Combatting Compartmentalization: Sports for the Glory of God

We have established that we live in a compartmentalized world – with tragic results in life and in sports. Coaches, who appear calm and cool outside of sports, may lose it on the court or field. Players, who espouse Christian ethics and values, may cheat in order to win. The bigger problem is that few think this is a problem!

If you agree and see the compartmentalized life in contrast to what God intended, you hopefully are asking, “What can be done about this problem of compartmentalization?” 

The answer – INTEGRATION

To integrate is to 1) bring together or incorporate (parts) into a whole; 2) to make up, combine, or complete to produce a whole or a larger unit, as parts do; 3) to unite or combine.

This is what Paul had in mind when he said, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

In saying “Whatever you do,” Paul points out the reality that life is full of all kinds of seemingly disconnected things – work, entertainment, sleeping, eating, church, returning email, voting in elections. The same could be said about sports – warm ups, cool downs, plays, time between plays, coaching.  There are many “whatevers” in “whatever you do,” don’t you think?

Yet, after affirming the diversity of our lives, he startlingly states “Do it all.” He calls us to resist the tendency to build walls between these activities and compartmentalize them and unite them, integrate them, bring them together and “incorporate them into a whole.”

How can all of life and sports – all the “whatever we do”– become a “do it all”?

Paul’s answer – by doing them all “for the glory of God”! Pursuing the glory of God becomes the key to tearing down the walls that compartmentalize our lives and bring them into one unity.

But what does it mean – “do it all for the glory of God”?

As I have asked people this question, the answers I get show why we are so compartmentalized. We don’t know what this unifying principle means, so how can we obey it, and see its power to bring this integration?

When it comes to God, the Scriptures show us his glory has two components:

• The inherent nature, the internal possession, the inner quality of his magnificence, his absolute unparalleled greatness – the glorious splendor of his majesty

• The outer recognition of this inherent greatness

We will call the first component – His flame.  The second – His fame.

Seeing these two components helps me understand this unifying principle. I don’t do anything for the first component of his glory, his flame. This splendor of his majesty is secure and stable, beyond tarnish by anything I do.

It is this second component, his fame, that brings “whatever I do” unity and meaning. Since God is worthy of “the whole earth being filled with his glory” – his acclaim, his praise, his honor, Paul says do all of the whatever we do for this fame.

Do you see what this means? Paul says that the way I do what I do can actually bring fame, recognition, honor to the greatness of God – no matter what it is that I do.  This means everything means something – when it is done for the glory of God. This glory, this fame is the unifying, the integrating principle.

Historically, when cultures have gotten this – the fact that everything is “sacred,” there is no second rate occupations, no secular activities, everything has meaning – it has transformed the cultures. Luther declared this truth through the Reformation and the result – some of if not the greatest music, architecture, and literature the world has ever seen. All from men and women who did “whatever they did, they did it all for the glory of God.”

Could we see another such revolution in sports? That depends upon each one of us to get it and then call others to get it. For each of us to resist the pull toward compartmentalization and to heed this call to integrate every aspect of our sports world under the unifying principle of the glory of the One who alone is worthy of such honor, such glory, such praise.

When we get it, when we integrate our lives under this grand ideal, everything matters. Every bit of every game, of every practice matters, and we are left crying out – “Not to us, not to us, but to your name give glory.”

Compartmentalized Sports

It is all around us.  Examples abound but the one we all have seen – leaders in various arenas of life who claim their private life failures don’t influence their public job performance.  They say they can cheat, betray, steal, and lie in the privacy of their home yet we are to trust that this won’t spill over into their roles on the job.  In other words, they claim that “over there doesn’t affect over here.”

As Christians, we often adopt this compartmentalized view of the world.  We use words like “secular” and “sacred” and advocate God’s greater concern for the things of life we put in the “sacred” bucket more than the things in life we put in the “secular” bucket… with tragic results.

You have seen the statistics.

