A Kindred Spirit

Tonight we had a cookout with my youngest son's assistant baseball coach. I have been an "unofficial" assistant all season because I've been at every practice & game and I said "Yes" everytime the coaches asked me to help. It's amazing how our families are on parallel paths. Never in any of my conversations with the other coaches (or parents) did I mention I was a pastor. None of the others ever mentioned their vocations either. We were just there for the kids.

Well, there was always something about Coach Sonny that made me feel like this dude was a follower of Christ in the "I want him (Christ) to be part of my life in every possible way" way. One evening before a game he just happened to mention having been a pastor, but looking for another way to do church. When I said, "Me too," and began explaining the current stage of our journey his eyes bugged out. He called his wife on his cell phone just to say, "I'm standing here with Matt Guthrie and guess what he just said? . . . " It turns out our stories are very similar. He too is looking to get away from the brick and mortar church.

Tonight we just got together to share our stories, some food and some good times. When the evening was done, we agreed to do "church" together, whatever that means. We'll study the Bible together, encourage one another, maybe even find a way to serve someone in need around us together. It's just one more example of how we both feel God is leading our families on this path. It will be interesting to see how this goes.