Does God Care Who Wins the Super bowl?

By CEDE SPORTS Staff, Baird Yasenchok

The Super Bowl is right around the corner and the teams are set: the 49ers vs the Chiefs.  The advertisers are lined up: 30 second slots sold out months earlier than expected.  Usher is ready to take the stage at halftime: claiming: “One performance. 30 Years in the making”. The teams, their fans, and plenty of A-listers will descend on Las Vegas in the coming days.  

For CBS, no second of the night will go unaccounted for.  For the fans, the day could not carry more anticipation.  And for the players? Well, they have been dreaming about this chance since the day they first put on pads and stepped on a field in youth sports.  Nothing is grander, louder, or brighter than the Allegiant Stadium lights on the night of February 11th.  

Back home, behind the television screens, you can find a wide range of viewers. Some people tune in to the game for the commercials.  Some for the free concert, with a side of sport. Some for the love of the game, even if they don’t belong to one of the competing fanbases.  While others are watching every down and cheering or groaning as the game progresses. They have studied up, knowing the predictions, the weak spots, and the secret weapons on the field.  Watching with rapt attention as the seconds tick away.  They are fully invested.  They feel it in their bones. 

These fans care who wins the game.  The players and coaches obviously care who wins.  For them, so much attention is on the outcome of this game.  But what about the rest of us: does your neighbor care who wins? Your boss? Your pastor? Does your 4th grade math teacher care who wins? What about the lady you met last week at the post office? Your barista from this morning? Does God care who wins the Super Bowl? 

Sure, we are asking about the biggest stage of football, but does the answer change if it is a Pop Warner league instead?  Does His care change if we are the ones playing or if we are simply spectating? Does he care who wins the high school conference match or the olympic trials? Is he paying attention to your first round of golf or does he only start noticing once your handicap goes down? What about who wins the board game during family game night?   

Our yes or no answer has more implications than we first realize. It shapes how we view competition, training, the champions, the losers, and most importantly, God himself. 

 If you are interested in thinking more deeply about this question, let Bob Schindler’s book, Does God Care Who Wins?, lead you through scripture, culture, and personal reflection.  If you are a coach, sports minister, athlete, or fan, you should desire to parse through these ideas and know what weight your efforts hold in God’s eyes.  Whether you read it on your own or discuss it with your team, you are sure to walk away with a greater appreciation for your involvement in sports and God’s involvement in our lives. 

You can order your copy of the book on Amazon or directly from the publisher.  

I invite you to leave a comment with your Super Bowl prediction and of course, we would love to hear your thoughts on the book as you dive deeper into the question. Happy reading and happy viewing on Sunday!

Consider God's Will in Your Ideal Outcomes

Written by CEDE SPORTS Staff, Hudson Belk

What is God’s will for your ministry in 2024? One thing I was encouraged to do leading into 2024 was to consider my Ideal Outcomes for 2024. So, I sat down and prayerfully considered the question, “if God did more than I could think or imagine in our ministry, what might that be?”

Above all, the exercise led me to worship, prayer and repentance. Though the idea is probably not new to anyone, I still found it helpful. First, it set my sight on where we wanted to go as a ministry before we started working on getting there. But, to figure out where I wanted to go, the practice immediately makes me think theologically about the different “Wills” of God in Scripture at a basic level. First, I considered the “Prescriptive Will of God” (what God has commanded). God has called me in my ministry, out of love for Him and others, to be faithful in my obedience to Him and His commands (John 14:15; Romans 12:1-2).

This first caused me to align my thinking and desires with what God has clearly called me to in 2024. Though it seems obvious in ministry, I’m not sure we always start there. Start with what God has declared, prescribed and what we know pleases Him! As I thought about what pleases Him, I thought of our obedience and faithfulness to His commands/commissions, His not taking pleasure in the death of anyone (Ez 18:32), and of His pleasure in accomplishing His sovereign, redemptive purposes (Eph 1, Rom 9).

As I prayed and meditated on this, it enlarged and grew my heart and desires for what I longed for in our ministry and gave direction for how I may faithfully minister this year. It gave me a target to then evaluate our ministry practices. However, it also pushed me to consider God’s “Sovereign Will.” Many of my Ideal Outcomes may not come about this year. Honestly, there is grief in my heart already knowing that. However, the practice made me run to King Jesus and rest in God’s Sovereign rule and plan. I am sure 2024 will not look like the story I wrote out in my Ideal Outcomes.

