Church Sports Outreach | Sports Ministry | Recreation Ministry

Josh Hamilton and the Means of Grace

Tim Briggs — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:21:01 +0000

Great article here on Josh Hamilton over at DesiringGod. Here are some excerpts:

ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption interviewed Hamilton the day after his four-home-run performance, and in the course of the interview, he was asked about his recent “relapse” (he admitted in February to consuming 2 or 3 drinks at a bar in Dallas). Hamilton responded with depth and authenticity about his faith and that he’s been learning to evaluate the weeks and months that lead up to temptations to relapse. In particular, he says he’s learned to ask, “Did I stop praying? Did I stop getting into the Word? Did I stop fellowshipping and allowing people who care for me into my circle?”

What he’s talking about are the so-called “means of grace.” In fact, John Frame (who explains the means of grace as “certain channels by which God gives spiritual power to his church”) categorizes the various Christian means of grace under the three precise headings Hamilton mentions: Word, prayer, and fellowship.

Broken Sports: A Helmet Thrower and a Punch Thrower

Tim Briggs — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:00:37 +0000

This week in broken sports, a MLB baseball player throws his helmet while a grandparent throws his fist. Unfortunately, both were at the expense of the umpire.

Grandfather punches 20 year old ump: Keeton, who could face up to 10 years in prison, punched the 20-year-old umpire in the nose after confronting him in a parking lot.

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Brett Lawrie of the Toronto Blue Jays throws his helmet, striking an umpire, after a strikeout. See below.

The Amazing Tool of Sports

Bob Schindler — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:45:03 +0000

One of the things I love to do is hear of ways that God uses the tool of sports for building his kingdom.

I was in Houston recently and met Ron Helton. He served as a missionary in Moldova. As we talked he related the following story. I was struck with this simple truth again – in the hands of God, sport is an amazing tool.

It was a beautiful, cool summer day in Moldova in 1993, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet empire and the arrival of our family as rookie missionaries in the capital city of Kishinev. We were still adjusting to the newness of it all, and my wife, Dorcas, and I were trying to help our three children – Brent, Tamara, and Misty who were ages 16, 13 and 13 at the time, transition as smoothly as possible to the vast cultural changes. Actually, I think the kids were trying to help their mom and dad transition on that summer afternoon. In the process we ended up at one of the local parks with a few of the kid’s new Moldovan friends, wearing baseball caps and with bat, ball, and gloves in hand prepared for a casual game of baseball.

It didn’t take long for a crowd to gather, and we immediately had an authentic American game of baseball underway complete with spectators! Tamara suggested that we invite the youthful spectators to play with us, and very soon we had two full teams. Our game of baseball actually turned into a baseball clinic, but it was a blast for everyone involved, and God was very much present. This was the beginning of a regular Saturday event that God used in His own powerful way to introduce many of those initial young spectators and their friends and families to Jesus Christ. God also used this event to reveal sports as a tool that He would continue to use even to this present day, twenty years later.

“As you are going, make disciples ….” this is what our family did on that Saturday afternoon so many years ago. Countless lives have been changed forever as a result, and what we used as our tool then is being used effectively all over the world in Sport related ministries today. It isn’t just a game …. It is a tool that attracts people to those who are eager to share their lives and their Savior with a lost world. Start where they are presently in something they can relate to, and take them where you know they need to be in a personal relationship with Jesus.

With this story in mind, how might you give your sports to Jesus like the disciples gave him the 5 loaves and 2 fish and watch him do amazing things?

How to Recruit Great Coaches

Tim Briggs — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:45:19 +0000

This is from the Great Leaders Serve blog on how to recruit great people. As you can see, this is very applicable to recruiting coaches:

1. Invest the Time – When leaders tell me that finding talented people is their number one priority, my typical response is a question: How many hours did you invest on this issue last week? Sometimes the answer matches the urgency of the situation and sometimes it doesn’t. Leaders who need talent must invest the time to find them.

2. Seek Internal Referrals – Let’s assume you’ve already got some outstanding people on your team – talk to them, get their help. Charge them with helping you find more people like them! Many Chick-fil-A Operators have told me over the years that this is their number one source for high caliber team members.

3. Always Recruit – Recruiting by definition is proactive. Never stop looking for talent. Don’t wait until you need people. Look for talent 365 days a year. In many cases, the people you want and need are already working somewhere else – and they’re happy. When you encounter someone that you think would be a great player on your team, you may want to give them your card. You could say, “If you ever decide you’d like to make a change, I’d love to talk to you.” You may be surprised how many people are looking for a better opportunity.

4. Build Strategic Relationships – Specifically, what type of people are you looking for? Who has more access to that pool of talent than you do? A recent example: a business leader I know wanted a young marketing professional to join his team. He didn’t know anyone. We talked about him building an intentional relationship with all the marketing professors at a local college. They would be his source to the brightest and best – at least these professors could make the introduction.

