Who Is The Gospel For?

Written by Bob Schindler, COO of CEDE Sports

My answer to that question today is different than it would have been 20 years ago. At that time, we were in the midst of planting a church that had as one of its desires to see half of the growth in the church coming from the conversion of non-believers. (We were young and naive, not realizing at the time what a radical desire that was.) In the face of that desire, we were intentional and relational in our approach to outreach.

While we didn’t say it explicitly, we said by our actions – “The gospel is for non-believers.” – in answer to the question. This implicit answer impacted us in ways we didn’t realize then, but do more now. For instance, when I read Romans 1:16 – “For I am not of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” I only saw this verse in the context of evangelism. That means the salvation that the verse speaks of related only to the salvation from one’s sin that unbelievers experience when they believe. I actually read the verse without realizing it like this – “it (the gospel) is the power of God that brings salvation to every one who believed (past tense).” I even memorized this verse to help compel me to share the gospel with those non-believers for that salvation.

At the same time in that church, we were committed to the discipleship of those who had believed in that gospel – both new and long-term believers. We tried to be just as intentional in our approach to that discipleship as we were in our outreach. In that discipleship, we emphasized small groups, interaction with the Scripture, authenticity, serving, worship, as well as other “spiritual disciplines.” However, I don’t think I saw the gospel as a central component of that discipleship. While I didn’t say it explicitly, again by my actions, my answer to the question was – “The gospel isn’t for believers; just for non-believers.”

Today I see things very differently. It began as I looked more closely at the Scriptures, specifically those that spoke of the gospel. Going back to Romans 1:16, I noticed the tense of the verb “believes” is not past but present. In looking more closely at the verse, I realized Paul was saying the power of God is experienced as a person presently believes in the gospel – not as a one time past event but a present ongoing belief. This was a radical revelation. I began to understand that the salvation Paul is speaking of here in Romans 1:16 is not just a salvation from my sins in the past, but an ongoing salvation from my sins in the present, something all of us as believers need – DESPERATELY. I saw that the way we experience the power of God for that salvation is through the gospel.

Paul reiterates this idea in 1 Corinthians 15:1,2 – “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Paul is writing to his friends and fellow believers in Corinth. At the end of the letter, he concludes by saying, “Now, brothers.” I noticed he clearly addresses believers, not non-believers. He then says, “I want to remind you of the gospel.” Paul saw that remembering the gospel was essential to believers. Why? Paul further explains – “By this gospel you are saved.” The ESV says “By this gospel you are being saved.” The verb, saved, is present. Once again pointing to the present impact of the gospel in a believer’s life.

Paul goes on to say this present salvation is experienced “if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.” This present salvation isn’t just a given. It is experienced as we believe presently in the gospel. That is why Paul wants to remind them of this gospel. Their present salvation was at stake. Not their future salvation from the penalty of sin but their present salvation from the power of sin. Otherwise, Paul says, we believe in vain. The vanity or emptiness of our belief that Paul is speaking of here is not that we lose our eternal salvation, but that we aren’t experiencing the present effect God designed for the gospel to have in believers’ lives.

So I saw, and hope you see, the gospel is not just for nonbelievers. It is something for believers. Author Jerry Bridges speaks about this idea when he says; “I preach the gospel to myself every day.” I would even go further as to say I want to preach the gospel to myself throughout the day - for as I believe that gospel, the power of God flows into my life to save me in all the ways I need saving. Who is the Gospel for? It is for you and me and all others who need the power of God in their lives today.

Difficulty In Defining Success

Written by Bob Schindler, COO of CEDE Sports

How Do I Know I am Winning?

“At the end of the game, all I had to do to know whether we had won or lost was to look at the scoreboard.” A then friend and now ministry partner at CEDE SPORTS, M.L. Woodruff, then said, “Now I don’t have that scoreboard. I don’t know whether I am winning or losing.”  M.L. served as a high school baseball coach for 30 years (where he won 11 state championships by the way - obviously winning more than he lost!) before pursuing a call to lead Istrouma Sports at Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. It was in that role with Istrouma Sports that I met M.L. This conversation came up early on in our relationship. It stuck with me.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that M.L.’s challenge is not unique. We all want to know if we are winning or losing, making progress or falling behind. In some areas of life, we may have a clear “scoreboard.” In others, like in ministry, that scoreboard may not be so clear. For example, are you winning or losing in:

• Your marriage?

