I was driving in my car in October of 2011 doing something very strange – cheering for the Texas Rangers. There were two reasons for that. I’m an American League fan. Why cheer for a league that still makes pitchers hit, for crying out loud? But the real reason I was cheering for the Rangers had to do with one man who stood to the plate in the top of the 10th, about 4 and a half hours into the game.
It should have been over by then, with Texas celebrating their first World Series victory. Texas had a 3 run lead in the 8th and one of the better closers in the game, but St. Louis got one in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to tie it and send game 6 into extras. Ian Kinsler went out quickly, then Elvis Andrus singled in the top of the 10th. That brought my hero to the plate.
I’d heard of him early on, but my first real exposure to him was at the All Star Game in 2008. That was the year that Yankee Stadium was closing so that the new stadium could open. It was a down year for the good guys and not much exciting happened – except for the Home Run Derby. Wow. Josh Hamilton put on a show for the ages. He launched some balls that still haven’t landed yet.
And his testimony was so pure, so real. A bonus baby, a “natural,” who fell into drugs. No, he didn’t fall, he jumped with both feet into the Slough of Despond, going from bright prospect to homeless addict. Then Jesus stepped in and changed his life. His marriage was healed and his family restored. Suddenly, Josh Hamilton was back, a trophy of God’s grace and restoring power. What a story.
And it 2011 he reached the heights. He was the AL MVP. A groin injury slowed him in the postseason and he had not homered a single time. But he came to the plate in the top of the 10th with the game tied 7-7, and a man on first, with one out. On the first pitch he saw, he deposited the ball in the right field bleachers to put the Rangers up 9-7.
I drove along thinking it was almost too good to be true. “The Josh Hamilton Story would show him struggling to beat drugs, finding Christ who gives him the power to overcome, hitting the World Series winning home run, then would end with his teammates carrying him from the field on their shoulders. And every bit of it would be true.
Unfortunately, life seldom has such happy endings. This story does not. The Cardinals came back in the bottom of the 10th and Nelson Cruz biffed a catch on the third out, allowing the tying runs to score. David Freese won the game with a walk-off home run in the 11th and Josh Hamilton is a footnote as St. Louis went on to win game 7 and take the Series.
And it’s pretty much been like that for Josh Hamilton since then. In 2012 he battled injuries and slumps and the season ended with him missing a routine ball that ended Texas’ season. Then he signed a contract to play with the California Angels and spent the next two years struggling on the West Coast.
Then, in this offseason, it all fell apart. He’d had a couple of minor relapses over the years – a couple of drinks here or there. But this time, he confessed to relapsing into drugs. He turned himself in and submitted himself to MLB’s discipline. He then filed for divorce from his wife – wild rumors have circulated online about that, but no confirmation of anything.
Then the Angels turned on him. They were not happy about the production that they were getting from their 25 million a year superstar and saw this as an opportunity to cut their ties. They looked to nullify the contract on the basis of his drug use (baseball’s rules won’t allow this) and then they traded him back to the Rangers. Josh Hamilton will be back on the field for the Rangers next week.
And my heart is sad.
Why? Because a sinner has sinned. Because a trophy of God’s grace has been tarnished a little. Because we’ve been reminded that the story of Josh Hamilton was really the story of Jesus and that through it all, Josh was one with feet of clay. Because the enemies of the gospel, the skeptics of grace now have reason to gloat and point. Because a brother has fallen.
I don’t know what has happened. I guess I don’t need to know.
- Why can’t Josh beat the pull of this demon that keeps dragging him back? Drugs have given him nothing but pain, why does he keep going back?
And yet, my sin has never given me anything but pain and I keep going back! The only difference between Josh and me is the specifics of our sin.
- What happened to his marriage? Katie Hamilton stuck with Josh through the darkest years of his addiction. What happened here?
Rumors swirled on the internet that pinned all of this on Katie Hamilton – her desire for stardom in Hollywood and other rumors – but she flatly denies them in the strongest terms. Josh has not spoken a word. This was a story of God’s healing in a marriage that was a great inspiration, and now the relationship is broken and four girls are being raised in a broken home.
- Will the Josh Hamilton story end in triumph or tragedy?
Ultimately, it will end in glory. But his earthly story – what will be the final page? Will this be a story that ends with Josh Hamilton as a cautionary tale or a story of God’s amazing power?
Josh Hamilton has never played for a team I like. But he’s been one of my favorite players over the past few years. When he was on, he was as good as any player that has even held a bad and menaced a pitcher. But my heart is heavy not because of his baseball, but because of his life.
