Overcoming Discouragement

Are you discouraged?  Often fight discouragement?This past week I spoke with two ministry leaders who were in very different ministry contexts with very different recent circumstances.  However, both were discouraged.As I talked with them, what became clear to me is that even though their situations were very different, the reason they were discouraged was very similar. 

They both lost sight of their progress.

 To show you what I mean, let me use one of those conversations.  . This leader told me some of what had been going on in the last couple of months:

• He envisioned a particular project for his church and delegated it another leader who carried it out very effectively. This leader confessed, “This is the first time I have ever done this successfully.” 

• The success of the initiatives around this project impacted several aspects of the church – women’s ministry, youth ministry, and men’s ministry.

• Several people, whom they had invested in for some time, made decisions to embrace the gospel and its Hero, Jesus, whom they are following up now.

 After he reviewed these items, he said, “My team is smoked and I am tired and disheartened.” As we talked further, he came up with this powerful and poignant image.  “I feel like I have given my all to climb this far up the mountain and make it to this ledge.  Feeling exhausted and somewhat satisfied, I looked up and I still had so far to go.  Totally discouraged me.” After validating his discouragement and how far he had to go, I asked him to reorient his perspective. 

“It isn’t time yet to look ahead.  Right now, you need to look back.” 

 I went back over the progress of the last couple of months with some additional words to weave this into a compelling story of all that God had done.  I wept as I recalled it to him (For those of you who know me, I know that is no surprise!). It was such a beautiful picture of the awesome works God had done. 

It was time to celebrate that progress!

 We went over Psalm 145:3-7 and discussed the call there to talk about the great works of God, to meditate on those that we hear from others, and finally to celebrate the goodness of God.  To not do so would keep others from joining that celebration and rob God of the glory of his greatness he deserves. So, we did just that.  We “sat on that ledge” together and looked back.  I went back over how far they had come in those several months and asked him, “If I would have told you a few months ago that this would all happen in the next several months, how would you have felt back then?”  He responded, “Ecstatic!” “Well then, let’s be ecstatic now.  Don’t look ahead.  Look back.  Take the next week and celebrate with God.  Tell your team of these works and encourage them to think about them and then tell you what else they see.” 

His heart got lighter and lighter as he changed his perspective –

from looking ahead to looking back.

 There would be a time to start looking ahead and addressing the challenges there.  But not yet.  Celebrating God’s goodness is designed to energize us for those challenges. However, like these two ministry leaders, most of us don’t seem to do a good job of celebrating God’s goodness.  We forget the progress in our frantic pace.  We get mired in the challenges and pain of the past.  We may focus on the future out of fear of getting caught up in that past.  Or we celebrate our “goodness” rather than God’s. Any of these keep us from being energized by celebrating the greatness of God’s works and his goodness in including us in them. My advice – the next time you get discouraged, sit "on the ledge" with our Hero and look back and remember.  Think back to where you used to be.  Do this with Jesus and some good friends.  If you can't look back to that place because of the "clouds" blocking your view, ask God to clear away the clouds.  Ask others to tell you what they see.  However you get there, remember where you used to be and put that perspective with where you are now.  See how far God has brought you.  Celebrate his goodness in giving you such progress.  It will energize you for the journey ahead, no matter how daunting it may appear.

The Value of Church Sports: A Great Historical Example

Written By Paul Emory Putz, Ph.D. Assistant Director, Sports Ministry Program at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary

Looking Back

One of my favorite examples of the influence that a local church-based sports and rec & fitness ministry (SR&F) can have comes from the life of Bob Pettit. If you’re a basketball fan and history buff like me, you know Pettit is one of the NBA’s all-time greats. Over his eleven seasons with the Hawks (1954-1965), the 6’9” forward from LSU averaged over 26 points per game and won two MVP awards.  And none of that would have been possible without a church basketball league. As a sophomore, Pettit was cut from his high school team. But with the encouragement of his pastor, he and a group of other young men formed a basketball league at Pettit’s church, St. James Episcopal. In his autobiography, The Drive Within Me, Pettit said the church league provided him with his first opportunity to play organized basketball. And as he played in the church league, his confidence and ability grew. By his junior season, he was ready to compete and star for the high school team. "I never forgot that the church saved my basketball career when it might have gone under without a ripple,” Pettit wrote in 1962. "And through the years I've come to learn that the church offers much, much more. I can't understand how a true believer in Christ can ignore the fellowship Christ instituted to continue His work on earth."