• Your parenting?  

• Your following Jesus?

If you know, how do you know?  What is your scoreboard?  

Keeping Score

In the pursuit of the answer, what sports, rec, and fitness ministers often do is to establish a scoreboard that is easily measurable.  Their scoreboard typically includes:   

• Number of participants

• Finances

• Facilities

While this is helpful information, it is incomplete.  It doesn’t evaluate the whole picture and give a true understanding of whether progress is being made.  To help sports, rec, and fitness leaders with this dilemma, we developed a tool to evaluate progress called The Wheel.  It is based on the three components of a wheel 

• The Hub – Power Source

• The Spokes – Power Transfer

• The Rim – Power Effects

Is It Okay to Fail?

Written by: Bob Schindler

Failure is a part of life. We all live with the failures of others. More importantly, we also live with ours.

How do you respond to these failures?

• Do you get angry with yourself?

• Do you blame others?

• Do you deny your failures?

• Do you slough them off?

• Do you dwell on them?

My friend, Tim Briggs, wrote this blog about a lesson he learned in dealing with his young son’s failure in a soccer game:

After the game, we had a long talk on the field about what happened. When I asked him why he melted down, all he could muster in response was, “I couldn’t get the ball from him. He dribbled right past me.” There’s so much I wanted to say in response to his confession but found myself trying to find the right words that would resonate to his five-year-old understanding of the world. The simplest way I could explain things to him was to say, “It’s okay to fail.” I explained to him that failing was a part of sports. I explained to him the failing was part of life. I explained to him that failing doesn’t define him.Interestingly enough, I think this whole episode has impacted me more than him. He has long forgotten what happened last weekend but here I am, still rehearsing the whole scene in my mind. Maybe it’s because I often feel the same way he does. Failure is so threatening to me because I idolize affirmation. I look to it to provide something that it can never deliver: significance, satisfaction, and salvation.

If you are at all sensitive to what goes on in your heart when you fail, you can relate to what Tim says here.

The gospel speaks powerfully to us in our failure.

The gospel acknowledges the depth and breadth of our failure. The gospel also declares God’s gracious remedy in Christ for our failures, making “him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2Corinthians 5:21)As Tim says, this means our failures can no longer define us. God intention in such gracious provision is to free us from our fears and silly strategies to deal with our failures and into a willingness to embrace and admit our failures to ourselves, God and others.For me, this doesn’t happen all at once. Rather, as I continue to bask in God’s provision in Christ, this happens over time. As I find my identity more and more rooted in him, I am able to let go, more and more, of the lie that my identity is tied to my behavior or lack there of.

So what now?

This doesn’t mean I treat my failures casually, don’t evaluate my behavior, or don’t try to get better. It does mean the energy behind those efforts has changed. Rather than being powered by my fear of failure, or my passion for admiration or my dread of criticism, now my efforts can be fueled by the desire to show off this great and gracious God. He not only overcame my failures but provides me power to face my failures and actually change. This change is not just on the outside, dealing only with my failed behavior. This change goes much deeper and to a much more important failure, the failure of my heart. This change roots out the selfishness and self-centeredness that so dominates all my life and is seen in so vividly in my fear of failure.   This change turns that self-centeredness to a God-centeredness that gives me more and more of his perspective on my failures.Is it ok for you to fail? It all depends on how you see the gospel.

Transformative Impact: Sports and The Gospel

Written by: Jenny Young

Women's basketball is being changed, shaped and even transformed through the play of Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever) and other athletes. This past week I attended an Indiana Fever WNBA game. I was 15 rows from the top, surrounded by fans young and old, with a few empty seats in the 17,200 arena. It was truly a site to behold with the atmosphere being so electric! I have not been part of anything to that level of interest in women's sports in my life. I am grateful for how this is engaging others that may have not been involved with women’s basketball in recent years.

The Fever are fun to watch and yes, the logo 3's are real! Sitting beside me was a dad of two younger teens to my right, and a young gal, her boyfriend and family to my left. The young gal was really into the game, closed off to talking to her boyfriend and seemed stressed the entire game. You could feel the tension she felt watching! As I sat there, I wondered what she was thinking and/or feeling, though I didn't ask which would have been a good opportunity to engage in that way. It was like she was captivated by the game and everything else around her seemed not to matter.