Oh, Lord, I don’t care if he ever hits a home run again. I want my brother to prosper! I want him to walk clean. I want him to walk in victory over drugs and alcohol, to be free. I want to see his marriage healed and his family restored. Lord God, bless this man. Heal him. Restore him. Whatever is wrong, make it right.
The Point of It All
I’m a sports fan. Frankly, I couldn’t care less about the Duggar show (not an insult to the Duggars, just not interested in the show). I may have watched an episode once a long time ago, but I don’t remember. I may get killed for this, but I’m not a huge fan of the Duck Dynasty show either. I don’t dislike them, but I’m not a big fan. Josh Hamilton – that one hit me hard. Each of us has our celebrity heroes, especially our Christian celebrity heroes.
But the tendency of American Christians is to venerate Christian celebrities to a dangerous degree. There are very few Christian celebrities who haven’t disappointed us or embarrassed us at one point or another. We ought to pray for Christians in the public realm. They face derision (paging Mr. Tebow) and persecution (Brenden Eich, etc.) and find that their every fault and failing will be exposed for the world to see. Nothing makes the press happier than to trumpet the failings of those who name the name of Christ.
Random Thoughts
1) Somehow, we’ve failed to communicate that Christians are not superior people, better than the world. We are redeemed people – sinners saved by grace and made new creations in Christ. We have to stay on message in this world, reminding people that we are not the superior, but sinners redeemed by Christ. Christ alone is superior.
2) We also need to be very careful of venerating celebrities. We criticize Catholics for their veneration of the saints, then we elevate athletes, actors and other celebrities who call themselves Christians to a pedestal from which they are almost certain to fall. The bright lights tend to show the dirt more clearly and few people are able to stand against that.
3) We need to show grace to fallen Christian heroes. Christians can be pretty harsh to those who fail. Many celebrities have turned from the church because when their failures became public they felt nothing but condemnation from the church. We can’t lower the bar and say it’s okay, but the Josh Hamiltons of the world need to feel the love of the church, our support, our prayers, not our condemnation.
4) Remember, there’s only one hero who will not disappoint. One. That’s Jesus. He is perfect. He will never let you down. If you put your faith in a politician, he will sell you out for power. If you put your faith in a preacher, you will find he has feet of clay. If you venerate a celebrity, you may find that the bright lights expose some uncomfortable stains in his character. But Jesus is perfect, the savior, the sinless Lamb who saves, rules and reigns.
Venerate HIM!
And please, pray for Josh Hamilton, okay?
Good stuff. I teased my wife about Josh being “her guy” when he played for us previously (she is a rabid Rangers fan…even more than me and I started following them when they moved to Texas in ’72…she on the other hand was born at the end of spring training in ’72). And she is very disappointed at the divorce filing because there isn’t a good explanation for it (it seems like the wife has been putting up with cheating and failure.) Ranger fans also disliked Josh proclaiming the Metroplex isn’t a baseball area. Just came across as sour grapes… Read more »
Here’s what one of my FB friends said about the Duggar situation. I thought it was great insight by her. She said, “Ok peeps I normally don’t do this but I have something to say that has to come out! I do not in any way approve what Josh Duggar did but for goodness sakes he was 14, he has sought forgiveness, repented, begged forgiveness, and hopefully turned away from sinful way of life. I’m sure he and his family are humiliated and ashamed of his actions, there is really nothing else he can ever do to make it right.… Read more »
I think we all want to be gracious. On the other hand, this is a little more than a “mistake.” It is child sexual molestation. The church has a not altogether undeserved reputation for sweeping such things under the carpet. We need to be very careful about just giving the young man a pass. This was a heinous crime. What should be done? Not completely sure. He was a kid. It was a long time ago. I’m not sure exactly what to do. Certainly grace is a must, but we cannot ignore the fact that that a terrible offense took… Read more »
As far as I’ve seen, the number of victims and their ages haven’t been released. He was a minor at the time, apparently 15 years old. It would make a difference if the victims were 4 or 5 years old as opposed to 12 or 13 years old. This is not to say that any scenario is acceptable, but I wonder how much of this could be attributed to sexual confusion issues or exploration accompanying puberty. Minors can be charged as sex offenders in certain situations. This was serious enough for Jim Bob to ultimately disclose it to a state… Read more »
Ok, if I’m reading the recent “In Touch” article right, there were five female victims. I still haven’t seen the victims’ ages. The first incident happened the month Josh turned 14. There are 14/15 year olds who are close to adults physically and mentally, and others who are more like 5th graders. Again, nothing excuses the misconduct, but we have to put it in perspective. There is a valid question whether the parents and church reported the conduct as soon as they should have and in the correct manner. It appears they may not have done so. I don’t think… Read more »
David, if you were informed that a young man in your church molested children when younger would you do anything different relative to him in your church? Would you use the term “mistake” as your FB friend did, twice? Would you make such a statement and ignore the real victims or cast the offended as the chief victim? I am hopeful that you would not say such things, would recognize the victims, and would be prudent in your actions as pastor. It is depressigly routine now that when there is a Christian or church-based sex abuse story, folks line up… Read more »
A family that has likely made a fortune off the media has no right to complain when the media uncovers something unpleasant. I can’t image the damage these types of shows are doing to the families that foolishly allow themselves to be exploited.
