Church Sports Outreach | Sports Ministry | Recreation Ministry

Is Being An Athlete in Conflict With Being a Christian? David Brooks Says so…

Tim Briggs — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:18:59 +0000

Inspired by the Jeremy Lin story, David Brooks wrote this piece. Below are some excerpts:

The moral ethos of sport is in tension with the moral ethos of faith, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim.

The moral universe of modern sport is oriented around victory and supremacy. The sports hero tries to perform great deeds in order to win glory and fame. It doesn’t really matter whether he has good intentions. His job is to beat his opponents and avoid the oblivion that goes with defeat.

The modern sports hero is competitive and ambitious. (Let’s say he’s a man, though these traits apply to female athletes as well). He is theatrical. He puts himself on display.

He is assertive, proud and intimidating. He makes himself the center of attention when the game is on the line. His identity is built around his prowess. His achievement is measured by how much he can elicit the admiration of other people — the roar of the crowd and the respect of ESPN.

His primary virtue is courage — the ability to withstand pain, remain calm under pressure and rise from nowhere to topple the greats.

This is what we go to sporting events to see. This sporting ethos pervades modern life and shapes how we think about business, academic and political competition.

But there’s no use denying — though many do deny it — that this ethos violates the religious ethos on many levels. The religious ethos is about redemption, self-abnegation and surrender to God.

Ascent in the sports universe is a straight shot. You set your goal, and you climb toward greatness. But ascent in the religious universe often proceeds by a series of inversions: You have to be willing to lose yourself in order to find yourself; to gain everything you have to be willing to give up everything; the last shall be first; it’s not about you.

I think Mr. Brooks describes the tension well–and I use that word carefully and purposefully. This is the tension that every Christian athlete feels. In fact, if we’re honest, it’s the tension that every Christian spectator, coach, volunteer, etc. feels as well.

I would agree with Mr. Brooks when he says much about sports is about supremacy and domination and I agree this is in conflict with Christian tenets. As you read his piece though, there is no hope offered. There is no solution brought forth. Is this because he believes there isn’t one? Perhaps.

I’m here to say though that there is hope. There is a solution and that is to offer your sports to God as an act of worship. Make your playing, spectating, and coaching for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and not for the glory of yourself. Is this difficult? Absolutely! Will you fail occasionally? Undoubtedly. But you will change (by God’s grace) and it will revolutionize the way you interact with sports.

What does it look like though to play, spectate, and coach for the glory of God? There are no simple answers to that question but it is the right question to ask. You could write a book about how to answer that question but what I will offer is this–go back to the garden.

Compartmentalized Sports

Bob Schindler — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:57:36 +0000

It is all around us. Examples abound but the one we all have seen – leaders in various arenas of life who claim their private life failures don’t influence their public job performance. They say they can cheat, betray, steal, and lie in the privacy of their home yet we are to trust that this won’t spill over into their roles on the job. In other words, they claim that “over there doesn’t affect over here.”

As Christians, we often adopt this compartmentalized view of the world. We use words like “secular” and “sacred” and advocate God’s greater concern for the things of life we put in the “sacred” bucket more than the things in life we put in the “secular” bucket. With tragic results.

You have seen the statistics.

We are the wealthiest nation in the world with a significant number of us who claim to know the God (who is also known as the “Generous Outpourer” and who did not “spare his own son but gave him up for us all”) yet we give on average less than 4% of our income to charitable causes.

In this and other ethical areas lives mirror the world around us even in contradiction to the purposes and plans of God.

And our sports have not been spared.

For example, recent research was done with 100 Division III athletes. They were all self-proclaimed Christians. They were asked a series of questions about the impact of their Christianity on their participation in the sport. The questions were basically in three categories or compartments, although not directly labeled as such.

The results were startling. All 100 athletes said that their Christianity affected the way they acted before the game – ie they prayed or read something spiritual – and all 100 said it affected them after they played – ie they prayed or went and talked to someone about Christianity.

The startling result was the NONE of the 100 athletes said by their answers that their Christianity affected the DURING box – the way they played their sport. The end result – Christian coaches who teach their players to cheat, Christian college presidents who alter star players grades to keep them eligible for the championship just to name a few.

Compartmentalization at work again, but this is not the way God sees the world or the way he calls us to view it.

The answer to the problem of compartmentalization? INTEGRATION.

Later we will take a closer look at this integration solution.

Coaches Training Resources

Tim Briggs — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:42:37 +0000

We recently sent out this email to churches in our database about Coaches Trianing. Perhaps some of these resources could be helpful to you for your upcoming Coaches Training meeting.

4 Tips for Mission Statements

Tim Briggs — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:52:34 +0000

Via Matt Steen:

Vivid. Paint a picture. Be clear about where you are going and what it will look like. If your people do not fully understand what your vision statement is calling them to, you will never achieve it.
Inspiring. I am sick of boring vision statements. If you want me to fully invest myself in the vision and mission of your church you need to call me to something bigger than myself, something worthy of the time, talents, and treasure that I will be sacrificing in order to make it happen. Don’t tell me what we are, tell me where we are going… and make it a big deal.
Memorable. The school that I worked with in Baltimore had a vision statement that took up a full sheet of paper (actually they had two, posted on opposite walls… but that is a bigger problem for another time). If you were to ask teachers, administrators, or anyone involved in the school to recite, or paraphrase, either of those statements you would have gotten a blank stare. Your vision statement needs to be clear and concise in order for it to be memorable. Vision statements that aren’t memorable are worse than having no vision statement at all.
Preachable. If you can not point back to your church’s vision statement during your sermon on a regular basis it is useless. The power of a vision statement is its ability to clearly define who you are as a church and where you are going. If you are not referring back to it regularly, it may be time to ask yourself whether you, and your vision, are headed in the same direction.

