"crazy, huh?" the preaching pitcher

December '08 M.Div. graduate, Saints pitcher, new father and all around great-guy Charlie Ruud was just written up in the St. Paul Pioneer press (here).

A snippet:

Ruud is a preacher who is careful not to preach as one player on a ballclub of diverse religious and secular backgrounds.

Four years into his tenure in St. Paul, he still challenges misconceptions of him as a finger-wagging, Christian crusader out to convert a clubhouse of 20-something dudes, some of whom chase more skirts than curveballs.

Ruud admits to cussing on the mound, not out of pride but because he is confident his salvation is not threatened by uttering a four-letter word after surrendering a home run. "I know that I'm a sinner, but I know there's a God that loves and forgives," he said.

Ruud's mission means avoiding moral absolutes and embracing believers and nonbelievers in communion because, he says, "we're all in need of a little love."

"A Christian life isn't to draw away from the world, but it's to go into the world completely," he said. "To go into the muck and the crap and the really tough situations is exactly where Christ is present and needed most."

Amen, Charlie!

For Saints information, schedule and tickets, check out their website.