Yet, this practice allows me to set my course on God’s Revealed Will and my heart can rest in God’s Hidden Will (Deut 29:29). For God is good, and He is indeed in control! To me, this whole practice reflected the life of a Christian; an opportunity to worship, to repent, to realign with God’s purposes, pursue obedience by faith and to rest in God sovereign will. I write this excited to passionately give myself to the ministry God has called me to, but doing so in dependence on Him, resting in God’s supervisor and provision of everything that happens.

May the Lord bless 2024 for His glory and our good!

Reading Scripture with Your Heart

Written by CEDE SPORTS STAFF, Jenny Young

As we reflect on the ways we've grown in our faith over the years, this one practice has changed my faith: Learning to read the scriptures with the heart. This practice has helped me by inviting the Spirit of God to be my guide while reading. This practice allows me to read with both mind and heart, which isn't something I've practiced in it's fullness. I am still growing in this practice of learning to listen, reflect, pray and respond in obedience to what I am reading in scripture.

I learned this practice from a women's small discipleship group with four other ladies from my church. We were reading through the New Testament for a year together and began with this approach of reading with the heart. For example, we would begin with an assigned reading for the week. On the first reading, I’d read it through to get the context and the message of the passage. Then I’d read it through a second time using a New Testament Bible we were given I'd marked it up by highlight any passage that began to speak to me or that I felt was important. Then I’d do a third reading of only the highlighted sections and see if there might had been a phrase or even a word that rose to the surface in my mind and heart. Usually it will be a very brief phrase or sentence. I’d then memorize that, live with it for the day/week, and allow it to form in my heart. We would then come the following week with what we had been reading and learning from with our heart to share with group.

I continue to learn this practice of reading with the heart. It has opened up a way of listening to hear from God (not what I want to get out of it) as I read, and changing me along the way. I’m reading with the heart; reading to be transformed by God’s Word, to submit to it, and to be taught by it. I saw this quote recently on reading with the heart, "we read the Bible with our minds to see the glory of God, and with our hearts to savor the glory of God."

We would love to hear from you on simple practices that have changed your faith.

A few passages to encourage you as you consider new spiritual disciplines and practices:

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." Eph. 1:17-18

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12.

Building on New Foundation

Written by: Bob Schindler

The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon,  once said:

“I plead this day for those who cannot plead for themselves, namely, the great outlying masses of the heathen world.  Our existing pulpits are tolerably well supplied, but we need men who will build on new foundations.  Who will do this?”

Do you hear what he is saying?  (If you are like me, you may need to reread what he said to get it.)  He is pleading for men and women who will go beyond the people who are currently attending church and build on what Spurgeon calls “new foundations.”  In other words, these men and women will take the gospel beyond the walls of the existing church.

Sports is a great tool to do that very thing.  Sports can bridge the gap between the local church and the people of her communities.  Sports can be the bridge to connect believers and non-believers and provide the context for significant spiritual conversations around the issues of life and the gospel.

Like Spurgeon, will you plead with God to send out workers into His harvest through the tool of sports, to raise up men and that “will build on new foundations” through sports?  Will you even look for new ways to use sports to be such a bridge and be one of these “new foundations” builders?

When to Try Something New

Guest Post by Brian Jones

I thought since it was nearing Christmas I would remind us one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history where Flick got his tongue stuck to the flag pole in the movie A Christmas Story.

Flick: Are you kidding? Stick my tongue to that stupid pole? That’s dumb!

Schwartz: That’s ’cause you know it’ll stick!

Flick: You’re full of it!

Schwartz: Oh yeah?

Flick: Yeah!

Schwartz: Well I double-DOG-dare ya!

Ralphie as adult: [narrating] NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a “triple dare you”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare.

Schwartz: I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya!

I am approached all the time by friends, neighbors, church members, and even staff members with the newest greatest idea for sports ministry.  Things like a barbecue cookoff, scuba diving, and even a dog costume contest.  Now, these are great ideas but sometimes these great ideas don’t fit into the ministry.  And yet other times the idea might be okay and I’ll say to myself, “sounds good…maybe I’ll try it.”