If you would like more information on how to form a mission, vision, philosophy, and strategy for a sports ministry, see Foundations Step 2: Identify Your MVPS.

Sports Minister Poster: What I Really Do

Tim Briggs — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:16:18 +0000

If you’ve been on Facebook lately, you’ve been seeing these posters/memes going around about different occupations. Here’s my take on ‘Sports Minister.’ Feel free to share this.

When Should a Sports Ministry Leader Leave the Church?

Tim Briggs — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:28:51 +0000

Some thoughts from Thom Rainer. These are for ministry leaders in general. Any you would add? I definitely have some thoughts on this. Perhaps we will post them later in the week.

1. The Death of a Vision

The most frequent response was the death of a vision for the leader. The reasons the vision died were numerous. One leader said the obstacles in the organization became so great that he could no longer lead with vision. Another said that entrenched policies of the organization were counter to his vision. In every case the leader felt grief because the vision that caused him to get up each morning with enthusiasm was no longer a reality.

2. An Awakening to the Bad Fit

Some leaders come to a point in their leadership where they realize that they do not have the skills, temperament, or desires to lead their organization. Many said that the organization changed after a period of time, and their profile no longer matched the position. Others noted that they had not kept pace with external changes sufficiently to lead effectively.

3. Losing a Power Struggle

One of the unfortunate realities of leadership is the power struggle with another leader or group. And if a battle is lost, it is often difficult to regain the stature necessary to lead effectively.

4. Family Issues

A number of leaders told us they made the decision to leave for the sake of their families. The specific family issues were almost as numerous as the respondents. One leader recalled the sad story of his son being bullied at the only school in the small community. Despite his pleas and protestations to teachers and administrators, the bullying continued. The leader left for the safety and sanity of his son.

5. The Vision “There” Is Greater than the Vision “Here”

I thought this reason would be the most frequent; instead it ranked fifth among the reasons to leave. Stated simply, the leader has another opportunity, and the vision for the new opportunity becomes greater than the vision of the present opportunity. The leader’s heart has already moved to another place.

This list is obviously not exhaustive. Why did you leave your previous place of leadership? Would your response fit within one of these five categories?

Life is too short to spend time in a place we shouldn’t be. Yes, transition can be difficult, and even risky. But the greater risk is wasting our lives in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jeremy Lin Infographic

Tim Briggs — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:18:11 +0000

Everything you needed to know about Jeremy Lin…and then some. Via ESPN.

A Story of Sports Ministry in South Africa

Cindy Bledsoe — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:31 +0000

I recently received an update from a pastor in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The pastor, Joseph Seisho and a lay member of his church, Lazie Selebano, attended a seminar I presented with a colleague back in 2008. The seminar focused on how the church could use sports to reach out to their community and as a tool for ministry.

I was excited to hear that Joseph saw an opportunity to minister to children and street children in particular through the game of soccer. He uses soccer to reach out to children and teaches life skills and Biblical truths through the sport.

Here’s what Joseph had to say about sports ministry:

“To me the seminar was an eye opener, more specifically the link between sports and preaching, I didn’t think they could work together. God used the seminar to gather people with different spiritual gifts to empower people with little knowledge. With the help of the material I got from your last seminar, I am trying to reduce the number of street kids and prevent other kids who are suffering from going to a life on the streets. I do this through soccer. May the good Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again”. –Joseph Seisho

I celebrate the ministry of Joseph and his congregation and I hope it inspires you to see what God might do through you and your ministry.

Sports: Our Tower of Babel

Tim Briggs — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:00:33 +0000

From Genesis 11:1-4:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. ² And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. ³ And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves…

I know when I read a story like this, I can get lost in the details. I think to myself, ‘What’s this tower like? What’s it’s significance?’ Good questions to be sure but perhaps the better question than ‘what’ is ‘why’. Why did they build the tower? The answer is in the text: to make a name for themselves.

Listen to what the ESV Study Bible commentary has to say on this verse:

The Babel enterprise is all about human independence and self-sufficiency apart from God. The builders believe that they have no need of God. Their technology and social unity give them confidence in their own ability, and they have high aspirations, constructing a tower with its top in the heavens.

The Tower of Babel incident is very similar to the incident in the garden, is it not? In fact, when you think about it, the striving for human independence and self sufficiency apart from God is something the Israelites struggled with throughout the Old Testament. It’s the struggle that we all have today as well.

If we’re honest, sports can be a contemporary way for ourselves to “make a name for ourselves,” right? Some of us can hide it better than others but the idol of sports is very real in our hearts.

May we be continually humbled by the grace of God when it comes to our idols and may we be constantly reminded that our significance is secure in what Jesus did on the cross.

Jeremy Lin: Treasuring Jesus More Than Basketball Success

Tim Briggs — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:24:28 +0000

It’s starting to feel like the CSO Blog has become all Jeremy Lin, all the time. I couldn’t pass up on passing this along. It was just too good. Via the Desiring God blog:

Lin then adds the following commentary about his coming to treasure Jesus more than basketball success:

When Paul wrote in Philippians to press on for an upward prize, he was living for that, and it made his life meaningful (Philippians 3:15). And I realized I had to learn to do the same. I had to learn to stop chasing the perishable prizes of this earth, I had to stop chasing personal glory, I had to learn how to give my best effort to God and trust him with the results. I have to learn to have enough faith to trust in his grace and to trust in his sovereign and perfect plan. I had to submit my will, my desires, my dreams — give it all up to God and say, “Look, I am going to give my best effort, go on the court and play every day for you, and I’m going to let you take care of the rest.” This is something I struggle with every day. . . . Playing for great stats is nice, but that satisfaction — that happiness — is only from game to game. It’s temporary.