• We are the wealthiest nation in the world with a significant number of us who claim to know the God (who is also known as the “Generous Outpourer” and who did not “spare his own son but gave him up for us all,” yet we give on average less than 4% of our income to charitable causes.

• Our attitudes and actions toward marriage, lying and other ethical areas of our lives mirror the world around us even in contradiction to the purposes and plans of God.

And our sports have not been spared.

For example, recent research was done with 100 Division III athletes.  They were all self-proclaimed Christians.  They were asked a series of questions about the impact of their Christianity on their participation in the sport.  The questions were basically in three categories or compartments, although not directly labeled as such.

The results were startling.  All 100 athletes said that their Christianity affected the way they acted before the game–they prayed or read something spiritual. All 100 said it affected them after they played–they prayed or went and talked to someone about Christianity.

The startling result was that NONE of the 100 athletes said by their answers that their Christianity affected them DURING the game–the way they played their sport.  The end result becomes Christian coaches who teach their players to cheat or Christian college presidents who alter star players' grades to keep them eligible for the championship just to name a few.

Compartmentalization at work again, but this is not the way God sees the world or the way he calls us to view it.

So, how do we answer the problem of compartmentalization?  INTEGRATION.

But how do we integrate all of life?  What is the one unifying principle that can connect every aspect of life? THE GLORY OF GOD.

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  1Corinthians 10:31

May we fight compartmentalization and pursue the integration of sports under the glory of God.

The Church and Sports–A Strange Relationship!

Over the years, the Local Church has had a strange, almost love/hate, relationship with sports. Three perspectives on sports have contributed to various expressions in that relationship.

1. The first perspective is that the Local Church thinks that sports are evil. They are secular and unspiritual. Some think followers of Christ should hate sports. Christians might be told, “don’t be involved with sports.” The relationship ends up as one of intolerance and disengagement.

2. The second perspective is that the Local Church thinks that it isn’t sports that are evil; it is the people playing sports who are. Followers of Christ are to hate those evil people who play sports. Christians are told to only play sports in “safe, Christian” leagues run by the Local Church for other Christians. The relationship ends up as one of tolerance and cautious engagement.

3. The third perspective is that the Local Church thinks that sports are good. Followers of Christ are to love sports. Christians are told so, maybe not directly, but are certainly encouraged by the example of others, to engage fully in any and every sports opportunity – whether to watch, play, or coach. We are enamored of sports. The relationship ends up as one of complete acceptance and unbridled engagement.

With those in mind, what kind of relationship do you have with sports? Which perspective do you see in yourself?

Most of us probably don’t fit into one category or the other but are a mixture of all three. Each of the three have been widely advanced and yet none of them is actually biblical.

At CEDE SPORTS, we want to encourage the following perspective on sports:

• Sports are built into God’s creation as an aspect of the fulfillment of our role as God’s image bearers. As such, they are good, as is all of God’s creation from before the Fall.

• Sports are seriously broken by the Fall. All sports. As such, they are now realms where the corruption of the Fall is manifest, particularly as we live out the pursuit of our own glory rather than God’s glory in sports.

• However, sports can be redeemed! Sports should not be shunned but rather should be engaged in wisely in order to redeem them for God’s glory by restoring them to God’s original design.

• This redemption, this restoration, of sports is part of the work God is doing in the world today through Jesus Christ – “through him to reconcile to himself all things.” Colossians 1:20

This perspective can dramatically change our relationship with sports. First, we acknowledge sports’ power to capture our hearts' devotion. Sports, like few other realms, are all about glory – mainly our glory – and we idolize sports as a result. With this perspective, we learn to repent of that idolatry, turning away from the enamored, idolatrous place that sports has in so many of our hearts today.

