Last Monday I drove down to Philadelphia to meet three friends who were part of my own high school youth group experience back in the early 1970s. While we’ve stayed in touch over the years, we last year began what we hope is an annual tradition, a September meeting at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to rekindle our long-ago practice of spending several nights during the summer attending Phillies’ baseball games together.
After meeting and exchanging greetings at the stadium’s third base gate, we went to our seats, where we not only caught up on the past years’ happenings in our lives, but we spent three hours cheering on our beloved Phillies while recounting some of the great memories of our youth group years, along with the games we attended together over 50 years ago! If you’re a sports fan with a favorite team of your own, you know how this goes.
As the game progressed, little did we know that we would be leaving with another great baseball memory to add to our list.
With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Phillies had two men on base when a player stepped to the plate who was completely unfamiliar to us and the rest of the sold-out crowd. We wondered, “Who is this guy??” The public address announcer told us, “Now batting, number 19, Buddy Kennedy.” Ok. . . “Who is this guy??”
Recently called up from the minor leagues, Kennedy was a relative unknown who had never had a hit with the Phillies. With two outs and the winning run standing on second base, the crowd was on its feet, and then something amazing happened. In what seemed like an instant, 40,000 people started chanting Buddy’s name in unison: “Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!” This unknown kid from nearby Millville, New Jersey who had grown up a fan of the Phillies now had an entire stadium cheering him on.
Truth be told, it was a moment that gave us all chills. I know I was not alone in wondering what it would be like to have a crowd of 40,000 focusing on me to encourage me and cheer me on. . . at anything!
I wish I could say that Kennedy knocked in the winning run. He didn’t. But he did draw a walk after a great at-bat, which resulted in the crowd going crazy as he ran down to first to load the bases. It was the next batter, Cody Clemens, who after hearing the stadium erupt in the unison chant of “Cody! Cody! Cody!” who knocked in the winning run with a base hit.
While driving home alone after the game, I listened to the post-game radio show. Buddy Kennedy was asked about that moment of hearing the crowd cheer him on. “When I heard the ‘Buddy’ chant. . . I’ll always remember that moment for the rest of my life!” I’ll bet he will. and everyone else who was in that stadium will too.
@philly_alligator Phillie Fans > Everybody 💯 GO PHILLIES #phillies #philadelphiaphillies #buddykennedy #mlb #mlbb #philliesbaseball #philliesvsrays #philliesfan #gophillies #philliesgame
♬ original sound – PhillyAlligator
What must it be like to have a loud and raucous crowd cheering you on by name? In many ways, I experienced that back when I was in youth group with my three friends hearing the life-giving message of the Gospel. I know that there was a crowd chanting my name and cheering me on as I was learning what it means to glorify the God who saves me and who guides me in every nook and cranny of my life. It was a crowd that included my parents, my youth pastor, our church family, and others.
After running through a litany of the faithful followers of God from the Old Testament, the writer of Hebrews tells his original hearers and those who read Hebrews today that there is a great cloud of witnesses who surround us, cheering us on as we run the race of faith with our eyes set on Jesus.
Here at CPYU, it’s our privilege to serve those who minister to children and teens today, equipping them to “cheer on” their kids as the great cloud of witnesses of home and church nurture children and teens into a lifetime of biblically-faithful whole-life discipleship. Our kids need that in a world that “cheers them on,” constantly encouraging them to travel down the wide road that leads to destruction. And if you’re a parent, youth worker, teacher, pastor, grandparent, church member, etc. . . kudos to you for cheering on your students as they consider the faith and run the race of faith.
Earlier this week, my friend Luke Bobo posted a quote from Frederick Douglass that has had me thinking about the potential power of the community of faith. . . that great contemporary cloud of witnesses. . . that can and should be standing together to cheer our kids on, encouraging them to run the race with single-minded devotion. Douglass said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
So. . . focus on them. . . pray for them. . . come alongside them. . . chant their names. . . and cheer them on!