5. Create a GREAT Place to Work – If you don’t accomplish this one, you may actually get outstanding people, but they won’t stay. Candidates today, perhaps more than ever, are interested in the total value proposition. The HR people often call this TOTAL Compensation; I refer to it as “Psychic Income.” It consists of all the intangibles that an employee can’t take to the bank but still matter a lot. Talented people want more than a paycheck – they want a great place to work.

Recap from the CSO Golf Challenge

Tim Briggs — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:10:20 +0000

We had a great event from this past Friday at the CSO Golf Challenge. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the event went great.

The team of Ken Samuelson, Brandon Davis, Brett Milstead, and Jeff Sobota won the CSO Cup. Travis Soprano won the historic CSO Jacket (see below). And BJ Head made a hole-in-one!

It truly was a great event. Thanks for your support!

Sports for Non-Believers

Tim Briggs — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:45:13 +0000

I just came across this blog today from Shawn Lovejoy:

Here’s my question: Ac churches, if we are to follow the example of Jesus, why does the majority of our ministry programming relate to religious people, or long-time Christians? Is the church as a whole guilty of being so focused on itself that it can’t meet the needs of the spiritually sick? While so much fuss is made about fast-growing churches, is anyone asking about how much of that growth is actual conversion growth? Years ago, a friend of mine once joked that the churches in his town didn’t grow; they swapped sheep. In years of ministry since, I’ve often found that to be true, even with some of the fastest-growing churches in America.

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The reason we planted Mountain Lake is because we wanted to create a safe place where we could welcome our unchurched friends; a place where they would be accepted as they were and allowed time to get to know God; then allow Him to change them.

This is not an advertisement for sports ministry however, sports can be that place for ministry that is not directed toward the believer. There are many churches out there that have created a sports ministry as a safe place for their church, not believers. Those churches, I believe, are not harnessing the power of sports. Sports is such a cultural phenomenon, it has the potential to to be the place to connect with the spiritual sick (as Shawn mentions above). Sports can be the safe place for non-Christians to feel accepted and be allowed time to grow.

Selling Jesus to People

Tim Briggs — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:59:11 +0000

I was doing yard work on Saturday when a salesman approached. I didn’t really want to talk to him but I thought I would let him do his presentation.

He went through his pitch and after he was done, I told him I wasn’t interested. He followed up with asking why and I explained to him the reason. He chuckled and scoffed at my reason and he began to try discredit my thinking. I interrupted him and said, “I don’t want to waste your time, I’m not interested. Thank you.” He paused for a moment and I could see him wrestling whether or not he should continue the pitch. He ultimately decided to try to continue and persuade him and I said once again, “I’m not interested, thank you.” He then reluctantly walked away.

As he left, I found myself frustrated. I’ve felt this way many times after interactions with salesman. So, I decided to bore down a little bit and understand why I was frustrated.

I was frustrated because he laughed at my reason, as if it was not a legit reason to not purchase the product.

I was frustrated because he was pushy. He had an agenda and regardless of my responses, he was going to make sure he put up a fight.

Ultimately, I was frustrated because he didn’t care what I said. He didn’t care about me and my opinions. He cared about selling a product and he was going to do whatever it took to try and convince me to buy it.

And then I thought to myself, I wonder if this is how non-Christians feel when confronted by believers?

Think about it, there are many evangelistic trainings out there that look and sound very similar to this salesman’s approach. They are pushy, arrogant, condescending, and can come off cold and overbearing.

Relational evangelism not only fits my personality and style but I think it’s the best way to convey to someone that you care. I learned on Saturday that when I feel like I’m not cared for, I become frustrated and tune out.

To learn more about relational evangelism, watch the below video.

3D Devotionals: A New Way to do Devotionals

Cindy Bledsoe — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:53:28 +0000

We are very excited to share the progress we have seen with our concept of 3D devotionals. You may ask, what are 3D devotionals? They are a new way to do devotionals in a sports setting. They are an attempt to integrate the concepts of sport, life and truth in a seamless way.

Traditional approaches to sports devotionals has the tendency to compartmentalize sports and faith, but with 3D devotionals these concepts are integrated. It is a mindset that encourages coaches and participants in sport to connect their sporting pursuits and biblical truth.

We have been privileged to share this new approach to devotionals with many churches and individuals here in the US and abroad including missionaries in Ukraine, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and many more.

Churches are embracing it as a way to be gospel-centered in their sports ministries, missionaries see it as an effective way in ministering to people across the globe and coaches and players are actively integrating sports, life and truth.

Here is what Scott Tyson, Director of Legacy Sports at Southbrook Church had to say about 3D devotionals:

“We are in the process of implementing the 3D Devotional strategy. Our coaches have been challenged to think differently about the connection between sports and ministry. They are beginning to realize the two are constantly intertwined – we don’t stop playing the sport so we can talk about God and we don’t stop talking about God so we can go back to playing the sport. This is a different mindset them most of them have been taught. Those that have embraced the 3D Devotional strategy are finding it to be extremely effective.”

We appreciate your prayers as we continue to train people in integration of sport, life and biblical truth.