So how do you know when to try new things or not?

I start by asking myself three basic questions that I hope can serve and help you, too, when put in a similar position:

1.  Will it bring glory to God?

2.  What is the outreach potential?

3.  Do I have adequate support from others?

Along the way I have made some tough decisions on trying new things or shutting down old things. But thinking through these few questions almost always gives me enough clarity to move forward one way or the other.

I’d like to conclude with a quote frequently used by Randy Pope, the pastor of Perimeter Church in Duluth, GA.   “Dare to attempt something so great for the Kingdom of God that it is doomed to failure, lest Christ be in it!”

"It's the hard that makes it great."

Guest post by Scott Tyson

“It’s the hard that makes it great.” (Jimmy Dugan, A League of Their Own)

Coaching at any level and in any sport is challenging. If it was easy, sports outreach ministry leaders would not be scrambling two days before practices officially begin to fill the 8-10 vacant coaching spots (at least that has been my experience at times in the past). If it was easy, it wouldn’t produce much of a reward. I often hear the following at the end of a 12-week season (coach comes up close and starts to whisper in an apologetic tone), “Scott, I think I got more out of this than the kids.”

I know you are not coaching out of selfish reasons. I know you are not trying live vicariously through your kids by being their coach (or are you?). I’m confident your motives are pure. The “organizer” of the league called and ask for help. Your primary goal is to help fulfill a need and spend some extra time with your children doing something that is fun (better than working in the nursery or leading a Bible study). Some of you may even be attempting to actually have a real impact on one or more of the families. Bottom line – you signed up to coach for the right reasons.

But, who wouldn’t want to feel the way many coaches feel at the end? If you truly understand the mission and vision… if you put in the extra effort… if you view your role as “more than just a coach”…  you will be rewarded. You will benefit in ways you never imagined. Many of you already know what I’m talking about. Many of you have experienced it for yourselves. You also know that coaching is not easy. It takes planning and preparation. It takes patience. It takes time. It takes you out of your comfort zone if you are all “in”. Just like our opponents during competition, it takes us to a whole new level we never thought possible (or even thought about). I’ve taken hundreds of swings during softball batting practice and have yet to hit a homerun over the fence. However, during games, I’ve hit more than one (4 — but who is counting) – and yes all came on the same field as batting practice. I even hit homeruns in back-to-back games once. Why? Because competition raises my game to a whole new level.

Coaches have a unique ability to reach players when no one else can. My hope is that you take your role as a coach seriously. That you look at yourself as more than just a coach. That you understand the opportunity you have to impact someone’s life on an eternal level. What could be more rewarding than that? Avoid trying to ease your way through coaching. Make it “hard.” In the end, your efforts will be rewarded.

5 Fun Games for Young Soccer Players

All of the below games could be played with kids of any level but would particularly be good for kids 6 or under. Enjoy!

1. Pirate Treasure (Link); Skills Developed: Dribbling, defense

Create a grid about 30X30. Set up about 10 tall cones (the treasure) along one side of the grid. On the opposite side have each player (the pirates) start with a ball. 2-3 players will start inside the grid with an alternate color jersey on. They are defending the treasure (tall cones) along the side of the grid.

1. On the coaches command, the pirates attempt to dribble past the defenders in attempt to take the treasure.

2. To take the treasure, the players must knock down the cone with the ball.

3. Once they have knocked down the cone they must pick up the cone and take it back to their starting point while dribbling the ball.

4. If the pirates lose the ball to the defenders, they must start back over at the original starting point.

2. Snake in the Grass (Link); Skills Developed: Movement, spacing, dribbling

Create a small grid approximately 15X15 yards. All of the players should be inside the grid. The coach should designate two players to be the “snakes” by lying on their stomachs. Each of the players begin with one of their hands on the snakes in the grass.

When the coach yells “SNAKE IN THE GRASS” the non-snake players attempt to avoid the snakes as the snakes attempt to slither around on their stomach and touch a non-snake player. As a player is touched, that player too becomes a snake. The activity continues until everyone is a snake.

