It may be the off-season for baseball, but St. Louis Cardinals' player Adam Wainwright is pitching something else: a Bible-reading plan for fans. The 38-year-old veteran, who just signed a 2020 contract with the team, is hoping people step up to the plate for a year-long trip through the Scriptures.
Wainwright, who's lovingly known as Waino, announced the idea on Twitter. "Hey everybody. This won't be for everyone, but it's an important part of my life. Most of y'all probably just want to talk baseball, etc. BUT, if you want to read through the Bible with me In one year you can join my other twitter account... @walkingwwaino We'll start Jan 12." Before the plan kicked off on Sunday, Adam had more than 12,000 followers. He explained that it was a "is a cool opportunity for me to walk through God's Word in community with you. It's my prayer that this would be a blessing and a daily encouragement to you all. I can't wait to start...!"
For Wainwright, he set foot on his spiritual journey almost 20 years ago when he decided to go to a conference in Dallas. As he told reporters later, he "really" didn't want to be there but decided to go and "see what happens." What happened was a complete life transformation. "During the night sermon, the pastor was preaching on the relationship that was meant to be with Jesus. And for whatever reason, God finally opened my ears and I bought in on the spot. As I was listening to him talk, it sunk in and it punched me right in the face, and it punched me so hard that I had to look around and make sure that I wasn't talking to Jesus himself." God, he said, "had me there for a reason... Everything in my life led to that conference."
Today, he's inviting others to share in that same passion. Of course, he joked, there's some accountability that comes with it. When you lead a year-long Bible-reading plan, "you can't miss a day," Wainwright laughed.
Well, great minds must think alike, because at FRC, we're also encouraging people to read through the Scriptures -- but unlike Adam, we're giving you two years to do it! It's all part of our Stand on the Word initiative. Now, some of you might wonder: what's a public policy organization in Washington, D.C. doing promoting the Bible? Well, first and foremost, we're a Christian organization. That's our foundation. And I believe that the foundation for all that we do, whether it be in our public policy work, our careers, our family, or entertainment -- whatever we do we're to do to the glory of God. And how do we do that unless we know what God has to say about these issues?
If you've not yet joined with us in this Stand on the Word two-year Bible study program, I encourage you to sign up! We've already seen how this has helped spark conversations in our family and even here at the office. Maybe you have a group of friends who want to experience God's Word together. Either way, visit our website and sign up for daily readings and discussion questions. Follow our plan, follow Adam's plan, just follow the plan -- God's -- and start applying it to your life today!
