Is Competition Good or Bad?

Written by Bob Schindler

The Big Question

At CEDE SPORTS, we talk a lot about the brokenness of sports. As you read what we say, you might get the message that we think competition is bad. We don't. However some do. Here is an example from a blog previously posted by Joshua Becker entitled "How Competition Made Me Less Successful":

“I have, unfortunately, viewed most of my life through the lens of competition. I could blame it on…but most likely, competition is just the default position of my heart....and to be fair, it’s not all bad. Viewing life as competition has motivated me to work harder at school, work, and personal growth. It has prompted discipline and perseverance….Viewing life only as competition has terrible drawbacks. It pursues success for only the self. It breeds jealousy and envy. It withholds encouragement. It mistreats others on its way to the finish line. A world divided into winners and losers is one that misses the opportunity to show grace....Our world needs people who compete less and encourage more.”

A Different Way to Look at This

While I agree with much of his sentiment, I find exception to his use of words. For instance, I would change his statements to the following:

“I have, unfortunately, viewed most of my life through the lens of fallen competition. I could blame it on…But most likely, competition is just the default position of my heart.”

“Viewing life only as fallen competition has terrible drawbacks. It pursues success for only the self. It breeds jealousy and envy. It withholds encouragement. It mistreats others on its way to the finish line. A world divided into winners and losers is one that misses the opportunity to show grace.”

These I agree with. Fallen competition - that strives against others to more fully establish my glory - IS TRULY the default of everyone's heart. The drawbacks ARE EXACTLY as he says.

• In fallen competition, the pursuit of success is only for self.

• Fallen competition does breed jealousy and envy.

• Fallen competition does mistreat others on its way to the finish line.

• Fallen competition does assume that success in another’s life equals one less opportunity for success in mine.

Our Solution

But the answer isn’t getting rid of competition and replacing it with encouragement. The answer is to redeem the competition, to take it back to the way God intended. If we see the solution to this problem as merely a switch from competition to encouragement, we oversimplify this redemption. In the process, we could also miss the beauty and depth to this redemption.  Competition came before the fall not after before the fall not after. Original and, therefore, redeemed competition is about striving together to more fully express in others and us the image of God within us. Certainly, redeemed competition includes encouragement, but it involves so much more. This same writer describes this redeemed competition as follows:

"It becomes about the challenge, the experience, the unity of a common goal, and the opportunity to help someone else cross the finish line with you….As a result, the entire route is filled with encouragement from bystanders and competitors completely committed to running well and helping other racers finish strong."

The Application

Do you hear what he is saying? This competition is not just about encouragement.  It is also about "the challenge...the common goal...running well." All this striving not for our glory but to spur others to more fully express their God given glory. This heart of competition is lost if all I do is switch “compete to encourage” as the author does.

 "Our world needs people who compete less and encourage more."

At CEDE SPORTS, we would say "our world needs people who compete in a fallen way less and compete in a redeemed way more." This is not just semantics. The beauty of the heart of competition, this striving together, is at stake. If all I do is focus on encouragement, this heart could just so easily be lost as it has so tragically been marred in fallen competition. Competition doesn’t need to be eliminated. It needs to be redeemed. 

RESPONDING TO BROKENNESS

Written by Bob Schindler

The Reality

Get involved with people very much and you find all kinds of problems. Failing health, marital infidelity, rebellious children, embezzling employees, fractured friendships – the list seems endless.  The influence of sin is all around us. 

Our Response

People respond differently to this reality.  Some deny.  Some avoid.  My response is often to get discouraged and overwhelmed.  It seems the more I listen, the more I just see the greatness of sin.  Left alone, this perspective moves me to despair, tempting me to withdraw.

Jesus had a different response.  Matthew records one example of this response in chapter 9 starting in verse 35.  Jesus’ response, first of all, was to stay very engaged with people.  He was traveling from town to town, and Matthew tells us that, in his travels, he was teaching, preaching and healing.

Matthew doesn’t leave us there.  He tells us the origin of Jesus’ engagement.  In verse 36, we learn “when he (Jesus) saw the crowds”, he saw them as “harassed and helpless”.  Jesus’ engagement began with a perspective on the reality of the power of sin.  It didn’t stop there.  He also saw the reason for this reality.  They were “like sheep without a shepherd”. They were on their own and, on their own, they were “helpless” to deal with that which was harassing them.

Divine Provision

Jesus reaction to the fullness of this reality was compassion.  He was moved by their plight and gave them what they needed – himself, the Good Shepherd.