3. Red Light/Green Light; Skills Developed: Dribbling

This well known children’s game makes a great drill. All players start on one side of the
field with a ball. Coach yells “Green Light” and turns her back to the players. Yell “Red Light” and then turn back around. All players should have moved forward and now be standing still with one foot on the ball. Any player still moving or without his or her ball gets sent back to the starting line.

4. Traffic; Skills Developed: Dribbling, spacing, vision

Create a square playing area roughly 10 ft by 10 ft. Divide the players into two groups. Set
one group up on the north side of the square and the other team on the east side. Each player has a ball. On the start all players must cross the square, make the turn when they get to the other side and come back. Make it a race to see which team can be the first to get its players across and back 3 times.

5. Pass to Score; Skills Developed: Passing, spacing, vision

Divide the players into 2 equal teams and establish a playing area roughly half the size of
the field. Have the players spread out all over the playing area. Toss the ball in to start. The goal is to gain control of the ball and make 3 passes in a row between teammates. If the defense intercepts then that team tries to make 3 passes in a row. After a score of 3 successful passes, the coach restarts with a throw in. Play for a certain amount of time or until 10 points are scored.

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Written by Bob Schindler, COO of CEDE Sports

“Sports ministry in local churches is on the decline.”

I don’t remember when I first heard this assertion, but it has certainly been around for at least the last 10 years, since the Great Recession.  

Proponents of this perspective point to the following:

• Churches getting out of sports ministry 

• Sports ministries that serve local churches experiencing ongoing decline in the churches using their services

• Denominations reducing their efforts (or even eliminating them) to promote sports ministry

• National efforts to support the sports ministry movement closing their “doors”

While these claims have verifiable data, they represent only part of the picture. Before one can make the assertion that the number of churches doing sports ministry is on the decline there is another piece of the equation we must identify.  That is how many churches are getting into sports, rec and fitness during the same time frame considered when discussing churches getting out of it. 

Estimations

We can only be certain of this “net effect” when we know both the churches getting out and churches getting into the SRF movement.  

While I am not aware of any research to identify this plus number, there are some indicators that provide helpful insights.  According to research in 2010

• 36% of all churches have a sports and fitness initiative – either team sports, fitness activities or exercise classes 

• That number increased to 40% for evangelical churches 

If there are at least 350,000 churches in the USA with a conservative estimate of 80-100,000 of those being evangelical, this means that somewhere between 32,000 evangelical churches and 126,000  overall churches in the USA are involved in the SRF movement!!!

I recognize this is just one data point and doesn’t demonstrate any trend, but I point this out for us to get a better idea of the scale of the churches involved in the SRF movement.  When I got involved in the broader SRF movement in 2003, I heard estimates that were in the thousands. Now we have real research that tells us that number is at least in the tens of thousands and may actually get to a hundred thousand.  

The estimate – thousands to maybe ten thousand.

The actual – tens of thousands to maybe one hundred thousand.  

Encouraging Findings

I was way off in my estimation, and others were way off in theirs as well.  I am really astounded, a little humbled and also encouraged by this realization.  If this is true, this means there were lots and lots of churches in the US that are doing SRF ministry that no one really knows about.  

My own personal experience validated that reality.  I have the privilege of traveling and interacting with those in the SRF movement in a number of different regions in the US.  In those travels, I regularly run into churches who have been doing SRF ministry for some time yet have no contact with other churches, sports ministry organizations, or broader movement efforts.  

Building, Expanding

I also regularly find churches that are getting into SRF ministry, not getting out.  Churches that are building gyms/fitness facilities/fields to facilitate that ministry.  Churches that are hiring staff to develop that ministry for the first time.  

It is true that there are churches getting out of SRF ministry, but there are also churches out there that believe in the power and value of SRF ministry.  

Furthermore, if we think about 

• The growing interest in fitness and the growing involvement in fitness ministry by churches over the last 10-15 years 

• The developing work by churches among immigrants and refugees through sports, rec, and fitness

• The missional efforts of churches to send coaches, parents and players into community sports leagues

It is even possible to imagine a net positive effect on the number of churches involved in SRF ministry.  

While there is a need for more specific research on this net effect, with all that I have outlined in in mind, I would ask you to expand your perspective and consider a very different possibility for, a very different picture of, the status of SRF ministry in the USA.  I would ask you to look for signs of these encouraging trends.  They are all around us.  Look around for those churches who are starting SRF ministry or already doing it and who are not connected with other churches or any of the national SRF efforts.  Find them and help them get connected.  

