Baseball season is upon us. The southern images of spring training give way to the pageantry of Opening Day. On that day, the hopes and dreams of every major league team, player and fan focus on doing whatever it takes to get to the Fall Classic, the World Series. Baseball is a secular way that so many of us confess that hope “springs” eternal.

With all of this in mind, baseball can also teach us a new perspective about stewardship. Think about the game itself. Baseball is a team sport. The home team faces off against the visitors. Yet while it is a team game, there are repetitive, individual confrontations that take place within the game. The baseball game cannot start without the individual pitcher against the hitter. Once the batted ball is in play, the battle is between the ability of the fielder against the speed of the baserunner. Once there is a runner on base, an attempt to steal a base pits the runner against the catcher. A base hit into the outfield pits the outfielder against a runner trying to score.

Baseball is a team game with many smaller units at play. Without all those smaller units working together and achieving their tasks, the team will lose.

Romans 12 puts our stewardship of the Gospel in a similar setting. The church is certainly described as a team, if you will.

Verse 3: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” This is where the Body of Christ is really seen as a team. No one member of the baseball team can win the game by themselves. In the same way, no one part of the Body of Christ can accomplish stewardship of the Gospel alone. The pastor cannot. The congregational chair cannot. The lead soprano in the choir cannot. But each of these individuals have been added to the local congregation to be built into a team that can win the victory with Jesus.

Verses 4–5: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” In baseball, the pitcher pitches. The catcher catches. The hitter hits. When a pitcher attempts to hit, the result is usually not very pretty. Catchers often do not excel at running the bases. The hitter usually does not do well when they are sent to the mound to pitch. Every

member of the Body of Christ has a unique set of abilities and functions. Not everyone preaches. Not everyone leads. Not everyone sings well. Yet when the congregation assembles together as a team, it can succeed in ways unattainable by the individual.

Verses 6–8: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Each member of the team has a role to play. Abilities and opportunities are entrusted to the individual members of the Body of Christ to be used for the ultimate purpose of stewarding the Gospel for the glory of God and the benefit of the neighbor. The one preaching is no more or less important than the others. The one serving or the one teaching, the leader or the merciful one — all are equally important in the faithful stewardship of all that the Lord has entrusted to the Body of Christ. All this stewardship is for the sake of the other!

A baseball team can have five All-Star pitchers but cannot win if the hitters do not hit. The best lineup in the league will struggle if the pitchers cannot get anyone on the other team out. Pitchers need the defense behind them to play well. Coaches need to lead well. When they all work together, you have a winning baseball team. When the Body of Christ has all its members faithfully stewarding the unique individual talents that have been entrusted to them, the victory goes to Jesus! This is the goal of faithful stewardship! It is all about Jesus!