You may not think these two ideas – gravity and gospel centered sports ministry – have a lot in common. Hopefully after you read this post you will see the relationship.
Gravity is one of the “forces of nature.” It acts on us all the time, everywhere we go – unless you are Sandra Bullock!! It is our friend when we play and our foe when we fall.
For us at CEDE SPORTS, we think of Gospel Centered Sports Ministry like a bicycle wheel where the Gospel is the hub. To illustrate that idea we use this diagram that outlines the three components of a wheel – the hub (power source), the spokes (the support and power transfer) and the rim (the place where movement takes place).
What I want to suggest is that each of these outcomes or aspects of movement to the ministry – effective outreach, life transformation, authentic community, redemption of sports, merciful expressions, integration with the local church, and multiplication – don’t just happen like gravity. In fact, like gravity, the opposite of each of these takes place.
We “naturally” move
– toward isolation and away from non-believers
– toward broken competition
– toward “hiding” our faults from others
– adopting the “rules” and games of the world
– selfishness that disregards the needy around us
– organizational “siloing”
– addition or no product at all
If that is true, we are fighting against “spiritual gravity” if we are trying to lead gospel centered sports ministries.
Yet, just like natural gravity, this “spiritual gravity” can be overcome. To do so, two components need to be in place. The first is the power of the Holy Spirit. He is THE agent of transformation, the kind we are talking about here in gospel centered sports ministry. The second is our intentionality. (I distinguish these for clarity with this qualification – even our intentionality is a product of the Holy Spirit.)
We must be intentional while depending on the Holy Spirit to empower us through the hub, the Gospel, to put in place these spokes –
– using sports as a laboratory and a bridge
– renewal to the truths of the gospel
– confession of where we continually fail at believing and living the Gospel
– repentance from those lies and bad beliefs that drive our wrong behavior and
– believing and trusting in the Gospel throughout our days
In all that, looking to the Holy Spirit to bring about what only he can do – these outcomes.
At CEDE SPORTS, it is our delight to come alongside and support Sports Ministers and Sports Ministries who desire to live out this intentionality and this dependence. If you are one of those people, we would love to serve you in those pursuits and help you “break the laws of gravity and fly!”