"The Sandlot"

One of my favorite movies(maybe the favorite) is “The Sandlot.” That 1993 movie centers around nine boys whose sole reason for existing is seemingly to spend their summers playing baseball in an abandoned makeshift field from which the movie takes its name. Throughout the movie, we hear the voice of the narrator, one of the boys who is now grown up and telling us the story of his first summer in the sandlot. Smalls, the boy’s last name, tells us how when he first arrived in the neighborhood, he felt somewhat like an outsider who did not seem to be part of the “team.” In time, however, and after much ribbing and “evaluating,” Smalls becomes as much a part of the team as the other boys. He even becomes the star player’s (Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez) protégé.

Revival or Reprieve?

The election is now over. For the second time in our history, a president who served a previous term in office will once again come to power after being out of office for four years (Grover Cleveland’s second presidency was the other instance). Many, especially among those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are relieved that Donald Trump won the presidency rather than his opponent, whom many considered a great danger to our nation. Many others, however, see in Trump a dangerous actor who will be a “dictator” and impose some sort of harsh retribution on his political enemies.

The Essential Nature of Discipleship

Just before Jesus left the disciples to return to the right hand of the Father, He gave them a number of commands related to their subsequent ministry. One of them, recorded for us by Matthew in the 28^th chapter of his gospel, was to go into the world and, as they were going, to “make disciples of all nations, teaching them all that I have commanded you.” Thus, the disciples were to basically reproduce themselves by forming new disciples, we could say they were to do so in their own spiritual image. This they did with great zeal for, as we read in the book of Acts, their passion for spreading the good news of Christ was unmatched in the annals of history.