Hyde Park Speaks

The Crystal Ball (...not that I believe in those.)

By Matt Horan

          I've found myself lately doing a lot of reading about the future of the church.  Turns out that lots of people believe lots of things about what the church will be like in the future.  Not long ago I read The Future of Christianity by Alister McGrath.  The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins is a good read.  Most recently, I just finished reading the latest edition of Collide Magazine.  The cover story is, "The Church in 2034."  It's a host of predictions about the church 25 years from now. 
          I have to confess that they make some compelling predictions.  I wasn't too keen on their prediction that androids will replace humans as parkers, greeters, and ushers, but some others grabbed my attention.  
            Mock all you like the "Hyde Park Softball Twittercast," or our "Become a Fan on Facebook" link on our church website.  Grimace at the idea of preachers who preach to congregations from afar via video feed.  Imagine even the collection plate complete with credit-card scanner.  Like it or not, a quarter-century from now, technology will be the way church is done.
          Most writers agree on a couple fundamental shifts.  For one, the American Southeast will no longer be the self-proclaimed center of the Christian world.  The church is growing the fastest in Africa and South America and China.  It is most likely that the leaders of the church in the future will come from these places, and that they will exert greater and greater pressure on the form of Christian practice, as well as on Christian theology and doctrine.
          We might expect that, with advancements in mobile communication devices and technology, church will happen less and less at a specific place and time, and more throughout the week.  With theological interaction available all week, sermons will shift.  They will wrap up the conversation threads from the previous week, and introduce a new direction for the conversations of the week to come.  They will become shorter, and pre-recorded, so that video effects can be added to help make the point.
          Collide predicts that there will be very few "in-person" preachers.  The best and brightest preachers will make their video feeds available to churches who can shop around for the preaching product that most fits with the needs of the subscribing congregation.  (Sounds like a new type of "circuit rider.")  At first I wasn't sure about this prediction--surely there will be people who prefer a flesh-and-blood preacher.  But in 25 years, we will be so conditioned to receive information from a video screen that this doesn't sound all that far-fetched.
          Further, during worship services, we are just a few years away from it becoming standard for worshippers to interact with the service: sending questions via text message, posting responses on a blog, contacting someone seventeen pews away.  Mere spectating will become a thing of the past.
          Lastly, writers predict that the Church (Big "C") will become a network of churches (little "C") that share information and expertise in order to more effectively achieve their mission.  These network connections might align along denominational lines, but a stronger link will be the usefulness of the connection. If a Lutheran Church in Green Bay feels that using the sermon feed from a Presbyterian Church in Newfoundland will be more effective than the one from a Lutheran Church in Des Moines--effectiveness will win out.
          Of course, it's also possible--likely even--that none of this will come to pass, and that the future of the Church will be something entirely unexpected.  Either way, nothing will replace the power of prayer.  Nothing will replace the transformational effect of studying the Scriptures--even if it occurs on your Amazon Kindle.  And nothing can change the fact that, just as God has been at work for the last several eons, He'll likely still be up to something pretty good in 2034.

Suddenly Intimidating! Hyde Park Wins Second in a Row

By Matt Horan

          Nothing could slow Hyde Park on Monday night, except a freak, momentum killing accident by backup outfielder Matt Horan.
          Overcome by the massive crowd in attendance to cheer the team on, Horan, feeling confident in the team's 15-2 lead, went over to the stands to start "the wave."
          However, as he ran along in front of the stands, he ran over four-year-old Libby Roxbrough, daughter of left fielder Scott Roxbrough.
          Libby was tough, eventually recovering from a nasty case of dirt in her eye.  However, both the crowd and players simultaneously groaned with concern, and it seems that Hyde Park's momentum vanished in an instant in what has already been called "The Curse of the Wave."
          Hyde Park was then outscored 9-0 over the next two innings, but some desperately needed solid defense in the last inning allowed them to hang on for a 15-11 victory.
          "I thought that Horan might have ruined the whole thing," said Manager Courtney Beitler, "But we managed to hang in there.  I just hope that little girl is okay."
          "She's fine," Libby's dad, Scott, reassured later.  "I bribed her with a cookie and she was suddenly over it."
          The team started fast.  Richard Nicholas scored on Roxbrough's single, and Kellie Stock scored on a fielder's choice by Rebecca Olsen.  Greg Metcalf doubled home two runs, and a single by Beth Schmidt scored two as well.  When Amanda Galbreath singled home Matt Horan from second, Hyde Park led 7-0.
          After two runs allowed in the bottom of the 4th, Hyde Park's bats roared to life again.  John Stock doubled to the left field fence, scoring Nicholas and Kellie Stock.  After Olsen skillfully riccochetted a single off of moving baserunner Roxbrough, Jarod Rouch singled home Roxbrough.  Those were the first of a parade of runs, and when the inning's third out finally came, Hyde Park led 15-2, before the wave-induced comeback began.
          "We dominated tonight," Joe Fisher announced proudly, "I think we've figured this thing out.  We're done losing, as long as Horan doesn't run over any more little girls."  Hyde Park hopes for three in a row next Monday night, 8:30pm, against Wings Gone Wild.  Horan will be in Atlanta, so feel free to bring your kids.