To learn more about 3D Devotionals, watch the below video:

Spreading the Gospel Centered Sports Ministry Vision

Bob Schindler — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:30:37 +0000

For the last couple of years, April means the opportunity to speak at two conferences about Gospel Centered Sports Ministry – the CSRM (Church Sports & Recreation Ministers) Summit and the ISC’s (International Sports Coalition) North American/Big Region Conference.

As in the past, this year the ISC’s Big Region Conference involved participants from the ten different strategies of the ISC (including the one we focus on – Church Sports) and was held in Bloomington, Indiana. Scott Tyson from Southbrook Church (one of our Network churches) just outside Charlotte joined me. We met some new sports ministers, heard about the ways God is at work through sports in North American and around the world, and discussed strategies for advancing the sports ministry in North America – all very encouraging and vision enlarging.

This year, I spoke to the whole group on “Protecting Your Greatest Asset”. Gospel Centered Ministry requires we deal at the heart level, something many of us are not very used to or good at. This message looked at how to heed Solomon’s pre-eminent advice – “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” – particularly in the context of sports ministry.

The response has been very encouraging. In the last week, I have heard from several participants who have passed along this message in other contexts, due to the way the Lord used it in their lives.

The following week, Tim Briggs and I traveled to Dallas for The CSRM Summit. The highlight of the time there for me was seeing the affirmation given to Tim for his efforts through our website and blog. Person after person came up to him and said how much they got from both.

Tim and I led a workshop on “Don’t Waste Your Sports Ministry” and then I led a workshop on “Going for the Gold – developing a biblical standard for evaluating your ministry”.

How does a person waste a sports ministry? The simple answer – have it centered on anything other than the gospel. We expanded that idea to the following – “Don’t waste your sports ministry by being misguided, by settling, and by being self-centered.” We gave diagnostics for determining if you fit into one of those three categories and steps to both avoid falling into those traps and to get out if found there.

This has been a burning message that God has laid on our hearts for the last year, flowing from John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life. We made it the theme of the CSO Network Gathering last September and submitted it as a workshop topic.

As he did at The Gathering, God showed up during the workshop and moved in the hearts of those attending – bringing confession about the way we waste our sports ministry, repentance to move us away from the ways we waste our sports ministry, and belief in the ways of God for a fully realized sports ministry.

How do you evaluate sports ministry? This is just as difficult as asking “How successful am I as a parent or a partner?” There are all kinds of hurdles in answering those questions. These hurdles lead to a lot of confusion among sports ministers on the subject of success in ministry.

In this workshop, we looked at a good standard for success, a good method for using that standard, and a good goal for the whole process (you can view the video here) which focuses on uncovering the great works of God in our midst not on patting ourselves on the back for the good job we are doing.

God blew away the fog of confusion and brought clarity for many in attendance – evidenced by the response both then and since.

Supporters: Thanks again for all you do to support these kinds of efforts – where we get this great honor of heralding the vision of Gospel Centered Sports Ministry.

Church Spotlight: Istrouma Baptist Church

Tim Briggs — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:00:28 +0000

The way ML Woodruff connected with CSO is becoming a common occurrence.

A few years ago ML had been hired as the new Sports Outreach Director at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, LA. ML had a strong sports background having been a high school baseball coach for many years but was looking for help on how to start a sports ministry at a local church. One day he decided to look to Google for some help and found us. The rest, as they say, is history.

ML, and his church, are now part of the CSO Network. We’ve been privileged to get to know ML over these past few years and are impressed with his zeal to reach people through sports. In a few short years, ML has built a sports ministry at Istrouma that is quite large and that is continuing to grow. In the midst of all of this though, ML strives to keep the gospel at the center of his ministry.

ML was kind enough to do a Q & A with me regarding his ministry and their involvement in the CSO Network:

What are you most excited about right now in your ministry?

We are excited about our ongoing first base program that collects new and used baseball equipment. We give this equipment away at our Operation First Base Day when we invite high school and college baseball teams to do a baseball clinic for inner city kids. We join community churches together to greet, feed and do follow up. Our goal is to have eight outreaches in inner city areas in 2013. God has placed us strategically to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to areas that are filled with crime. Baton Rouge is the number one city for crime in the U.S. Our sports ministry has an incredible opportunity to reach these communities for Christ.

Can you share a story of a life that has been changed through your ministry?

Three years ago a family signed up to participate in our ministry (a family from the church had invited them) and the dad volunteered to coach. After two years of their kids participating and the dad coaching they started to attend our church. Two Sunday’s ago the parents were baptized after making a decision to follow Christ and only last week their oldest son of 10 was also baptized by our ISO coach that had coached him in football, basketball, and baseball.

How has CSO helped your ministry? Where would you be without CSO?

CSO has offered vision, support, prayer and expertise in how to use sports to reach a lost and dying world. They are an excellent organization and have resources available to help you cast a vision for your ministry. Not only that, they come along side you to help see it through!

Without CSO ISO sports would be wandering in the wilderness. CSO gives us clarity and feedback on positive things that are taking place and suggestions to help make things better in our ministry.