When Service Changes Your Perspective (feat. interview with Blake Bevis)

In this special summer mini-series episode of Created to Be podcast, Bethany introduces an interview conducted by Jason Crowder of WFCA Radio with Mississippi State Baseball player Blake Bevis.

Blake shares how a mission trip to the Dominican Republic became a turning point in his faith journey, opening his eyes to the joy, gratitude, and perspective that can be found through serving others. He reflects on the impact of FCA, the influence of strong Christian community, and how seeing people with very little yet abundant joy challenged the way he views life, baseball, and success.

Before the interview, Bethany explores a powerful idea from The Joy Switch: service changes what we see. When we step into someone else's story, our priorities shift, our perspective changes, and joy often follows.

This episode is a reminder that serving others doesn't just impact those being served—it transforms us, too.

Reflection Question: Who do I need to give my attention and listening ears to today?

Book Mentioned: The Joy Switch by Chris Coursey

WFCA Audio File: Interview with Blake Bevis

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

They were some of the happiest people I've ever met down there, and they really did not have a whole lot to be happy about. So if I can't be happy playing the game that I love here in front of this incredible fan base, I don't know what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Welcome to the Created to Be Podcast. I'm your host, Bethany Pigett, again here solo for another week for our short summer series. If you listened to our episode last week, it was about Jack Bauer and Jason Crowder, our good friend, interviewed him, and it just really stood out to me how Jack mentioned that he was not going to live by the pressure other people put on him. And so if you have not listened to that episode, please go back and listen. We're taking a short break from our traditional normal interactions and conversations on the podcast, our normal flow, to highlight some of these great interviews Jason Crowder has done for with the athletes at Mississippi State. And we're so thankful for Jason and just highlighting the impact of FCA. And we love to hear from those athletes, just sharing what their their stories, first of all, but then the impact of FCA and their faith in Christ. And so we're just highlighting them again on this platform, which is super cool and fun. And today we're going to hear from Blake Beavis and this interview that Jason does with him. Blake is also on the Mississippi State baseball team. And one of the things that stood out to me in this interview that you're going to hear is how Blake spoke about a mission trip that he went on before he transferred to Mississippi State and how it just impacted him about seeing other people having pretty much nothing, but still having joy. And I've mentioned this book, The Joy Switch, which is a great segue into this conversation with Blake. But one of the things that I wanted to highlight and kind of make a main emphasis point on is that service changes what we see. Because when we have those experiences and then we have to wrestle through like if they feel that way, and I have a lot more than they do, then what does that mean for me? What does that mean for how I approach life? And you can hear Blake kind of explain that a little bit. And so one of the quickest ways to gain perspective is to serve someone else. And that's the main thought I want to just pose as we go into this interview. It's amazing how our problems often shrink when we step into someone else's story. And that takes time and that takes effort and that takes energy and intentionality to do that. And so it's super cool that Blake had that opportunity. I know I myself have been on multiple mission trips. Justin, my husband, has been on several mission trips. FCA has an entire international arm of ministry now that they have been developing for several years. And it's so it's really awesome that we have partners all over the world doing FCA, but we know it's bigger than FCA. There are so many people doing great work everywhere. And these experiences, these experiences, whether it's at home in the United States, in our own state, or in another state, or across the globe, allow us to enter other people's story, and it it inevitably will shape us in some way. And as we've said multiple times throughout the semester, formation is always happening. So we can see that and and hear that in Blake's story. Um so I've also mentioned the Joy Switch, this book that I'll link in the show notes. But in the Joy Switch, the author talks about how joy grows when our attention moves outward. When we're consumed with ourselves, our worries become larger. But when we invest in others, we begin to see what truly matters. So I think that you're gonna hear a little bit of that in Blake's story today. So without any further discussion, here is the interview Jason Crowder had with Blake Beavis.

Interview with Blake Bevis

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Fellowship of Christian Athlete Show. I'm your host, Jason Crowder, and our guest today is Blake Beavis, a member of the Mississippi State baseball team. He's played first base, he's played in the outfield. We'll get to all that in just a moment. He's out of the state of Tennessee. And as of late, Blake, you have been on a tear at the plate. What has been your approach at the plate that has allowed your success?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Um just really being pretty simple. Um, just trying to see the ball, see something up in the zone, and put a good swing on it. Um obviously situations dictate more specific things, and what the pitcher does dictates more specific things, but in general, just trying to be loose up there, see the ball up and drive the ball.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

You're a senior transfer from Ball State. I know you're from the state of Tennessee, so you know a lot about Starkville and Mississippi State already, I'm sure. But what was it about Mississippi State baseball that sold you to come play your final season here in Starkville?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yeah, um, well, first of all, you walk in the stadium and you're wild right away. Um you obviously want to play in this environment with this fan base as soon as you walk in here, and then just the coaching staff, what they're preaching. Um I loved all the coaches that I met down here, and I felt like it was a good match what they were um how they how they coached and then what I wanted to be as a player. So it was a good match. Blake, how did you come

Faith Journey

SPEAKER_01 4:54

to faith in Christ? I would say it originated, which is how I grew up. I grew up in a faith-based family. Um always went to church on Sundays when we could with baseball, obviously being a struggle to balance that. But um I think over the years I've been in college, it's grown immensely. Um I'd say going into my summer of my sophomore year was my biggest leap in faith. I was a part of a faith-based baseball team, summer team, called Kingsman Baseball. Um we just did a bunch of Bible studies, we took a trip to Alaska, um, then we took a trip to the DR, which was really the one that hit home. Um we did a bunch of stuff down there. We went to orphanages, we went to um villages, delivered packages to families, and it was just really just an eye-opening experience. And um that whole summer with that group of men was uh really big with me and my faith. Um so since then and since really my whole life, but that moment in in particular was really like my first moment to um be independent with my faith, I guess, a little bit more, and it grew me a bunch.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Now you mentioned just a moment ago being in baseball, it's hard to be in church every Sunday. So FCA, which meets on Monday nights, that may be difficult to make every time as well. But how important has FCA been to your faith and your growth in Christ since you've been here on campus?