The Fever lost the game that night. You would never know they lost from where I sat because fans stayed until the end. They were dedicated, entranced with the players and atmosphere. I was reminded of the effect sports have on us and yet, how the effect can be even life-transforming through the Gospel. God helps us to overcome the god of this world, of our idol of sports, by redeeming it to become a bridge to reach and redeem the people of this world. We know the Gospel changes us from the inside out. God transforms! We get to be partners with Him as co-laborers for the gospel as we engage relationally with people. We can help develop others into disciples from the deepest parts of their hearts and into every arena of life.

As you see the impact of sports in the life of people, consider: How are you using sports–whether by playing, coaching, leading, or watching–to help others be transformed by the Gospel?

The Ultimate Question

Struggling what to do with coaches training? Here’s a free resource that leaders have found to be very helpful in working with their coaches…

The Ultimate Question Trailer

In this video, Bob Schindler asks coaches “Why are you coaching?” and outlines many of the typical answers. He gives the one compelling answer to the ultimate question that integrates all of what coaches do. The Ultimate Question is great for coaches training or for embedding on your website for coaches to watch when they can.

EXPLAINING THE ULTIMATE QUESTION FURTHER

THE WHY 

• Our motivation for coaching is the most important question we can ask ourselves.

• Our motivation for coaching will determine how we coach and how we react to winning and losing 

• Most have never evaluated why they would consider coaching. Is it for my child? Is it because there is a need? Is it for the love of the game? Is it just for the fun of it? 

THE WHAT:

• The Ultimate Question video is great for coaches training or for embedding on your website for coaches to watch when they can. 

• This resource is a proven tool to help you understand their motivation for coaching.

• Having everyone in the ministry watch this video provides a “shared vocabulary.” It provides the groundwork for unity of purpose and bypasses many “train-wrecks” of mixed motives.

THE HOW:

• Watch the video first with the aid of our handout linked below and digest what impact the content has on you personally. 

• Share it with someone you trust and get their feedback.

• Gather your leadership team and have them view and discuss the ramifications of this content.

• Make it available in advance for your next development coaches meeting and have them discuss the discussion questions on the handout.

• To access the free resources mentioned here you will need to register on our Church Directory. 

• Register on our directory to get free access to all our Sports Outreach Ministry resources  

HANDOUT

• The Ultimate Question – Video Handout (DocX version)

VIDEO

• The Ultimate Question Full Video 

Consider becoming a partner church and working with a CEDE Sports mentor, click here for more info !

How to Measure Success in Ministry

Written by Bob Schindler

I came across this on the 9 Marks website. I really appreciated the tone of this because I fear the church looks to the business world and their metrics too much in trying to measure ministry. Here’s the principles they listed:

1. Measuring the supernatural? Supernatural fruitfulness cannot always be measured.

2. Success equals faithfulness. One of our most important criteria for success should be whether or not a man is faithfully preaching the Word and living a life of conformity to the Word.

3. More than heads in attendance. The number of people attending a church is not the only factor to be considered, but how much members are growing in holiness, how many leaders are being raised up, how many members are leaving for the mission field, and so forth. Such factors are far richer and more complex, and are often better indicators of the faithfulness and success of a man’s ministry.

4. Success not always visible. A faithful and “successful” ministry may not present obvious and immediate fruit. Adoniram Judson didn’t see a single convert for seven years. Moreover, initial responses can prove hugely deceptive over time (Matt. 13:1-23). And how much “fruit” did the prophet Jeremiah get to see?

5. But visible fruit should be considered. God gives different gifts to different people. It is entirely possible for a man to labor faithfully at something he’s not gifted to do. In such a case, there will be little visible fruit, which should be considered in assessing his long-term plans and support. Not all Christians should ask the church to set aside a portion of their incomes to support them for full-time ministry. Visible fruit is a part of that consideration.

6. What’s the bottom line? Success in ministry primarily means faithfulness, but attempting to humbly and cautiously evaluate the fruit of a man’s ministry should play a supporting role in weighing success in ministry.

