When is Opening Day?

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring." ~ Rogers Hornsby

This is one of my favorite baseball quotes, and with the spring-like weather this week, it got me thinking about Opening Day which is about a month away.  But when exactly is the official Opening Day this year, and why isn't more celebrated?

This year MLB is opening the season in Japan with a 2 game series between the A's-Mariners on Wed 3/28 at 5am CST.  Huh?  Why Japan?  Isn't it America's pastime?  I remember MLB did this 4 years ago as well and I never understood why.

Then, we have to wait one full week for what seems should be Opening Day as the newly named Miami Marlins open Marlins Park vs. the defending World Champion Cardinals on Wed 4/4.

Or, do we consider the following day, Thur 4/5, when about half of the major league teams open their season (why not all of them?), including the traditional matinee opener in Cincinnati, along with 6 other games.  The remaining teams open on Fri 4/6.

So, since the games in Japan are official games (not exhibition), Opening Day is 32 days away.  In anticipation of this, I'll begin my 30-day countdown to Opening Day on Monday by sharing one of my 30 favorite baseball quotes each day in countdown fashion via twitter (@vanduzee)

I still question why MLB doesn't try to showcase their sport with a big opening day splash, like the NFL has done in recent years.  Why not feature an East coast/West-coast DH on ESPN (like the NFL Monday Night Football opener)?  Let the defending WS champ play in one of the games and feature the opening of any new ballpark (if there is one) instead of opening in a foreign country at a time when most of America is sleeping.

I'll take it a step further -- let's petition to make Opening Day a national holiday.  This will sound un-Amercian, but let's rename the President's Day holiday and move it to the first Monday in April with a full schedule of Major League Baseball matinee games.  Let me explain my thinking:

• The President's Day holiday is too close to another holiday (just a month after MLK Jr holiday), and with it still being winter, it's hard to take advantage of this 3 day wknd with a planned fun outdoor activity.    
• On the other hand, the first weekend in April could be celebrated as the "Spring Break" for the non-student/working class folks.  Paired up with the Final 4 (on that Sat night and final game on Mon night), MLB could take advantage of this March Madness hoopla and make this proposed "Opening Day holiday/Spring Break 3 day weekend" the ultimate sports weekend by adding the MLB East-coast/West-coast game DH on ESPN on Sunday night followed by a full slate of matinee baseball games leading up the NCAA Final game Monday night.  You've got the day off, go enjoy it at a ballpark.  What's not to like about this idea?  

Maybe just wishful thinking.  But I do believe MLB needs to do a better job in marketing their Opening Day and making it an anticipated tradition for America's pastime.  

Jeremy Lin's faith and success

OK, I just finished watching Jeremy Lin lead the Knicks to another thrilling win over the Mavs.  Lin had 28 pts, 14 assists, 5 steals while logging 46 minutes, and he hit a big 3 pointer over Dirk to seal the victory.  So much has been written about him in the past 2 weeks that there's likely not much I can add that you haven't already heard, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the rise of this new star in the NBA.

My favorite part of Lin's story is his strong faith and the opportunity he has to share it on such a big stage for the world to see - playing in the world's most famous basketball arena, Madison Square Garden in NYC.  I loved Jeremy's post-game quotes the other night after the game winning shot he made in Toronto, calling his rags-to-riches story "a miracle from God":

"Anytime something like this happens, a lot of stuff has to be put into place, and a lot of it is out of my control.  If you look back at my story, doesn't mater where you look, but God's fingerprints are all over the place.  You can try to call it coincidence, but at the end of the day, there are 20, 30 things when you combine them all that had to happen at the right time in order for me to be here.  That's why I call it a miracle."

While I don't believe God favors certain sports teams and athletic achievements, I do believe God has raised Jeremy up giving him the opportunity to shine his light and highlight his basketball skills on the court.  I pray for Jeremy's continued success; that he is not overwhelmed by his new-found superstar status, and that he is not derailed by those who may try to bring him down for whatever reason.  I pray that he is able to be a bold witness for Jesus, and his story influences many others to follow Christ.  Our world needs more stories like his.

