“The future ain’t what it used to be.”

During the morning worship service at Little Rock’s First Baptist Church this past Sunday, Dr. Jim Lagrone used one of Yogi Berra’s one-liners:  “The future ain’t what it used to be”.   I don’t know if Dr. Lagrone realized that the last baseball game in historic Yankee Stadium would be played that night.  Next season, the New York Yankees will be playing in a new stadium.   Watching the pre-game ceremony on ESPN before that last game, I had the opportunity to see many of my boyhood Yankee heroes walk on the field one last time, pitcher Whitey Ford, second baseman Bobby Richardson, catcher Elston Howard and yes, the one and only Yogi Berra.  Of course, some of the Yankee greats (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle) are now deceased.  How bittersweet that must have been for some of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game.  Yes, old Yogi, the man with so many one-liners. My favorite Yogi one-liner is “It ain’t over till it’s over”.   Yogi may not have used correct English, but he got his points across. 

Needless to say, I had a hard time concentrating on the sermon.  I found myself wondering what Yogi meant by “The future ain’t what it used to be”.   Of course, I wasn’t there when Yogi made the statement, and I don’t know when and to whom he was speaking.  Could he have been speaking of getting older and his ability to play baseball slipping?  Maybe he was speaking of the changes happening around him in baseball with the astronomical salaries and the new huge stadiums.   We all have opinions and visions about the future. When it comes to our most important asset, our children and grandchildren, how do we envision their future?  I believe the future is bright for over 750 children and grandchildren at Arkansas Baptist because their parents have made a strong academic and spiritual education a top priority.  I want to thank all the families who have trusted our faculty and staff to assist you in raising your children in a Christ-centered environment.  We will continue to follow our motto: “Give us their minds, and we will give them our hearts”.