When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Acts 2:1, NIV

Note: Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day in which Christians throughout the world celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit during the Pentecost festival (see Acts 2), giving birth to the Church as we know it.  On that day many bizarre and unexpected things happened, with maybe the most unusual being how an ordinary band of men and women from Galilee were empowered by God's Spirit in unimaginable ways.  As I followed reports this week of my beloved Wofford College winning game after game in the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament in Charleston, I began to see some connections to what happened in Jerusalem centuries ago and what we as Christians celebrate on Pentecost Sunday. CLG

As a four-year baseball letterman at Wofford College during one of the school's winningest eras, the last dozen or so years of Terrier baseball have been painful for me to watch.

Wofford began playing for the Southern Conference championship in baseball in 1998.  Since then, my alma mater has scratched an embarrassing 83-203 win-loss record against conference competition - a winning percentage of less than .300.  The Terriers have not had a winning season on the diamond since 1992, losing a whopping 215 more games than they won during those years.  To make matters even worse for me, Wofford has been pummeled repeatedly since joining the conference by The Citadel, one of our main South Carolina rivals and the school where both my brothers played baseball during their college years.  Before this past week's Southern Conference Tournament in Charleston, the two teams had met previously 30 times in conference play, with Wofford winning only four of those games.  Yes, these last few years have been painful to watch - for me and many of my former teammates.

The 2007 Terrier squad finished the regular season better than in past years.  Overall, their regular season record was five games below .500, eleven games below that mark in conference play.  Nobody - even the most diehard of Wofford fans - expected them to last more than a day or two when they arrived in Charleston for the play-in game this past Tuesday against Furman.  Historically, the Terriers had only made three appearances in the season-ending tournament, winning only one game in six tries.

Over the last few days, however, an amazing turn of events took place.  Suddenly, this mediocre, at best average team began to play like they had never played before.  After squeaking by Furman in the play-in game, the Terriers pounded the #1 seed in the tournament, the College of Charleston, tagging their star pitcher for 12 earned runs in less than five innings pitched.  The hitting barrage continued the next day, as the Terriers whipped UNC-Greensboro by a score of 12-5.  Finally, over the last two days, Wofford exacted a little revenge on their rival The Citadel, beating the Bulldogs twice in their home park to take the Southern Conference crown.  Over the last five days, the cinderella Terriers had managed to go undefeated against teams that they had posted a win-loss record of 26-106 since joining the conference in 1998.  One cannot help but wonder: How did this very ordinary group of young men manage to play so extraordinarily well over these last few days? 

Nobody matriculates to Wofford College in pursuit of a professional sports career.  Sure, there are many (myself included) who are drawn to Wofford because it will afford them the opportunity to continue playing the sport that they love.  But all Wofford student-athletes understand that they are students, first and foremost.  If the "athlete" part ever gets in the way of the "student" part, players and coaches both understand clearly which role takes precedence.  As today's college sports landscape becomes more pseudo-professional every day, I grow more grateful for the way that Wofford has approached its athletics program over the years.

Unlike the Clemsons or USCs of our region, Wofford student-athletes learn early on that losing a ballgame is not the end of the world.  Of course, that is not to say that Wofford fans ever grow fond of losing - nobody in their right mind should.  (I tell students all the time, "I've learned more from losing than I ever learned from winning" - boy, would that make Vince Lombardi roll over in his grave!)  At Wofford students soon realize that they will be asked to compete against teams in every sport that have more resources or, in some cases, lower academic standards than their school.  Over time Wofford students and alumni have learned to take pride in the "underdog" label, a status symbolized so well by the school's mascot, a Boston Terrier.  With a student body of only 1150, Wofford remains one of the smallest schools competing on the NCAA Division I stage.

It is for all of these reasons that the events in recent days mean so much to the Wofford nation - all 15,000 of us!  For a few days at least, these young men bonded together, played to their fullest potential, and won a championship.  Years down the road, when they are most likely practicing law or medicine, teaching school, serving churches or running their own businesses, these young men will remember the spring of 2007 when together they were able to do an extraordinary thing, beyond their wildest imaginations.

Centuries ago, the Spirit of God descended like a rushing, violent wind on a group of men and women huddled in a room, full of doubt and uncertainty about their future.  Over the season that had just passed, they had performed well at times, but so poorly at other times.  They had been told to wait patiently, for their day would soon arrive.  Bonded together in one place, they awaited the day when the Spirit of God would break loose in their midst.  When what they had been waiting for finally happened during the Pentecost festival, the world witnessed an amazing movement of God.  Ordinary men and women, bonded and unified in the Spirit, doing extraordinary things.  The world as they knew it would never be the same.

Did the Spirit of God move in unusual ways this past week for the Wofford baseball team?  I can't say for sure, but I do know this.  Empowered by a strong bond and common belief, these young men did and saw things that they never imagined to be possible.  Transcending the familiar and expected, they worked together to realize a new dream, a different vision.  The world as they knew it, including the relationships that they have shared with one another, will never be the same.  Pentecost arrived early this week in the Port City for those wearing the Old Gold and Black.

May the Holy Spirit empower you to realize the God-inspired dreams and visions of your head and heart.

For all the underdogs,
lane

Rev. C. Lane Glaze
Director - Clemson Wesley Foundation
Campus Minister - Clemson UMC
PO Box 1703 Clemson SC 29633
864-207-9135 (c) or 864-654-5547 (o)

Feel free to forward this email to a friend. The Clemson Wesley Weekly Devotional is a ministry of Rev. Lane Glaze and the Clemson Wesley Foundation, the United Methodist Church's ministry to students on the campus of Clemson University.  The purpose of this email is to look at issues relevant to the life of Clemson students through the lens of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you would like your name added to this list, email Lane at glaze@clemson.edu.