11 “Sermon on the Mound” Questions

1. Your basic premise in “Sermon on the Mound” is that God loves baseball and uses it for His own good purposes. Where did you get the idea for a book about God and baseball? How do you justify such an odd notion?

2. “Sermon on the Mound” is kind of a clever, humorous title. Is there much humor in the book or is it more of a serious read?

3. The opening words of your book really set the stage for everything that follows. Would you mind sharing them with us?

4. You had a special name for your first baseball glove. What was it?

5. Everybody who loves baseball has a story about how they fell head over heels for the game. What’s yours?

6. When you were 15 you walked away from God and the church you grew up in. What made you leave? Why did you turn your back on God?

7. Is it true Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner played a critical role in your accepting Jesus Christ as your savior because of something he did on the field?

8. Fantasy sports games are all the rage these days. But weren’t you playing fantasy baseball as far back as the 1960s?

9. You’ve lived in Los Angeles for nearly twenty years. Is it fair to say you are a huge Dodger fan?

10. You seem to be evangelizing your audience in “Sermon on the Mound.” Who are you trying to reach with this book?

11. You mention in your acknowledgments that you learned from some of the great sportswriters that reporting on games men play could be more that just statistics and scores—that it could be literature. Who were your writing influences? Would you mind reading a short passage and give us an example of what you mean?

To contact Michael O’Connor for interview - click here.