Looking Ahead

Of course, most church sports leagues aren’t going to produce a future hall-of-famer. But they can serve as a space to cultivate meaning, belonging, and community. They can provide an environment in which others are invited into deeper Christian commitment and growth.If we want church ministries to serve that purpose, we need to be intentional about our vision and plan. One helpful starting point for this is to learn from the past. For the last 150 years church leaders have been exploring how to integrate and include sports and recreation within the work of the church. By considering the theologies and strategies that have undergirded those efforts—as well as the major successes and failures—we can better understand our present moment and make wise choices about the future.    In short, we don’t need to try to develop NBA All-Stars. But we should be thinking about how sports and recreation can help us reach and shepherd people well. Especially in our fast-changing cultural landscape.  If you’re interested in exploring more of the history of local church SR&F ministry and discussing how it can inform the work of church and ministry leaders in the present, join me and Bob Schindler in February for a CEDE Sports webinar entitled: The History of Local Church SR&F Ministry - Looking to the Past to Navigate an Uncertain Future. You can either join CEDE Sports Webinar Mailing List for more info on this upcoming event or email rcurrie@cedesports.org for information on how to register for that webinar.And if you’d like to connect with me to learn more about my work as a historian with Baylor’s Faith & Sports Institute, you can follow me on Twitter (@p_emory) or check out my website (http://www.paulemoryputz.com).  

Reaching Out in Everyday Conversations

Everyday Conversations

We thought these words from Tim Brister's blog post "From Strangers to Missionaries" would be a helpful reminder to us all. Even though we aren't back to our normal everyday lives in many ways the Gospel work of a basic conversation is still a very present opportunity. Whether it be via zoom, a phone call, FaceTime or even in person from a distance. Now more than ever might be the time our neighbors really need the hope we have to offer through the truth and life of Christ.Please reflect on some points from Tim's post below - 

         Dwell Incarnationally

I know the term “incarnational” is debated in missiological circles. If you prefer another term, that’s fine. It’s the concept that’s important. By that, I mean it begins by us going to where they are. Drive-by evangelism sowing seed into the wind, not the ground. By dwelling with unbelievers, we are penetrating darkness and going where Christ is not named. When I was in college, that meant I held block parties on Wednesday nights on campus. When I was in seminary, it meant working at UPS and getting there early to hang in the “smoke shack” (while holding my breath for long periods of time). As a pastor in Southwest Florida, it means working 2-3 days a week in the community (I’m typing this at Dunkin Donuts). The point is making yourself accessible to unbelievers so that skin and flesh can be put to what is a “Christian.”

Engage Intentionally

If dwelling incarnationally is going where they are, engaging intentionally is starting where they are. That means they determine the topic of conversation. You enter on their terms. If they want to talk politics, sports, pop culture, or whatever (assuming it is not sinful, vulgar, etc.), then enter in. People will generally talk about what is most important to them, and intentional engagement means understanding what they focus on the most.

On the one hand, there is their context. These are matters outside of them, usually events, people, situations, or issues they relate to in one way or another. On the other hand, there is their subtext. These are matters within them, usually feelings, struggles, challenges, problems, or hurts. People will share both of them, sometimes at the same time. If they go with the subtext, you know they are inviting you into the story of their lives. Each conversation is a page in the narrative of their life story. Eventually, you want to connect their story with the story of the gospel, for only then will it have a happy ending.

Listen Attentively

Dovetailing off engaging intentionally is listening attentively. Most people talk about context or subtext matters but no one really cares enough to listen. The next person is waiting to one-up that with a better story or counterpoint in the conversation. Listening well means understanding not just what they are saying but why they are bringing it up. It also means taking notes (not at the moment but writing them down later), remembering names and previous conversations. When people know you care enough to listen well, their appreciation will lead to future permission.

Ask Provocatively

By asking questions, you are not only validating your listening and understanding, you are inviting more participation. You are encouraging them to engage their own thoughts, convictions, feelings, and presuppositions with questions which are not necessarily confrontational but sometimes subversively so. Asking questions may lead to them inviting you to provide an answer to your own questions, assuming they will not have thought it through or simply don’t have an answer. The “What if” or “Have you ever considered” questions come to mind a lot.

 Continue reading the list here  

The Secret to Reaching People for Christ

It's interesting, the posts I write regarding evangelism are often the lowest viewed posts on the blog.  So, I'm hoping the title of this post has piqued your interest.

So, what is the secret to reaching people for Christ? 

Prayer.

I know I probably just lost 80% of my readers but for you faithful 20%, I will continue.  Let me first clarify what I mean by 'secret.'  It's a secret not because it isn't known but because it's not practiced. Perhaps 'forgotten truth' would have been a better phrase to use than 'secret'.  Methodologies, events, and technology all are more exciting when it comes to evangelism and that's where we tend to focus on energy.  But, through it all, prayer has always been the bedrock of reaching people.Beyond the pragmatics of prayer in reaching people, we have to remember it's Scriptural!"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:1-4)Prayer is not magic.  It doesn't guarantee results.  What it does guarantee though is that you will be changed for doing it. If you habitually prayer for someone and their salvation, it will change you.  You will pursue this person more, you will love them more, and you will rejoice in every step of faith they take.  And God just may use it."Until the gate of hell is shut upon a man, we must not cease to pray for him. And if we see him hugging the very doorposts of damnation, we must go to the mercy seat and beseech the arm of grace to pluck him from his dangerous position. While there is life there is hope, and although the soul is almost smothered with despair, we must not despair for it, but rather arouse ourselves to awaken the Almighty arm." (Charles Spurgeon)

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.