From there, we engage with sports. We do it cautiously, even introspectively, as we attempt to re-establish it as a place for God’s glory not ours, knowing how easily our hearts can be led back to our idolatry. We know something of the power of the world to conform our play, our coaching, and our spectating. Therefore, we renew our minds to the gospel and look expectantly to the Spirit of God to transform us in those realms. As we play, coach and cheer, we move to express God’s character, humbly acknowledging where we fall short in the process and joyfully grateful for every success in doing so. Sports become more and more a place to give and to serve, not to be served and to take.

As we do this, our relationship with sports goes from this historically strange one into something wonderful as we watch the power of God use us to redeem this realm for his glory.

For a great resource to further equip you to redeem sports, check out For the Love of the Game….a call for the redemption of sports!

For the Love of the Game Resource Page

“For the Love of the Game is a perfect resource for anyone involved in the world of sport.”  Steve Connor, former NFL FLOG-largeplayer

Sports are broken.  All sports.  All levels.

Do you wonder what you can do about this problem?  For the Love of the Game provides clarity to this confusing challenge of redeeming sports by building a biblical and practical framework for your efforts in whatever sport you play, coach, or watch.

Here is what others are saying about For the Love of the Game –

“For the Love of the Game is the single most important product/training that I would recommend for anyone in the Sports Ministry field.”  Cindy Bledsoe – Professional Tennis Coach, Director of Children’s Ministry, former Assistant Director of Sports Ministry

“Bob has presented his material, ”For the Love of the Game” numerous times to the Charlotte Eagles professional soccer team. His talks were inspiring and motivating to our coaching staff and players alike. I love the concept of unearthing treasures while we train and compete.”  Mark Steffens, Head Coach – Charlotte Eagles

“For the Love of the Game will change how you view sports and what it means to win. There are so many good “nuggets” of information you’ll want to watch the video multiple times.”  Scott Tyson, Director – Legacy Sports

Additional Resources:

Click here to see a trailer for the video series.

For the Love of the Game Video Part 1

For the Love of the Game Video Part 2

For the Love of the Game Video Part 3

The handouts provided below can be used to follow along and provide discussion for each video.

Handout #1

Handout #2

Handout #3

Practice Makes Progress

By: Jenny Young

I’ve always been an athletic girl playing an array of sports from volleyball to softball to basketball. Basketball, however, has always been my sport of choice. I enjoy the skills developed, the ability to play as a team, the pace, and the creative play. I love controlling the ball in my hands with a bounce or a throw. When I am left to play a sport with my feet, which requires a different skill/mindset, I am often left unbalanced. This becomes a challenge in some sports and can be greatly frustrating for me. I love playing sports and I enjoy playing them well. But over the years, I’ve realized I have a hard time letting myself go and enjoying something without “perfecting” it first.  

You’ve likely heard of the common phrase, “Practice makes Perfect.” It’s one I've heard from a very young age and lived by. I have seen this way of thinking take up more room in my heart and life than I care to admit. The idea of perfection has not only revealed itself through sports, but also through relationships, and through my years of ministry. 

In the last few years, I was pushed out of my comfort zone by coaching something new. Soccer for me is not a natural sport to play or coach. Yet, for the past two fall sports seasons, I have coached a youth kids soccer team. Undoubtedly, some kids know more about the sport than I do! I am learning different things about coaching younger kids. I am learning a sport I know little about. Lastly, I'm learning what I value most about myself and others. 

I have been constantly thinking about how to keep the mission of my ministry in its proper view, yet also discerning my own goals/motives for the kids. There have been challenges during my first few practices as I learn along with the kids I am coaching. The kids may struggle with keeping attention or understanding why we play the way we do. But I hope to make the sport fun for the kids, allowing them to play a different position and get the chance to learn new skills by going through the fundamentals.

This new experience of practice brings a familiar phrase to the forefront, except I prefer a different result. “Practice makes PROGRESS.” Growth and development as an athlete, leader, friend, and individual takes time and practice. Progress does not mean everything will be perfect. Perfection should not be our true measure of growth. I fight to believe this not only for myself, but to help these kids and families believe this as well. Our growth as a team is all about the progress daily and weekly. Our growth is found in the way we talk, the way we play, the way we see each other on the pitch, and the way we approach the practice. 