I encourage you to read this great essay detailing Lin's rise to stardom and his influence on today's culture  Denison Forum on Truth and Culture    

The closing paragraphs in the attached link talk about the influence both Lin and Tim Tebow have had in sharing their faith publicly.  We are called to be salt and light in this world, and my pastor Shane Stanford often closes his messages with a reminder that goes something like this, "Remember, God's going to angle the path of someone into your path who needs to hear the good news, and I hope that they'll find in each of us generous friends and that they'll see a difference.  Go into the world and be salt and light."

Takeaways from Downline Summit

On Friday night and Saturday I joined 1,500 other men for the 3rd annual Downline Summit.  The theme of this year's event was Legendary - examining discipleship in the light of the Great Commission as commanded by the One True Legend, Jesus Christ.  I was inspired and encouraged by all of the speakers who God raised up to teach and lead us through the principles of biblical discipleship.  Here are a few  key takeaways I will strive to follow and live out:  

Bryan Loritts, lead pastor at Fellowship Memphis Church, led us off with a great, yet simple, definition of discipleship.  Discipleship is the process of producing reproducers of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 10:1-4, Jesus is giving shape to his team.  Note in v.1, he called the 12 "disciples", and in v.2, he called them "apostles".  Disciples are "learners"; apostles are "ones who are sent" (doers).  Learning and doing repeated over and over is the process, and Bryan used a great illustration of how golfer Phil Mickelson (a right hander) learned how to golf by mirroring this learning and doing approach from his father, which resulted in him becoming a left-handed golfer.

Dennis Rainey, President and CEO of Family Life, called us to Step Up to Courageous Manhood, walking us through the 5 steps of a man:  boyhood, adolescence, manhood, mentor and patriarch.  Dennis recalled the 4 principles of Biblical manhood; a man is to: Reject Passivity, Accept Responsibility, Lead Courageously, and Invest Eternally, and he added a 5th, Love Sacrificially.  In the mentoring stage, every man needs to have a mentor and be a mentor.    Or in the other words, every man needs a Paul, Barnabas and a Timothy in their life!  

Ronnie Stevens kicked us off early Saturday morning.  I was looking forward to hearing him teach as I really enjoyed his teachings on Acts last year in Downline.  He taught from Luke 5:4-11 where Jesus calls his first disciples to follow him.  Reading from this passage, Ronnie illustrated 7 goals of discipleship, narrowing it down to 1 explicit goal:  catching of men.  This "catching of men" (or bringing people into the kingdom of God through a relationship with Jesus), builds on the analogy of catching fish in v.10 as these fishermen (Simon Peter, James and John) were doing when Jesus encountered them.  Ronnie clearly pointed out the message here:  Fish don't want to be caught.  That's why you have to catch them!  

Next we heard from JB Selecman and Ron Surgeon as they gave a lay perspective on disciple-making.  It's not just Christian education - transferring the truth of God into a another man, but it's also accompanied by the cultivation of a life-on-life relationship with that individual.  In short, disciple-making is truth and life transference in the context of an authentic relationship.

The conference workshops I attended had an emphasis on discipleship in the home.  Dennis Rainey shared his experiences/challenges in the raising of his 6 children.  The scripture passage he modeled comes from Ephesians 6:1-4  


Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.


Dennis spoke on the priority of discipling your children and he communicated 5 principles of courageous parenting using examples from his own life:  Courage to repent, to connect, to protect, to correct, and to direct.  Kennon Vaughan delivered a great talk on discipleship in the home during the early stages of childhood with practical examples that he and Kathryn are using with their 3 boys (all under the age of 4!)

Kennon closed the conference looking at Jesus' final words to his disciples in Matthew 28:16-20, and implored us to live out the Great Commission as a lifestyle.  And, to catch a vision for discipleship not as a duty, but a delight; not merely a responsibility but rather a privilege.  

In closing, I'll part with a quick note on Super Bowl 46.  I'm excited about the match up, and you could make an argument for either team but I'm rooting for the Patriots to avenge their upsetting loss 4 years ago.  Besides the commercials, I'll be paying close attention to the numbers this year as I hope to score big in my SB squares contest which will payout $500 per quarter.  Although I think the game will be really close, I'm predicting (hoping) a score along the lines of NE 34 NY26, or NE 35 NY 21 would be just as good.  Enjoy the game!