Sports as a Laboratory

Overflow

Human beings are complex, our actions even when thoughtless are not random. We speak and also act out of the abundance that is in our heart (Luke 6:45). There are many arenas in life that are the proverbial "squeezing of the sponge", ringing out what is already inside of us. In some scenarios we merely see a trickle of our hearts desires and motives, but other arena's can bring about a gushing display of what is going on inside of us. Sports, in all its varying levels of competition and fields, courts or stadiums, has the potential to produce this gushing display. One could refer to this phenomenon as the Laboratory of Sports. Bob Schindler recently wrote an article for Faith Driven Athlete exploring this very topic. A synopsis of this article is below, highlighting the key points. (Link to the full article here)

The Laboratory of Sports

I was playing basketball one Monday night at the church we were attending after recently moving to Charlotte, NC.  A long rebound came my way, I went racing down the court to make the game winning basket, insuring we would be on the court for another game.  Just as I was about to lay the ball in, I got pushed from behind with the hardest push I had ever experienced in my basketball days.  I flew into the unprotected concrete block wall.  Fortunately, I caught my balance and cushioned my fall.  I was shaken but wasn’t hurt.

Under my breath, I muttered, “I will take him out the next time down the court.”  The opportunity to fulfill that vow came as he moved to my left to drive to the basket with the ball.  I stuck out my left knee to block his path, purposely trying to trip him.  He went sprawling to the floor.  No words were exchanged.

As I went to the sidelines to await the next game, I had the thought, “What was that about Bob?”  I knew God was probing.

As I examined and dialogued with Him, it quickly became clear that my anger at the opposing player was disproportionate to the incident.  What he did was wrong, but I was seething.  I knew from experience to probe further.  But first, I had to apologize.

Lab Results

After that night, I reflected on my anger.  I had learned that anger is always a secondary emotion.  There are always other emotions beneath the anger, something more vulnerable, harder to admit and embrace.  Going further down, I came to see that the move had exposed some vulnerability in me.  In that vulnerability, I was afraid about what the future held for me and my family.  In addition, I was also grieving what we left behind.

Former UCLA Coach John Wooden famously said, “Sports don’t build character.  They reveal it.”  Wooden didn’t stop there though. Wooden would then use sports to “rebuild” what is “revealed.”  His famous Pyramid of Success is built on that revealing and rebuilding.

I like to think of sports as a laboratory.  A lab is a safe environment in which to experiment. In these safe experiments, things come to light, things are revealed.  Lessons learned here can be applied to a much broader context than the lab.

That night the laboratory of basketball revealed my anger.  It was already there before that night.  God used basketball to show it to me and expose it to others!  Once out, I could examine it and learn.

From there, I could turn to God, find comfort and then move on in trust.  God used basketball to not only reveal but build my character.

Play Your Position & Win it!

Guest post by Jenny Young

Play Your Position

In Mark Chanski’s book, Womanly Dominion: More Than a Gentle Quiet Spirit, two coaching slogans are mentioned, “Play your position!” and “Win it!”. Chanski shares with his readers the importance of these two slogans in sports and life. “Play your position!” means “Stay put, and don’t wander away from your assigned post.” The illustration for soccer would be for a goalie not understanding the significance of defending the goal, but rather believing the only significant contribution would be scoring goals and running around undisciplined in their play. This would be detrimental to the team in her/ him leaving their position as goalie and then seeing an opposing player dribble uncontested up the field to score without the goalie around. The goalie then hears the voices of the fans and coaches saying, “You’re the goalie, you need to defend your position, stay at home, play your position!”

Win It

He then goes on to explain that “Win it!” means, “Play with all your might, in every encounter!” The illustration here would be a soccer ball is in the open field where two opposing players go towards the ball and the coach shouts, “Win it!” The player on either side debate whether they should go all out after the ball or passively surrender it to the opposing player. It’s the “Win it!” vs. “Surrender it!” mentality.

In his closing remarks on both of these slogans, he uses scripture to point out the way God challenges us in the field of life from 1 Corinthians 9:24 -run in such a way as to win the prize. In Ecclesiastes 9:10 - whatever she put her hand to, she’s to “do it with all her might!”

I have been challenged by these two principles as a woman and in sports ministry. How often do I wander away from my assigned post? How often do I surrender versus win it?  Will I “Play my position and Win it?” How can I help others in these principles?