Lastly, tell others what you find.  This different picture gives those of us invested in the SRF movement reasons for real encouragement and hope for the future.  

This is the perspective I have adopted and hope you will too. SRF ministry in local churches is on the rise!!!

 *I have shared these ideas on several occasions.  At Dr. Greg Linville’s request, I wrote this article for his book The Saving of Sports Ministry – The Soteriology of Sports Outreach available here.

7 Ways to Encourage Evangelism in Your Ministry

An article on Evangelism.net focuses on how to get new believers involved in evangelism. However, to me, the list could apply to anyone who is a leader in ministry, whether a new believer or a well-seasoned one.

The list goes as follows:

1.)    Be an example—people are watching what you do, and they tend to pay more attention to what you do than what you say. When new believers see other believers evangelizing, it encourages them to do the same.

2.)    Evangelize in teams—pair a more experienced evangelist with a newer convert. Whether it be witnessing in a park, church visitation, or simply visiting a friend you think would be open to the gospel, take along a new believer. Your experience will help them, and hopefully their newfound joy will encourage you.

3.)    Pray with them for specific people who are not believers—praying for the lost increases our love for the lost.

4.)    Realize that it is not about the numbers—God tells us to take the gospel to lost people, but it is God who does the saving, not us. With that in mind, we don’t need to feel like a failure if someone doesn’t trust Christ after we have shared the gospel (1 Cor. 3:6–8).

5.)    Remind them that fear is normal—it is an experience that everyone deals with. The Apostle Paul even asked for prayer for boldness, something he would not have needed to ask for if he didn’t have fear.

6.)    Tell them it is okay if they don’t have all the answers—It is okay to say, “I don’t know.” Unbelievers are more impressed by someone that admits they don’t know an answer than by someone who makes up an answer or acts like a know-it-all.

7.)    Help them learn a basic method—there are many good methods, but having one basic method that they can always use is a must. It frees them up to talk and listen, instead of worrying about what to say next.

Matters of the Meantime

By Jenny Young

Years ago, I and another SOAR staff member attended the NewSpring Leadership Conference in Anderson, SC. NewSpring Church has multiple campuses throughout South Carolina. This conference was packed with six pastors and leaders from across the country who spoke in six sessions. We had the opportunity to hear from each leader.

In one of the sessions, we got to hear from Judah Smith, who is the Lead Pastor of The City Church in Seattle, Washington. He spoke on the title of this blog, “Matters of the Meantime.” This particular talk rocked my world. He shared a story that many of us can relate to. He, like many families, went on road trips when younger and asked a typical question of any young boy or girl to their dad, “Are we there yet?” He knew that they weren’t where they were supposed to be, but hoped his dad would say they were at the final destination.

I can relate to this in so many ways as I know I ask God many times in ministry, “Are we there yet?” This question may be in regards to the fulfillment of our mission and vision, outreach, training, equipping, and many other areas of ministry. I want to get to the other side, but i’m not sure of what this time is all about. We are in the meantime. I was reminded that I need to trust Jesus with the meantime as He is the one who helps us get to the other side.

Here are a few points that I took away from his talk:

Judah Smith:  “Matters of the Meantime”

• “I’ve done everything I know how to do God! We ask the question, Are we there yet?”

• What do you do when you are not where you used to be, but you’re not where you’re supposed to be? This is called the meantime

• “The meantime is important to God”

• “What you do in the meantime shapes vision.”

• “How do we get to the other side?” God takes us to the “other side.” “We don’t take ourselves there with knowledge or planning, but by His grace.”

• “Just stay in the boat. Stay where God has put you and don’t give up.”

• “You need a friend in the boat to say to you, stay in the boat.”

• “When the disciples were in the storm, they didn’t jump ship—they stayed in the boat.”

• “Just because your dream is delayed does NOT mean that your dream is denied.” Gal 6:9

• “What do you do when you’re not where you used to be, but not where you’re supposed to be? “Trust Jesus. Where He is, that’s where I’m supposed to be.”

Have you asked the question in ministry, Are we there yet? If so, how have you responded? Don’t lose heart friends. Stay in the boat!