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Yeah, it's been really cool. Um I did it at Ball State as well. Um it was a little different there, but here it feels more like a church service with uh with the group, and I I love doing it. I did it more in the fall, haven't been able to as much in the spring, unfortunately, but uh I think it's it's great always to just get a group of athletes together that are um battling through the same sorts of things and just be able to talk openly about our faith and uh what we might be feeling, what we might be thinking, and just a bunch of like-minded people um getting a chance to share what they're what they're feeling. Um I think something about that just really um grows your faith when you're with that group.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

There's a lot of solid believers on this baseball team. How important is it to have these other believers on the team to sharpen you in your faith?

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Yeah, it's good. It's always great to have people that like will hold you accountable for the good and for the bad. Um really everyone here um is a pretty strong believer in Christ, um, which is great. Um it's not always like that, but um our team's pretty special in that sense, and it's always great to have um as many believers as you can, um, and we've got a pretty special group here.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Blake Beavis on your radio dial as he's talking about his faith in Christ.

Faith in Sport

SPEAKER_00 7:33

He's a baseball player here at Mississippi State. I do want to ask you about your talent and how you can use it for Christ. So, how do you use baseball to glorify God?

SPEAKER_01 7:44

This is something that I learned more with the Kingsman. Um, one of like the staples that we did is just to like live Christ-like. Um I think it's pretty evident the people that are believers, like how they carry themselves, um, how they lead, how they portray themselves. I mean, I learned in the DR, like you can't, I mean, they were some of the happiest people I've ever met down there, and they really did not have a whole lot to be happy about. So if I can't be happy playing the game that I love here in front of this incredible fan base, I don't know what I'm doing. So uh every single day I take that, I take that with me. Um I go out there, just enjoy the day, always just try to have a smile on my face, and then um leading too. Um that was something I did more so at Ball State, just being more of like a vocal leader. I was in charge of doing some team Bible studies there that really started after I got back from the Kingsman. I like led a bunch of um Bible studies within the groups, and um yeah, just doing as much as I can and then always carrying myself the right way, I feel like on and off the field is very important.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

I want to go back to baseball now. With your play at the plate recently, the coaches have to find a place for you on the field. We've kind of seen that this past week with the different positions you've played. You've been at first, you've played left field. Um do you have a position preference out on the field or just as long as you're in the field?

SPEAKER_01 9:04

Just want to hit. But uh yeah, I don't really care. Um really last year was my first year ever playing outfield. Um growing up I always pitched and then would play first base secondarily, but I was really just a hitter that would pitch in high school. That always that was like my main gig. I would start start our first game and then um I would play first the rest of the days, but always be in the lineup. So um I really enjoyed outfield um in my first year there last year. So whenever I get to go out there um like I did the other night, it was a lot of fun. Like I enjoy outfield. Um first base is probably more comfortable because I've played a little bit more there, but I love any spot and always love to hit. Final question has SEC play lived up to your expectations? Oh, it's unreal. It's unbelievable. Just the atmospheres where you get to go. I mean, it's it's just a different level of baseball. Um you you walk away like just like amazed at like the places that you play, the venues that you play, and just like the talent that's on the field. Um, and that's really what I signed up for. I knew I wanted to get into this and to have aspirations to play at the next level. This is really what's going to prepare you is playing against guys that really could probably be in in minor league organizations right now. So um I've been really blessed to be a part of it and can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Blake, God bless you. Thank you for joining us here on the Fellowship of Christian Athlete show. This is Blake Beavis. He's a senior on the Mississippi State baseball team, our guest this week on the FCA show. I'm your host, Jason Crowder.

SPEAKER_02 10:39

One thing that I love about service is that it reveals what's important. So service often teaches us gratitude and it teaches us humility. Service reminds us that every person has a story. And often service changes the person serving just as much as the person being served. And Jesus modeled this constantly. He didn't just teach us about love, he demonstrated it through serving. What stood out in Blake's story is that serving wasn't simply an activity, it became a lens through which then he could see life differently after that experience. And that's what often happens. When we serve, our priorities shift. And then when our priorities shift, our perspective changes. And when our perspective changes, joy often follows.

Reflection Question

SPEAKER_02 11:21

So the reflection question for today is who in my life needs my attention more than they need my advice? Wow, what a good question. That allows us to step into someone's story, you know, listening. Um, it takes a lot more to listen to someone, to truly listen and keep our mouth shut than to give our advice. And so maybe that's a very tangible thing that you can do today is to think about who do I need to give my attention and my listening ears to that I need to just waltz in and give advice to. We can't all go on mission trips, but I think that this reflection question is something that we all can do. So I hope you enjoyed Blake's story. We want to thank Jason Crowder and WFCA Radio for providing these great interviews for us. And we hope you come back next week to listen to another story from another baseball player. Thanks for listening to the Created to Be Podcast. To learn more about Mississippi State FCA, visit www.msufca.org and follow us on Instagram at Hale State FCA underscore. And check out our new Instagram for podcast content at Created to Be Podcast. If you would like to become a financial partner, visit www.fca.orgslash donate to sew into the work God is doing through FCA at Mississippi State.