I am thankful for all of the ways I am reminded of this truth on a practical level, but also on a spiritual level. Jesus was the only perfect man and He would turn to His father continually in prayer. I cannot attain perfection in my own strength, but because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I find salvation from my imperfection. Because of Christ, I can continually approach the Father in prayer for help and comfort in times of needs. When I do, I am strengthened in my pursuits and reminded that in our practice (of sports or anything else), we find freedom in progress not perfection.

Should We Pray to Win?

“Should we pray to win?” was one of the questions from Christianity Today to the Houston Astros Spanish-speaking Chaplain, Juan Jesus Alaniz. The article ran during the 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers that the Astros eventually won in the 7th game. To that question in particular Juan responded, “Oh yeah. We’re more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.”

So should we pray to win? Just as with Juan, this is a common question asked of Sports Chaplains, athletes and coaches who declare themselves Christians, or anyone who is in Sports Ministry in general. I want to take a stab at this question and, in doing so, reflect on what can happen if we don’t pray and what can happen if we do. 

What if we don’t pray for wins?

Any athlete or coach is competing because he or she wants to win. That person may or may not want to win at all costs, but the heart desire of competitors is to be honored for their skill. This reality is shown by our longing for trophies like the one that went to the Astros.

With this in mind, if we don’t pray for the win, I would question how well we are acknowledging the desires of our heart. I would wonder just how honest we are being with ourselves or with God about what we really want.

If we do acknowledge this desire to win but don’t pray, we may be closing the door on the possibility through this prayer for God’s transforming power to change our hearts. This is significant. The Story of Redemption tells us we were made for glory and honor but lost that glory when we turned from God. Since that day, our hearts have been searching for glory, apart from God, seen so clearly in the realm of sports and our thirst for championships. Even when a person turns to God in response to his offer to redeem and restore them to glory in Christ, we still struggle with establishing this glory on our own. 

Our prayer for winning may be an expression of that struggle. We may find through our prayer just how badly we want to win. Our prayer may actually expose the self-centered nature of our desire to win and of our request. This realization could open us to our need for turning away from that self-centeredness to God and the pursuit of his will rather than our own.

If we don’t pray, we may miss the opportunity for this needed transformation. This exposing nature of prayer is one of the reasons the Scriptures has verses like the following: 

“Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6

Notice, the writer speaks about WHAT to pray. “In everything” includes the game that is about to be played. 

He also speaks about HOW to pray. “By prayer and supplication” implies a worshipful asking. Worshipful would include coming to God believing he hears our prayers and cares about our prayers. Asking would, in that faith, offer what is on our hearts to him, including our desire to win.

If you don’t pray, let me ask you, “Why don’t you pray to win?”

I have asked others this question and their answers typically boil down to two:

• “God doesn’t care who wins anyway so why pray.”

• “It is too risky to open up that desire. God may deny, even squash it.” 

If you resonate with the first answer, I would ask to think about how you know he doesn’t care and point you to a larger treatise of this subject in Chapter 2 of the book Does God Care Who Wins? 

If you resonate with the second answer, I would ask you to consider your view of God in light of the above verse and the one immediately following it:

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 

When the writer mentions the “peace of God” and guarding your “hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” he wants us to see the heart of God for prayer. Prayer is designed to bring us face to face with God, with the result being peace and deepened connection, not fear and distance. Not praying about winning removes us from that audience and the transformational nature of it.

What if we do pray for wins?

