If your answer to this question is , “No,” maybe you are thinking like many others who say, “God has more important things to concern himself with than our sports.” This is the common reason given, but this answer trivializes sports and limits God’s love, leaving us wondering what else isn’t important enough in our lives to garner God’s concern.
If you say “Yes,” maybe you are thinking like coaches or athletes who declare, “God blessed our efforts,” or “God’s favor is on us,” both after wins, insinuating that God’s favor is on a particular team or person – the winning one.
This answer trivializes God and makes his love conditional, leaving us ashamed – wondering what we have done wrong when we lose – or proud – thinking of all we did right when we win.
Does God Care Who Wins? challenges each of these common answers and discusses their implications while encouraging more dialogue on the question. In the book, Bob Schindler gives what he sees as the answer that not only honors God but also brings meaning and passion to sports.
Hear what other readers have to say –
“This DGCWW question is a great conversation starter within our ministry with Istrouma Sports coaches, parents, older players and also coaches outside of our ministry. My heart is to use the question to glorify God and have the Holy Spirit reveal the heart of the one I am having the conversation with to himself. 80 percent [of those I ask] are emphatic in saying no. So the next question I ask is what else doesn’t God care about? In ministry it leads to conversations regarding so many topics: God’s great care, God’s great creation of gifts, talents and abilities, Why Sports?, Win or Lose for What?, Glory, Winning as desire, Brokenness of sport, our insecurities revealed, sport as worship, redeeming sports. All of these topics are used to bring the conversation to a personal level and through the relationship that has been developed see where the Lord is in their life.” – M.L. Woodruff, Sports Outreach Minister at Istrouma Baptist Church
“I’ve read a lot of articles and books on the integration of faith and sports. IMO, this is the best resource out there on the subject.” – Tim Briggs, Church Planter/Pastor of Steadfast Church
“..to say that this book made a change in my life is an understatement. After reading this book, I am awestruck by the amount of love and care shown towards me in even the smallest of things by my Creator.” – Seth Wright, Student Athlete
“Bob Schindler forces us to wrestle with what appears to be the superficial and how God views us and our desires. He takes us to a deeper level of understanding God and how He wired each of us for His glory and purpose, even when it comes to winning … and losing. My love for God grew as Bob unpacked his own life journey as it related to his desires, goals, disappointments, and his dogged pursuit of knowing God.” – Gary Pine, Director of Athletics Azusa Pacific University
“I entered [reading the book] as a ‘former’ athlete; expecting the finer points only to apply in hindsight. Boy was I wrong! God cares about my competition today, my work today, and my ongoing thirst for glory.” – Nate Pratt, Vice President of Institutional Services Dimensional Fund Advisors
“Bob’s book has deeply challenged how I view the foundational aspects of sports ministry, particularly when it comes to competition. I have found that there are many helpful sports ministry foundational topics to teach on: Identity, Motivation, etc, but I believe how we view competition as arguably at the top of the list of importance… DGCWW has impacted my overall approach to sports ministry and helped me more deeply format my own definition and understanding of a Christ-centered view on competition.” – Stephen Jackson, Former Professional Soccer Player
Additional Resources –
Click here to download the FREE DGCWW Discussion Guide
See below for a FREE three part study on the topic of the book, complete with a leader's guide:
Download: DGCWW Whole Handout
Download: DGCWW Summary Handout
Another resource we are excited to share with you is this video below. We hosted a webinar to discuss the question “Does God Care Who Wins?” and the topic of Redeemed Competition. If you would like to be emailed about future webinars like these you can sign up using this link.