At CedeSports, measuring success is one of the issues we help Sports Ministries deal with by developing an appropriate MEASURE for success (that includes some of the factors mentioned above), an appropriate METHOD for using that measure, and an appropriate MOTIVE for the whole endeavor.  Below is a video that looks at some of those ideas.

Going for the Gold: Measuring Success in Sports Ministry from Cede Sports on Vimeo. If we can further help you in measuring the success of your ministry, please contact us.

Lessons From The Little League World Series

Written by Don Weyrick

One of my favorite sporting events of the year is the Little League World Series. Baseball was my first love from the age of 3. Little League was my life and my family’s for more than 10 years. We were there at the field Mon-Sat. And we all loved it. Little League World Series is amazing because it’s put on by 100% of volunteers giving up their time and paying their own way just to give back. The kids are playing the sport with pure joy just as the beautiful game of baseball should be played.

I’ve recently enjoyed watched the Little League World Series. There was a game with Chinese Taipei, who hadn’t lost and held the most titles in the history of LLWS, playing Florida, who lost their first game and had to come back many times to even make it to this game. Florida went 0-8 in the championship games as well.

This was a great game to watch and a lot of nail biting moments. Although the ending was not ideal , it was a great watch nonetheless. But, to me, the best parts of the game were watching moments between coaches and players.

One moment was in the bottom of the 6th with 3 outs remaining. The Florida coach talked to the team. He told them that when they got to Williamsport, he was prayed over. He waited to this moment to share with them and said, “we’ve already won, now let’s go out and finish the job we came to do”. It was a great moment and showed God moving and working in the midst of the game, knowing they are ultimately in God’s hands.

Another moment was right when the Florida team won. The Chinese players started crying, and instead of continuing to celebrate, all the Florida players and coaches went around and consoled the other team. This showed amazing sportsmanship and what this sport, this event, and what intentional leadership is all about. We can learn a whole lot from these amazing group of 11-13 year olds and how to model ourselves, and encourage our coaches, players, and volunteers to conduct themselves in a way that is honoring and pleasing to the Lord.

A Bootcamp Story of Redemption

Written by: Aubrey Coleman

CEDE SPORTS is privileged to partner with Connection Pointe Christian Church in Brownsburg, Indiana. Their Fitness Director, Christie Wickline, recently told us about a man named Josh and his incredible story of redemption. Struggling from a broken engagement and an alcohol addiction, he had truly come to the end of himself.

Searching for help, he got involved in Fitness Bootcamp where he got connected to a Care Pastor from the church. The pastor suggested several steps to help Josh with his situation including attending AA and starting counseling. Josh bravely took each of those steps and continued to listen to sermons, all to help him work through the challenges he faced. Eventually, Josh gave his life to Christ. While attending Boot Camp and taking in the encouragement and community, Josh decided he wanted to be baptized.

Although anxious about being in front of everyone, he stepped out of his comfort zone to declare his new life in Jesus in August of last year. It’s been a long journey for Josh. However, God has done a great work, placing the right people in his life to encourage him, point him to Jesus, and help him overcome battles. He continues to grow into who God has called him to be. What a testimony of God’s grace!

Should You Pray Before a Game?

Written by COO, Bob Schindler

Should you pray before a game? That may seem like a silly question for sports, rec, and fitness ministers to consider. However, it is a question I would like you to consider in light of an experience I had several years ago.

I was playing in an adult softball league of a sports ministry in Charlotte. This softball league was outreach-oriented and the leader and the ministry partnered with CEDE SPORTS for coaching, connecting, and resourcing. At this point in the league, the umpires set the ministry tone for each game. They would gather the two teams on the baselines before the game, review the rules, and pray.

In this particular situation, after gathering the teams, the umpire mentioned a couple of personal prayer requests regarding his extended family and some medical issues they were facing. He also brought up another medical concern of a friend of his child. He asked for other prayer requests, to which some players took his lead and asked for prayer about other medical concerns in family or friends.

Then, he asked us to bow our heads while he prayed, never mentioning the game we were about to play. Remember, this is an outreach league. Half of the players were not Christians. As he prayed, I opened my eyes to see what the non-Christian players on my team were doing. I wasn’t surprised to find them with their eyes open, looking around, not connecting to what was happening.

