For Your Sunday Morning Drive

Episode 133: A Game Changer

How can a little encouragement help others knock it out of the park? Well, our guest today will tell us all about that here in just a bit.

Welcome to the show. I’m Daniel Dalp, and this is For Your Sunday Morning Drive. And we’re going to do what we always do: take a few minutes to bridge the gap between the everyday and the spiritual and get your mind primed for heavenly things on your way to church.

And this morning, well, you’re in for a treat, even though I’m sure you got your fill of those last night as you buttoned up your Halloween festivities. And that’s because behind the mic and behind the wheel this morning is my friend Bryan LeMasters. We grew up in the same youth group here in Evansville, and it’s been awesome to see him go on and do great things in the kingdom.

Bryan is the discipleship minister at the Mount Juliet Church of Christ in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He’s also the co-host of a Bible study podcast called Text Support. And if you’re looking for some heavy theological lifting and some really good deep dives on spiritual topics, please give it a listen. I highly recommend it. It’s on my rotation of podcasts that I listen to every time they drop an episode.

I’ve put a link in today’s show notes for you so that you can find it there. Check it out.

Bryan, thanks for being on the show today. Let’s go ahead and get it on the road. This is Episode 133: A Game Changer. Let’s go to church.

Are We There Yet?

As he walks on the perfectly cut grass toward home plate, 35,000 people cheer with passion. As their hands pound together, they rise to their feet. What sounds like a typical sight at a baseball game is anything but a typical moment.

Although I love sports, I can’t tell you the last time I watched a regular-season baseball game. But this story made me pause and take notice. It captured my heart and left me thinking about the implications of how people interact with one another and the good that God could do through me.

Games prior to this moment, Trea Turner was hearing boos from his fans. Can you blame the fans? How should they feel about their star player, who had just signed a new 11-year, $330 million contract, when for the first four months he had been a mess at the plate? This led to a loss of confidence in him, which also led to errors in the field.

The manager had to drop him from second in the batting order all the way down to seventh.

So why did they go from booing him to a standing ovation? If I had to guess, he broke out of the slump, hit a game-winning home run, and won their hearts back over.

But in the previous game, although the team won, it was not with the help of Turner, as he was 0-for-3 at the plate instead of coming home. After the game, he was seen in the batting cages until about midnight, hoping to find something to wake him up from this nightmare.

So if the change by the crowd wasn’t due to Turner’s performance, what was it?

Jack Fritz, a producer for a Philly sports talk radio show, sent out a tweet saying, “I know he’s making 300 million, so it’s unpopular to say that you feel bad for the guy, but I legitimately feel bad for Trea Turner.”

He went on to later say, “A standing O on Friday would go a long way, in my opinion.”

And people followed.

The standing ovation was not because of what Trea did. It was a simple and powerful message: “We’re behind you.”

A teammate was seen leaning out of the dugout with a towel in his hand, encouraging the fans to cheer.

When asked postgame about his actions, Nick said, “He needs to feel welcome. I know what that’s like, and I think that’s what the standing ovation does. Like, hey, we have your back.”

Trea got a hit that day, and then the next game he got a home run and completely turned his season around.

It makes me wonder: Can a message of “We’re behind you” be that impactful?

Proverbs 12:25:

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

Let me read that to you again.

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

Has anyone’s words ever lifted you up? Or has the knowledge of having the support of those around you made a difference in your confidence and your outlook on life?

As my family made the move to serve at Mount Juliet Church of Christ, we found ourselves in worship with a two-year-old. Between the trips to the bathroom, getting her not to talk or hold up her latest drawing in the air that she was so proud of, or keeping her from being loud with her snacks, we were just surviving.

I remember one Sunday we made it to the end of worship, but with no feelings of a win, only doubts about whether I was balancing discipline and patience. I was wondering if I was being judged by everyone around me for my parenting and if I should apologize to literally everyone sitting behind us.

I don’t know if she saw discouragement and stress sitting on my shoulders, but Stephanie, a mother whose kids at the time were in high school and late elementary, walked up to me after worship and said something like, “I’m glad we sat behind you in worship. It’s an encouragement to see young parents bringing littles to worship. It may not feel like it now, but it’s making a difference.”

I almost cried. I almost cried again when writing down my notes on what to say.

In that moment, I felt empowered and supported by those around me, and everything felt different. My perspective when I was alone with my thoughts was wrong. I now felt like I could win.

You want to be like Jesus today at worship? Look around the crowd and see someone to encourage.

Someone is walking up to the plate right now, and in their head, all they hear are boos. You can be the person who reminds them, “We’re behind you.”

Fulfill your calling as a follower of Jesus and build someone up.

Consider Hebrews 10:24–25:

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

So today, breathe life and hope into someone. Support and love those around you.

God is with you. You’ve got this.

To God be the glory.

Bryan shared some fantastic thoughts with us this morning. Now it’s time to hear yours. Our discussion questions for this week are:

1. Why can a simple word of encouragement make such a difference in someone’s life?

2. Have you ever felt discouraged or overwhelmed and had someone say something that changed your whole perspective? What made their words meaningful?

3. How can we become more intentional about encouraging others at church, especially those who may feel overwhelmed and out of place?

And I’m going to toss it over to Evelyn for this week’s kids’ question.

Can you think of someone that you can encourage this week? What would you say to them?

Hey, thank you for listening. Thank you for taking the time out of your day and out of your week to ride along with us. I hope you were encouraged this morning.

Look for ways to be a game changer in someone else’s life.

Big thanks to Bryan LeMasters for being on the show today. Be sure to check out Text Support. I know it will bless you.

Keep pushing forward, and I’ll see you Sunday.