Yep. That sword cuts both ways, doesn’t it?
Have they been complaining?
Here’s the deal with the Duggars. I’m sorry this whole story has come out the way it has. Having one child abuse your other children is an incredibly agonizing thing for any family to walk through, and I’m sorry the victims are now having to relive all this as it is rehashed in the media. And yet, I am astonished that no one who was aware of the situation when it first occurred thought to pick up the phone and notify CPS that five girls had been molested. No one. Not the parents, not the church they went to for… Read more »
Yes. Our focus needs to be own victims absolutely – but I must say I am not completely convinced that the only way that the victims are protected is by involving the govt. It seems that many default to thinking that the government is the only way to help – sure they have a role – but the only way? Also if everyone has undergone counseling and as much as possible put this issue behind them – How is it helpful is it anyone to rehash it now? Also I have to agree with Jeff that there is a lot… Read more »
Leigh, to be clear I am in no way accusing you of using the victims or the situation to further an agenda.
I realize that replying to your comment and including that statement at the end of my comment might seem to imply that.
I didn’t read it that way Tarheel, but thank you.
Is involving law enforcement the only way to help? No, and I’ve seen churches rally around and support victims very well. But the fact remains that ministers are mandated reporters. We are both legally and ethically obligated to report abuse. If a similar situation to this one occurs in our churches, we need to pick up the phone.
Not all states declare ministers mandatory reporters.
Leigh, I glanced at your blog. VERY good, no, EXCELLENT insights.
Thank you.
(Sorry for only “glancing”- I seldom have time to do much more than that on other blogs these days!)
I haven’t yet seen this addressed in the media, but the release of the police report appears to have been illegal. Under Arkansas Code Section 9-27-309(j), juvenile records are confidential and not subject to the FOIA unless authorized by a judge or if the juvenile is tried as an adult. In fact, a judge has now ordered the report to be destroyed. The whole point of the juvenile justice system is to provide confidentiality and rehabilitation to underage offenders. We’ve decided as a society that kids who aren’t charged as adults should not carry the stigma of their childhood offenses… Read more »
Yea – I would think that whomever released this info is subject to both legal and civil consequences.
People are smacking the Duggar’s because they have portrayed themselves as perfect and now it is being discovered that not only are they not perfect, but that they had hidden not just a sin from the past, but the molestation of multiple children, some of them possibly in their own house. Not only did they not report it, but their church did not either, and neither did the police officer who they allegedly went to, who is now doing time for child pornography. The fact that many in the conservative and Christian communities are acting outraged about the Duggars being… Read more »
Because a lot of what is being said (respectfully even in your comment here) is speculation.
We don’t know what happened. We don’t what help was offered. We don’t know what was and not reported.
We have to assume something was reported – in fact – I wonder how’s a “court record” for a judge to order destroyed if there was not some formal proceedings?
If this were to happen in my own family, I can say that one of the last things I would want is for someone to “report” it to an agency like the CPS. My wife and I, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, could handle this sad situation without their “help”.
What would they do anyways? Remove our child into their custody? Subject our home to random searches? Offer state sponsored “counseling”? No thanks
Wasn’t one of the kids from outside the Duggar family?
I don’t think we know that – The problem is we don’t know very much.
Either of what actually happened – or how it was handled.
One of them was. The other four were his younger sisters.
Thanks for rooting for the Rangers. 🙂
I don’t mean to sound like a megalomaniac, but based on solid evidence in recent years, the fact that I cheered for the Rangers was likely one of the key factors in the Cardinals’ unfortunate victory.
Well…that, too. But I was talking about last night’s Rangers game.
Well, that would tend to illustrate my point. I was NOT cheering for them the last couple of days.
I am too spiritual to talk baseball – at least until the Yankees turn it around.
“Cardinals unfortunate victory”…..Oh My, I dwell in the land of the heathen.
Thank you, Dave.
Worth the read, folks.
http://leighpowers.com/2015/05/23/six-reasons-why-your-church-needs-a-child-protection-policy/
Here’s an interesting article – I typically avoid the Blaze – but this is a good article.
Important perspectives offered.
Matt Walsh is a good blogger – it appears he’s now joined the blaze.
http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/the-duggars-arent-hypocrites-progressives-are/