The Power of Story

Let me paint you a picture..

"Motorcycles are dangerous."I believe that propositional statement to be true.  You may believe it or not.  If you do, you can believe it to be true without that belief really connecting with you.However, if I said “I had a motorcycle wreck on June 22, 2013. I was riding with two of my friends about 20 minutes from my house when I rounded a curve. It was an unfamiliar road and I didn’t quite make the curve, ending up on the shoulder. I thought I would just ride it out and just ease back on to the road. However, something caught my front wheel, flipped the bike, and sent me about 30 feet into the air, with me doing a somersault in the process. I landed on my left side in between the road and a metal fence.  In the process of flying off my bike, I broke my left ankle and right thumb. On the fall, I banged my left elbow, taking eleven stitches to heal up. I went back to the accident scene two weeks later and saw the fence and the road – each about 3-5 feet from where I ended up in this sort of ditch. As I looked at that grass “cradle” where I landed, I started to weep. I got a real glimpse of how close I came to hitting either the fence of the road – neither of which would have been good. I wept over what could have been and out of gratitude for God’s protection.”Then you would understand why my belief connects with that truth that motorcycles are dangerous. My story connects me to it. If you cared about me, that story would connect you with it as well.

The Bigger Picture

The powerful connection that comes from telling a story is important to remember as we think about the Gospel.As I have asked people over the years, “What is the Gospel?” I usually get a propositional statement or two like:-       Jesus died for my sins.-       Jesus died for my sins so I could go to heaven.-       Jesus died for my sins so I could be in relationship with him now and then be with him forever.All these statements are propositions. I believe they are true. But, when it comes to describing the Gospel, they are incomplete. They don’t tell the story.In not telling the story, these statements don’t connect with us in a way that The Story of the Gospel can.So let me ask you a couple of questions about the Gospel:-       What do you tell people when you tell them the Gospel?-       What do you train others to tell people when you train them to “share the Gospel”?-       Does what you tell them describe the great Story of the Gospel that God has been telling since CREATION, through the FALL, and REDEMPTION, and ultimately ends up in the CONSUMMATION?You may be telling people the truth, equipping others to tell them the truth, but you may not be telling them or equipping them to tell others the whole Gospel. The result - you may be telling them the truth, but you may not really be connecting with their hearts as you remove those truths from the STORY of the GOSPEL.If you would like some resources to help you both understand and share the Story of the Gospel with others, check out the following:-       The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler-       The Story (Tract)-       The Gospel ProjectRemember – “If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away when needed.  Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Barry LopezHow different would our evangelism be if we thought this way? God has given us the Story of the Gospel. We need to care for it and learn to give it away when needed because there are those in our spheres of contact who need the Story of the Gospel more than food to stay alive.

Back To The Basics

A while ago I was in Dallas meeting with leaders from local churches to discuss the foundation for Sports Ministry in the Local Church.  We talked about the why, the what, and the how of Sports Ministry which I still find so relevant to share with you today.  Our primary leader was Pastor Sameh Maurice from Kasr El Dobara Church in Cairo Egypt, someone I deeply respect and enjoy being around whose church is doing a fantastic work in the Middle East.

God's Character is the Foundation

In answering the why, we began by looking at God’s character.  We were reminded that since God is the author of all things and all things are to reflect his glory, his character is a critical starting place for every discussion of the whys of anything, including Sports Ministry.

As we talked about our God being loving, relational, and incarnational, I was deeply impressed with the incredible grace of our marvelous God so beautifully seen in Christ.  He came to be with us – our Immanuel – who would “never leave or forsake us.”   He also came to be one of us – this “Word became flesh” – and “sympathizes with our weaknesses” as one who has been “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

With us.  One of us.

I thought about the passion Cede Sports has to see Sports Ministries glorify God.  I was deeply impressed that in order to see this passion realized, I sensed God’s urging on the need to herald this incredible incarnation and call Sports Ministries to take up this same incarnational mindset and approach.

I thought about reminding Sports Ministries to take the initiative to be with the people outside the kingdom and not just wait for them to come to them.  I thought about the value of playing with and not against those outsiders if we are going to one of them.

These are two ways to be with them, one of them and reflect the Son’s incarnation.  There are many more.  If you think of any, let me know!  Better yet, write a blog for us about it.

After all, we all need to regularly get BACK TO THE BASICS!

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.

Responding to Brokenness

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.

Written by Bob Schindler

Stuart Weir

Verité Sport exists to promote a Christian presence in sport, to take the teachings of the Bible and to apply them to sport. While Verité Sport is a new missionary organization, its Executive Director, Stuart Weir, has been involved in Sports ministry for over 25 years.Read their resources here.