As Opening Day has finally arrived, I’m sure most of you (players/coaches/umpires) have set certain goals that you are hoping to achieve this upcoming season. As you think about these goals, I imagine that most of them are related to your own personal performance or the performance of your team. However, alongside of any performance-oriented goals that you might have, I wanted to give you four goals for the upcoming season that are unrelated to performance and that will help you live out your true identity and purpose regardless of what happens on the field.

#1 Start Each Day with Silence

The goal here is learning how to quiet your own voice, the voices of the people around you and the voice of the enemy in order to hear God’s voice. So many of us, without even realizing it, have built a Christian life that is based on activity and information. We fill our time talking about God, reading about God, singing about God and learning about God that we hardly have any time to simply listen to God and to talk with God. Learning how to recognize and hear the voice of God is essential to our life and growth as disciples of Jesus.

So wake up and start each day with silence. Make some coffee or take a shower if you need to but then find a spot that is quiet and spend the first 5-10 minutes of your day alone with God. Thank him for the gift of a new day, ask him to speak to you in a way that you can understand and then be still and silent for 5-10 minutes. Pay attention to what comes to mind, talk with God about it by asking him questions and then close your time with the Lord’s Prayer or praying through Psalm 23.

#2 Be All-In with Baseball Chapel

The goal here is fully embracing the Christian community that God has placed you in this season. So many of us view chapel as a time where we just go listen to the chaplain give a short Sunday message. And since we only view chapel as a short Sunday message, we assume that as long as we take time to read a devotional or listen to a sermon online then that can take the place of going to chapel.

However, the problem with this mindset is that chapel is so much more than just listening to a short message. Chapel is about stopping what you’re doing to go and gather with other Jesus-people in order to spend some time praying together, reading Scripture together and encouraging one another. You see, the physical act of stopping what you’re doing in order to go and gather with other Jesus-people is the point.

For two-thousand years, Jesus-people from all over the world have committed to the practice of dropping what they’re doing on Sunday morning to gather with other Jesus-people for prayer, Scripture and mutual encouragement. Embracing the Christian community that God has placed you in is just what Jesus people do.

So this season, make every effort to be all-in with Baseball Chapel. This is your church community every year from March through October. Be a participating member of that community. Make time to be there every Sunday. Be there for Bible Studies during the week and on the road. Invite teammates to come and hold them accountable to embracing chapel as well.

#3 Never Eat Alone on the Road

The goal here is simple — make eating together with teammates your ministry this season. So many of us get caught in this routine of just grabbing food real quick because you need to eat. We easily overlook the fact that sitting down and sharing a meal with someone provides a space where people feel valued, where people feel heard, and where God does some of his most transformative work.

Some of Jesus’ most powerful teachings and transformative moments took place during a meal or around the table. So follow in his footsteps and make meals on the road your ministry. Don’t eat alone. No room service. No Door Dash. No fast food to-go. Invite teammates to go eat and go sit down together. Enjoy good drinks and good food together. Ask questions, listen to their story and bless them with your loving presence and undivided attention.

#4 Observe the Sabbath

The goal here is to regularly disrupt the cycle of performing and producing in order to remember who God is and what life is really all about. So many of us get so caught in the never-ending rat race of competing and trying to produce that we begin to get our sense of identity and purpose based on our performance. Taking one day a week and setting it apart as a day devoted to God can help us resist this trap.

So even though you might be thinking there’s no way you can do this during the season… you can. Just start where you are. Trying is better than not trying. So here’s an idea of how you can do this during the season…

Make a commitment to enter into the Sabbath after the game every Friday. As you’re leaving the stadium every Friday night, you are entering into the Sabbath until you walk back into the stadium Saturday afternoon. During this time between leaving the field Friday night and going back to the field Saturday afternoon, make every effort to stop thinking about baseball and to set your attention fully on the goodness of God and all the good things that he has given you and done for you.

Put your phone away except to talk to friends and family. Avoid all email and social media. Don't watch ESPN or MLB Network. Sleep later than you normally would. Spend time in silence with God. Get outside and go for a walk. Eat a great breakfast or lunch with your family or a teammate. Do something fun and thank God for it. Sacrifice any extra work or your normal routine and go to the field a little later if you can. Set this one day a week as different than the rest and reorient your life back on enjoying the goodness of God.

You can do this…

The baseball season is a long season, but it’s also a great time to develop new routines and habits. Your schedule is so predictable, and you’re on the exact same schedule as everyone around you. These four simple goals should be easy to mix in as long as you make them a priority for the upcoming season.

1. Start each day with silence

2. Be all-in with Baseball Chapel

3. Never eat alone on the road

4. Observe the Sabbath

Imagine what a difference it might make in your own growth as a disciple of Jesus and in the lives of the people around you if you committed to these four simple goals for an entire season?

If you have any questions about any of these or would like more insights on how to implement them, please feel free to reach out to any of our staff. We’d love to come alongside of you in any way that is helpful. We hope all of you have a great Opening Day, and may God bless you and use this season to help you become more like Jesus than you ever thought possible!