Soon after this experience, I met with the ministry head to discuss what I heard and saw. We talked about the role of the umpire and ideally what the leader envisioned would happen in fulfilling that role. What the leader envisioned wasn’t the experience I witnessed. The leader hoped the umpires would reinforce the league's mission and then pray about what was about to take place – the softball games. We even talked about what kind of prayers that might include.

Prayers where the umpires would:

• Thank God for the opportunity to play

• Thank God for the gifts and talents to use in the play and the joy we experience in doing so

• Acknowledging to God the brokenness in all of us in experiencing frustration and anger instead of joy from our play

• Acknowledging the source of that frustration - from our efforts to establish our identity from our performance on the field

• Asking God to give us the freedom to acknowledge that to him and change us so that we would experience more joy and less frustration and anger, regardless of the results.

Should you pray before games? I would say, “Yes, but pray in a way that is gospel-centered, where the prayers are about the games before us and our need for the gospel in those games.” Otherwise, we are in danger of praying in a way that reinforces the compartmentalized view of sports where we inject God into our sports, rec, and fitness rather than our sports, rec, and fitness integrated into the gospel.

History of Reach Gathering: CEDE SPORTS Involvement

Written by Jenny Young

In 2013, the three Foundational Partners of REACH – CEDE, CSRM, and UW Sports Ministry – sensed God’s call to come together in collaboration to serve sports, rec, and fitness ministers in local churches and inspire, affirm, connect, and equip them to further this movement.  They knew there would be obstacles and challenges to such a venture, but believed that gathering sports, rec and fitness ministers could be used by God to bring about such an impact.  From the beginning, they felt led to begin something that was so much more than a conference but was a part of this movement - a movement where theology, philosophy and methodology would spread by the power of the Holy Spirit toward the redemption of people and sports, rec and fitness.  

First of all, REACH is not the movement.  REACH is part of a movement. This is important.  We are just a part of what God is doing.  He is the Author of this movement.  We desire to cooperate with His efforts.  

This movement is made of a certain people - Sports, Rec, & Fitness (SR&F) leaders in local churches. REACH desires to catalyze the movement of God in their becoming more gospel-centered and more reproductive of disciple-makers.  At REACH, we inspire, we affirm, we equip and we connect SR&F leaders toward this end.  The Foundational Partners set the sails and then look to the Spirit to provide the wind.

The first REACH was in 2014 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill, SC. Since then, local churches have been added to the Foundational Partners. In 2019,  Work Teams were added to the Leadership from the participants who would lead the gathering in planning and implementation to where there are now over 30 people involved in the leadership of REACH. 

At REACH, there are typically two main sessions and a wide variety of track sessions designed to affirm, inspire, and equip these leaders. There is also “Wrestling at REACH”  where a current issue in sports, rec, and fitness is brought up and “wrestled” with through panel presenters, table discussions, and audience participation.  Finally, at REACH, there are lots of activities to connect these leaders with each other.  

This is why the Foundational Partners think of REACH as more than a conference.  It is a chance to be with Jesus and to be with teammates. Teammates doing sports, rec, and fitness in local churches.  Teammates who are a part of a team, looking to Jesus and then to each other - for inspiration, affirmation, equipping and connecting - so that they may each play their part in the movement Jesus is authoring in the world today.

God continues to blow wind in the lives of men and women SR&F leaders through being part of this movement. 

REACH will be happening for the 9th year next month - April 16-17 in Charlotte, NC. CEDE SPORTS will be there as a Foundational Partner and Sponsor. To learn more about this year’s REACH you can go here - https://www.reachgathering.org 

What others are saying about REACH:

"The REACHgatherings are a time to connect with others around the globe who have similar passions to use the platform of sport to reach the world for Christ! It is a time to learn, a time to share resources, a time to be refreshed spiritually and emotionally. I always leave with great ideas, energized by being with old friends in ministry and excited to have a handful of new friends to add to my network of fellow sports ministers." 

Vickie Byler, REACH Participant 

“REACH is about being a part of a movement using SR&F ministry to point people on a journey with Jesus..being encouraged, equipped, inspired and locking arms with brothers and sisters in Christ who are facing the same challenges and celebrating the same joys in sports and recreation ministry." 

Chris Phillips, Past REACH Participant