Hyde Park Softball Wins!

By Matt Horan

          Hyde Park Softball has made the dream come true.
          They got crushed in their first game.  They got crushed in their second game, but not by as much.  They got crushed in their third game, but by even less.  Their fourth game was cancelled--their first non-loss.  Then the moment they'd all been waiting for: Hyde Park wins!
          A steady stream of offense and solid defense kept Hyde Park in control of the game the whole night.  There was a bit of a scare in the 5th inning when their opponents, Provest, crept back to within 3, but in the end the victory was sealed, and the crowd went wild.
          Richard Nicholas was the first run of the night in the top of the first.  Amanda Galbreath singled to lead off the third, and later scored on Kellie Stock's RBI single.  Rebecca Olsen hustled and reached on a fielder's choice allowing Stock to score and put Hyde park up 3-0.
          Joe Fisher broke things open in the 4th.  After Beth Schmidt drew a bases-loaded walk to score John Stock, Fisher doubled to left, scoring Olsen and Phil Schlossnagle for a 6-0 lead.  The team began to smell victory.
          Provest clawed their way back in the bottom of the 4th.  A solo homerun, a walk, and five singles later, the lead shrunk to 6-4.  But that's as close as they would get.
          A 6th inning hit parade got Hyde Park scoring at will.  When the dust settled, Hyde Park grabbed an 11-4 lead, and after clamping down defensively in the bottom of the last inning, the lead stood.  Hyde Park was finally a winner, hopefully with more wins to come.  Their next game is Monday night, May 11, 7:30pm, at Gadsden Fields (just north of Macdill AFB on Macdill Ave.)
         

Hyde Park Softball: Midseason Report

 By Matt Horan

          Hyde Park continues to make strides in it's quest for weekly softball exellence.
          In game three, the team showed more and more power at the plate and coverage in the field.  Jarrod Rouch (pictured) is batting a cool 1.000 on the season, and continues to show a groovy kind of glove in left center field.
          The Stocks, John and Kellie, also hardly ever fail to get on base, and are a solid half of the HP infield, playing 2nd base, shortstop, and 3rd base.  Manager Courtney Beitler feels good about the team, "We're getting better and better," she beamed after a recent near victory, "We're going to win one of these games.  I can feel it."
          There's clearly momentum on the field.  The team has decreased its margin of defeat each week, from 14, to 11, then to 8; and last week, a surprise cancellation gave them their first non-loss of the season.  In addition, they've had more and more fans in the stands each week.  Shelton Bridges was the lone fan in week one, but at their last game, Deb Cull, Becca Rouch, and Bailey Nicholas gave us an astonishing four fans.  Any more and there might be enough of a crowd to start a wave.  Richard Nicholas felt that he might be deserving of a contract extension after increasing our fan base by 25% after his arrival.  Beitler said that negotiations are ongoing.
          That elusive victory might be within reach this coming Monday night, as Hyde Park plays "Provest," the last place team at 0-4.  (At 0-3, Hyde Park is in 5th, not last, place.)  Come and join the growing crowds Monday, May 4th, 7:30pm, at the softball fields on Macdill Ave just north of the Macdill gate into the air force base.  It might be an historic night for Hyde Park Softball!