I gain something significant from Jesus’ reaction.  What people need in dealing with the impact of sin – you, me, people in sports ministry, or people outside the kingdom – is the engagement of this Shepherd.  The greater the impact of sin, the greater the need for a Great Shepherd.  The incredible truth is that Our Shepherd is far greater than the greatest sin, its power and impact. 

This perspective gives me encouragement as I think about the impact of sin.  It also gives me hope as I seek to deal with the impact of sin around me.  I hope it will uplift you also.

Are You Reluctant to Recruit?

Written by Bob Schindler

In my job, I have the privilege to regularly sit with Sports, Rec, and Fitness leaders from Local Churches and discuss their ministries. Recently, in one of those conversations, the subject of recruiting came up. The Sports Minister and I were discussing the Ministry’s Leadership Team and one of the people rotating off. I asked if she planned to replace this person. She said yes and we discussed possible candidates.

One particular person was at the top of the list and, when I asked further about him, the Sports Minister said, “He is very busy – he already coaches his kids and his job is very demanding.” I sensed her reluctance to recruit him to this position even though he was probably the most qualified for the role. Have you ever felt that reluctance in recruiting someone to your ministry?

When I asked the Sports Minister how they would go about recruiting this person, she outlined their hypothetical discussion and something clicked for me. My Sports Minister friend didn’t want to burden this busy man with another obligation. She didn’t say it directly but it seemed to me this was their perception of the role underneath the recruiting. I brought this up and she confirmed my thoughts.

We then discussed a different perspective on recruiting – one where you are recruiting to an opportunity not an obligation, to a privilege not a burden, by invitation not by begging. To help the Sports Minister see this opportunity and privilege, we discussed the benefits she had experienced in being a part of the Leadership Team in the past 3-4 years. Sure it was work but she agreed it had been very transformative for her and the others. The group experienced real community as the Leader encouraged them to share their lives as well as the work. They also experienced personal development as they learned more about their gifts and abilities and how they fit on the team.

Finally, we talked about God’s affirmation for the team as he used them to develop the ministry. Community. Development. Affirmation. Sense of Purpose. As we reviewed these benefits, she realized they were things everyone looks for. She saw afresh that being a part of ministry where these are taking place is a great opportunity, a privilege she should never apologize for inviting people to take part.

So the next time you are reluctant to recruit, remember the difference between inviting someone into a privileged opportunity and begging someone to take on a burdening obligation.

What Does it Mean to Be Gospel-Centered?

Written by Bob Schindler

What does it mean to be gospel centered?

At CEDE SPORTS & REACH, we talk about gospel centered sports, rec, and fitness ministry. This phrase "gospel centered" is used a lot these days and means different things for different people.

To some it means to preach the gospel to the participants in that ministry. To others, it means to be focused on the propositional truths of the gospel and stands in contrast to "Christ-centered." When we use gospel centered, we don't mean either of those ideas. Simply put, from our perspective, to be gospel centered is to:

1. See the gospel as THE STORY God has been telling since the beginning of time, rooted in history with Jesus Christ as the Redeeming Hero of that STORY.

2. To move to integrate all of life - every bit of it - into that STORY.

This means that gospel centered sports rec, and fitness ministry involves - whether is it recruiting coaches, drafting teams, finding instructors, keeping score, spectating games, coaching players, playing the sport, participating in classes, selecting music or in other words whatever is involved in sports, rec, and fitness ministry - and integrating that into the gospel.

Another way of looking at this concept is to ask the following:

1. What is the gospel?

2. What of life does the gospel impact?

If you have a question on this idea, please reach out to our staff team.

The Gospel Story is the Greatest Story

Written by Bob Schindler

The Gospel is The Story from which that all other stories flow!

Here at CEDE SPORTS, we regularly share about Gospel Centricity. The Gospel Centricity perspective involves two things:

1. Seeing the Gospel as The Story God has been telling since the beginning of time, rooted in history, with Jesus Christ as the Redeeming Hero.

2. Moving to integrate all of life into that STORY.

I got this idea about STORY from two authors I respect - C.S.Lewis and Frederick Buechner. Frederick Buechner declares this reality beautifully in the following quote:

“[The gospel] is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happened and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are deceiving. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike become known by his true name... This is the fairy tale of the Gospel with of course one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept happening ever since and is happening still.” --from Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale

As a student of "stories," especially from the Medieval Period, C.S. Lewis' recognition of this reality about The Gospel, pointed out to him by J.R. Tolkien, was a significant influence in Lewis' conversion from atheism to Christianity. As a story, The Gospel has all the dramatic elements of any good story. But don't miss the one crucial difference between The Gospel and all other fairy tales or stories, which is the claim made that it is true. This is what makes the Gospel THE STORY - THE STORY from which all stories flow.

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 !