If we pray for the win and win, we ought to be free to embrace the win but careful not to let it establish something about our identity. God doesn’t answer the winners’ prayers because they are more deserving of the affirmative answer than the other team’s prayer. God answers these prayers because the wins and the losses are a part of his will, his kingdom coming to “earth as it is heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

With this in mind, winners are free to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over all of creation, including the game, and accept His will with grace and humility embracing and enjoying the glory that comes from winning. At the same time, they should also acknowledge the win as undeserved and just a taste, an echo, of the real glory promised us in Christ, received at the consummation of all things. (Colossians 1:27 – Christ in you the hope of glory.) 

This perspective is important because of the temptation for the winners to let the win establish something about their identity or the quality of their prayers. If we are honest, we can admit an awareness of that temptation and even our succumbing to it by thinking we prayed better or are better when we win. This reality lies deep in our hearts even though it is wrong and is a great distortion of the gospel of Jesus Christ (For a further exposition of this idea, see Chapter 3 of the book Does God Care Who Wins?)

The opposite side of this reality is just as prevalent. If we pray and lose, we can easily think God didn’t answer our prayer because there is something wrong with our prayer. Or worse, there is something wrong with us! Both of these ideas of deserved defeat are just as much a distortion of the gospel and God’s ways for his children as the distortion of deserved victory.  

If we pray and lose, we are instead called to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over all creation, including our game, and trust that God had a higher, better purpose in answering our prayer the way he did. We can accept God’s will with grace and humility, allowing the disappointment to be real and owned. We can acknowledge and allow that disappointment to move us toward longing for the undeserved glory that will one day be ours in Christ at the consummation. 

Should we pray to win? Absolutely. How we pray to win matters. We should pray with an open, humble heart, willing to submit to God’s work of transformation of our hearts and our prayers and God’s good, acceptable and perfect will for us whether we win or lose. 

Great Questions to Ask Yourselves, New Hires, and New Volunteers

I recently ran across this quote from Paul David Tripp in a Resurgence blog that is an excerpt from Tripp’s book,

Dangerous Calling.

Because of what I do, I have heard church leaders, in moments of pastoral crisis, say to me many times, “We didn’t know the man we hired.”

As I read this I was struck by the application of this idea to a broader context than just pastors. First of all, ourselves. I so often see in myself and in talking with others that we really don’t know the person we are. This is also true of the volunteers we recruit and the other people we hire.

To avoid this tendency, Tripp contends, “But what does knowing the man mean? It means knowing the true condition of his heart (as far as that is possible).”

This is no small task, but to aid us in that journey, Tripp gives some great questions to ask ourselves and others. 

Here are the first 10:

1. What does he really love?

2. What does he despise?

3. What are his hopes, dreams, and fears?

4. What are the deep desires that fuel and shape the way he does ministry?

5. What are the anxieties that have the potential to derail or paralyze him?

6. How accurate is his view of himself?

7. Is he open to the confrontation, critique, and encouragement of others?

8. Is he committed to his own sanctification?

9. Is he open about his own temptations, weaknesses, and failures?

10. Is he ready to listen to and defer to the wisdom of others?(For the rest of the list, click here.)

To apply them to ourselves, they simply become:

1. What do I really love?

2. What do I despise?

3. What are my hopes, dreams, and fears?

4. What are the deep desires that fuel and shape the way I do ministry?

5. What are the anxieties that have the potential to derail or paralyze me?

6. How accurate is my view of himself?

7. Am I open to the confrontation, critique, and encouragement of others?

8. Am I committed to my own sanctification?

9. Am I open about my own temptations, weaknesses, and failures?

10. Am I ready to listen to and defer to the wisdom of others?

So let’s break this tendency and ask ourselves and others these questions. We hope this resource will be a helpful tool in your ministry! As you do, remember the qualifier Tripp adds “as far as that is possible” and cry out for insight to the God “who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” Psalm 33:14,15

How to Measure Success in Ministry ?

​​I came across this on the 9 Marks website. I really appreciated the tone of this because I fear the church looks to the business world and their metrics too much in trying to measure ministry. Here’s the principles they listed:

1. Measuring the supernatural? Supernatural fruitfulness cannot always be measured.

2. Success equals faithfulness. One of our most important criteria for success should be whether or not a man is faithfully preaching the Word and living a life of conformity to the Word.

