? It's not like it was a lot, maybe just a pinch. Isn't it still edible? Suppose it was just in one corner of the pan, couldn't you eat around it?
       If you answered NO to these questions, then you would agree with Paul. Sin, no matter how small, if allowed to exist in our congregations, will infiltrate the whole.
       Please don't hear me saying the church should be filled with self-righteous, condescending, holier-than-thou, people; for we all sin and fall short of God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23).
But, I believe if we are all working toward the goal of abiding in Christ, surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and straining toward the goal of sanctification; we are getting rid of the poo.
It would be easy to just insulate ourselves from sinful people, and live sanctified lives separate from the outside world. In fact many early churches practiced this behavior. Some religions today still behave this way.
       In Luke 5:32 Jesus tells us the reason he wanted to establish his church:

"I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

       So if Jesus came to save the lost, then why do we continue to orbit within our church meetings? We spend more time praying for ourselves and the needs of our friends than we ever spend praying for those outside our social orbit. Why?
Don't worry you are not alone, Paul addresses the church in Corinth on this issue in vs. 9 of chapter 5:

 ^"When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin."

No problem, right? I can avoid people who dress sexy, talk dirty, and flirt uncontrollably. What Paul says next gets to the core of our conversation:

 ^10 "But I wasn’t talking about UNBELIEVERS who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. ¹¹ I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a BELIEVER^[a] yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people."

     Seems pretty harsh, but this goes back to a little poo among believers. Paul is not saying one or two believers who indulge in sin are okay, as long as the rest are strong Christians. No he says we aren't to "even eat with such people."
If we open our doors to sinful BELIEVERS and lower the entrance fee so all BELIEVERS can come in, then we have muted the Good News. We must be set apart from the things of this world, but not insulated from it. What should we do then? Paul answers that question in vs. 12-13 of chapter 5:

^12 "It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the CHURCH(the people of God, not the meeting) who are sinning. ¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”"^[a]

      So why do we spend most of our lives avoiding unbelievers? Why do we condemn them for being lost and doing only what lost people do?
When I was a student in high school we were always told to avoid parties and people who acted lost, because they might influence us to sin and stumble. Besides we don't want to do anything that might "ruin your witness." What I think we were being told, is don't do anything that might ruin what self-righteous people might think of you. Maybe we were never modeled on how to "not be of the world, but in the world."

'For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.' John 3:17

If we don't spend time with unbelievers, how will they ever hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.
      Interesting fact about the early church: God's people never claimed the name Christian for themselves. They were given that name by people on the outside of the faith because they saw Christ's teachings being lived out. When was the last time someone said that about you?