How to be a Good Sports Minister

Simple Idea, Profound Impact

I came across this quote recently from Tim Keller about preaching:

"A man who is not deeply involved in personal shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care will be a bad preacher."

What a humbling quote. It makes sense though, doesn't it? How are you going to be able to connect and communicate to your congregation if you're isolated and disconnected from them? How are you going to able to lead them as they grow spiritually if you're not personally involved in shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care?

The same is true for sports ministers. A healthy sports minister would be involved in shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care. Perhaps you don't use those terms though so this may be confusing, allow me to clarify:

1) Mentoring and training coaches and volunteers would be shepherding.

2) Sports ministers need to be personally involved in evangelism, particularly through sports. Are you currently engaged in this? What non-believers are you praying for? How often are you rubbing shoulders with non-believers?

3) Whenever a behavioral issue comes up in your sports ministry, how do you handle it? Do you dismiss it quickly? Do you avoid it? Do you leave it alone and hope it works itself out? This is what most sports ministers do. If you're doing any of those three, you're missing an excellent opportunity for gospel ministry. You're avoiding what "pastoral care" looks like for a sports minister.

This may be a simple truth but the impact it can have is indeed profound.

Is Competition Good or Bad for Us?

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 thinkcompetition 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. 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. 

Something to Pray Before a Game

This blog from the Cripplegate seems very appropriate for sports.  Here are some excerpts:

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. …”- Matthew 6:9 -

Everything we ask for in prayer and everything we do in our lives is to be asked for and done so that God would be glorified—so that the beauty of His manifold perfections would be magnified for all to see. The glory of God should not only drive us to pray; it should also shape all that we pray for.

This is the highest request we could ever attain to make of God, for it is this which is His own most foundational and most ultimate commitment. He Himself has stated that He does all He does with a chief regard for the glory of His own name.

• Isaiah 42:8 – I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another.
• Isaiah 43:7 – Everyone…whom I have created for My glory.
• Isaiah 43:25 – I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake.
• Isaiah 48:11 – For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
• Ezekiel 36:22-23 – It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.…I will vindicate the holiness of My great name.
• Ephesians 1:11-12 – …according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

In light of this, perhaps a good prayer before your next game/competition (whether it be as a player, coach, or spectator) could go something like this:Lord, I pray your name will be made great today and not mine.  I pray the way I play/coach/spectate today, and the posture of my heart, would bring you glory.  Would you help my motives today not be based on pride or a misplaced search for significance.  I pray your name would be made known today by my play/coaching/spectating.

Is it OK for you to fail?

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.

Idols in Sports Ministry

Tim Keller has a book out called Counterfeit Gods. In the book, he tells the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Jonah, and Zaccheus and uses their stories to teach about idolatry.  From the book, “The human heart takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives, because, we think, they can give us significance and security, safety and fulfillment, if we attain them.”So, what is an idol? Keller explains, "It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give."If we're honest, it's easy to find idols in sports ministry. Things like number of participants, revenue, wins and losses, etc. can all be made into idols and become "ultimate things." I hope that for those of us in sports ministry that we can find our contentment and security in God. I pray that we can rejoice in the successes of our sports ministries and yet in the midst of that, still find our significance in God.

"It's JUST a Game!"

I've said it. You've probably said it. It's uttered every Saturday on fields and courts across the country. It's the ultimate retort to any sore loser or hyper-competitor. It goes like this:

"It's just a game!"

The fact is though, it's just not true.As a sports minister, I said this to angry coaches and players frequently. Never once did someone say, "You're right! I need to calm down." Instead, it provoked them to further anger.Beyond the fact that it provokes people, I would like to advocate eliminating this phrase from the vernacular of sports. Here's why:1. Condescension has no place for a minister. As we all know, many people struggle with the idolatry of sports. Remember, an idol is anything we've put in the place of God. This is no trivial thing. It does no good to speak condescendingly to a sports idolater by saying it's just a game. If you want to address the idolatry, due it carefully and cautiously with a humble heart. Trust me, both you and the idolater will grow as product of this posture.2. It creates a false dichotomy. Behind that saying is a belief that says, "Some things are important and some things are not. Games are not important." God tells us a different story though. In 1 Corinthians 31, it says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Games are important because they can be done for the glory of God, just like anything else. Using this above statement lowers the bar for competition. People don't need a lower view of sports, they need a higher one!  (For more on this idea, take a look at The Ultimate Question or For the Love of the Game.)What do you say though? Have you used this statement? Has it been helpful?