3. More than heads in attendance. The number of people attending a church is not the only factor to be considered, but how much members are growing in holiness, how many leaders are being raised up, how many members are leaving for the mission field, and so forth. Such factors are far richer and more complex, and are often better indicators of the faithfulness and success of a man’s ministry.

4. Success not always visible. A faithful and “successful” ministry may not present obvious and immediate fruit. Adoniram Judson didn’t see a single convert for seven years. Moreover, initial responses can prove hugely deceptive over time (Matt. 13:1-23). And how much “fruit” did the prophet Jeremiah get to see?

5. But visible fruit should be considered. God gives different gifts to different people. It is entirely possible for a man to labor faithfully at something he’s not gifted to do. In such a case, there will be little visible fruit, which should be considered in assessing his long-term plans and support. Not all Christians should ask the church to set aside a portion of their incomes to support them for full-time ministry. Visible fruit is a part of that consideration.

6. What’s the bottom line? Success in ministry primarily means faithfulness, but attempting to humbly and cautiously evaluate the fruit of a man’s ministry should play a supporting role in weighing success in ministry.

At CEDE SPORTS, measuring success is one of the issues we help Sports Ministries deal with by developing an appropriate MEASURE for success (that includes some of the factors mentioned above), an appropriate METHOD for using that measure, and an appropriate MOTIVE for the whole endeavor.  Below is a video that looks at some of those ideas.

Going for the Gold: Measuring Success in Sports Ministry on Vimeo. If we can further help you in measuring the success of your ministry, please contact us.

Christianity–Before, During, or After the Game?

100 Division III athletes, all who identified themselves as Christians, were asked a series of questions that probed into the impact of their Christianity on their sports involvement. While the questions weren’t asked in exactly these three categories – BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER the Game – the answers broke down into these three.

The good news – 100 of these athletes said their Christianity affected them BEFORE and AFTER the game. They prayed, they read something, they talked to someone specifically.

The bad news is how many of them said their Christianity affected them DURING the Game. How many do you think? By the fact that I call it bad news, the number is low. Just how low is it?

Zero.

That’s right. None of the players saw their Christianity as affecting them during their time on the court, in the field.

This seems rather too difficult to believe. Here are two supporting stories for you skeptics:

1) I shared this research recently at a Coaches Training. Afterwards, a young, tall woman approached me. Here is what she said:

I played D2 Volleyball at a “Methodist” school. We would ALWAYS say the Lord’s Prayer before the game as a team, I personally would pray for strength and safety as well before the game. If we won we would thank the Lord for the win—— But never once did we pray DURING the game. I found that every interesting and actually had never realized it until Bob made me think about it! There is no reason why we shouldn’t ask God for strength and endurance DURING a game! We should also give him thanks after a game (even if we lost) for him giving us the strength to do our best! Glory should be given to God before, during, and after all games win or lose!

2) In a Sports Illustrated article in February 2013, one collegiate athlete identified as being involved in a Christian Sports Ministry Group said in response to the researcher, Sharon Stoll of the University of Idaho, when she asked about the role of intimidation in sports:

“Ma’am, my job is to kick them in the head, knee them in the groin, stand over them and tell them never to get up.” Stoll then asked how the linebacker would play against Jesus. “And the guy looked at me and said, ‘Ma’am, I’m as Christian as the next guy, but if I’m playing Jesus the Christ, I play the same way. I leave God on the bench.”

“I leave God on the bench.”

What we are saying in all this is that God belongs outside the lines of the fields or courts, not inside. Once a player steps across that line and onto the field or court, we leave our Christianity behind.

However, that perspective is not the way God sees it!

“Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink (or play football or volleyball) do it all for the glory of God.” 1Corinthians 10:31 (with the parenthetical comments added)

God sees the largest to the smallest aspect of everything we do, including our sports, as connected with his glory. This is the way he designed all of life. This is why Paul calls us to this connection, in recognition of the difference between God’s and our perspective.

Yet, we shouldn’t point only to athletes in discussing this problem. The compartmentalized view of life with its secular/sacred dichotomy is alive and well all around today’s Christianity.

If you don’t believe me, look at the stats on how we treat money and what we give or how we treat marriage, or how we conduct business. God is often left out in these arenas and considered irrelevant just as he is on the athletic fields and courts. George Barna has done a great job of providing the stats to fully back up this assertion.

If you are troubled by all this, great. Honestly, I share it with you for that very purpose.

We need a cry for a different reality. We need a cry for a different paradigm – one where Christianity and the gospel aren’t segregated from or injected into sports but rather integrated with sports.

Reaching People Through the "Middle Ground" of Sports

Do you ever wonder – “How do I really go about reaching the people around me?”  or more broadly, “How does our church reach the culture in which God has placed us?”

At CEDE SPORTS, we want everyone in sports ministry to wrestle with these questions, whether you are in sports ministry as a vocation or as a volunteer.

To help guide us in answer to those questions, I ran across a webcast with Tim Keller and Gabe Lyons where they discussed the topic of living in a post-Christian world.  Below are some excerpts:

Tim Keller:

“My understanding of how you reach culture is Christians have to be extremely like the people around them, and yet at the same time extremely unlike them… If Christians are not unlike them, they won’t challenge the culture, but if they’re not like them, they won’t persuade the culture. Now, hitting that middle ground is hard.”

“Before the coming of Christ believers were culturally different…Christ comes, and now you can be a Christian in every tongue, tribe, people, and nation. Jesus gets rid of the ceremonial laws and all those things that made Christians culturally strange. In that sense, [now] your neighbor is like you.”

“There’s got to be a balance. On the one hand … traditional Christian marketplace ministries have put all the emphasis on spiritual support, and that’s fine and very important…But rather than just simply evangelizing, recycling and nurturing people inside their vocation, they ought to be asking ‘how does the gospel affect the way in which I do my work, how does it shape my work?’”

Read more here.

First of all, in looking at what Keller says about being like but unlike, I thought, ‘what a great place sports provides for doing just this.‘

When we use sports as a bridge to allow people to get close to us, one of the most consistent comments I hear from converted adults is “I found out these people were just like me.” Sports can provide an arena of regular observation for the unconverted to cast down the stereotypes they hold about Christians – if we take the time to reach over the bridge of sports and get to know the unconverted and allow them close enough to get to know us.

Sports can also provide a great place for us to show that we are unlike them. If we tear down the idol of sports in our hearts, if we play for the glory of God rather than our glory, if we make it our goal to show God off in the way we play, then the unconverted will see something very different from themselves.

This difference goes far beyond outer behavior like pointing to the sky when something good is done.  It comes from deep within the heart of a redeemed person who has allowed God to sanctify them by spreading that redemption to the way they play, coach or spectate sports. Sports – because of its power to cut open the heart – gives us a great arena to display this difference.

With this redemption, Keller, in commenting about workplace ministries, emphasizes the need to focus not just on spiritual support but also asking the question, “How does the gospel affect the way in which I do my work, how does it shape my work?”

Agreeing with this idea, at CEDE SPORTS we apply that question to sports by asking, “How does the gospel affect the way in which I do sports, how does it shape my work?”

These two ideas – 1) being like and unlike  2) where our unlikeness is focused on my sports looking differently through the impact of the gospel – are why we focus on both the bridge (like) and the laboratory (unlike) of sports.

If you are looking for some ideas on how to better utilize sports to create this middle ground, contact us at CEDE SPORTS. We exist to “redeem the idol of sports and those who play them by leading a global movement of gospel centered sports ministries in local churches.”