“What the heart loves, the will chooses and the mind justifies.” From the moment I heard that statement in April of 2007, it has served as a glaring spotlight into the deepest recesses of my soul. It was spoken by my friend and colleague in sports chaplaincy, John Ashley Null, in summary of the 16th century Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer's writings. Ashley has been translating Cranmer’s work from Medieval Latin shorthand into contemporary English.
This statement has helped me analyze and evaluate my heart’s affections, wise and foolish. It has encouraged me when I have wisely chosen actions and attitudes which are reflective of a pure heart and loving motives. It has also served as the Lord’s piercing arrow of conviction when my behavior has been driven by a heart sullied by selfishness and folly.
We in the Evangelical Sports Ministry community have been woefully silent about many issues which shape the world of sport. Let’s purpose together to lovingly embrace the world of sport and to thereby transform it by living out the truth of Scripture in our daily activities, relationships and decision making in that world. It is far too easy to stand outside sport and to be critical of its ethics. It is too convenient for us to stand beside sport and to toss Christian clichés at it. It is too antiseptic for us to dabble in the culture of sport and to somehow pretend that if we deny what we see, that we’re not responsible for it. It requires little thought and less personal introspection to pretend that we have fulfilled our mission by using the world of sport as a platform for a slick presentation of a Gospel message while we close our eyes to the practices and values of the sports world and don’t even attempt to be agents of godly reformation within it.
Over the next several weeks, I’ll use Dr. Null’s statement as a microscope with which to examine some of the issues in the sports world and I will attempt to bring a Christ-honoring perspective to these issues. I would welcome your comments, questions or additions to the list of issues to be addressed. I will not presume to have the definitive answer to any of the issues, but I will be pleased to begin the discussion. We have been silent and benign for too long. We will certainly also apply scripture to this discussion because of its enduring, penetrating power to discern our hearts’ intentions and attitudes. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
The issues to be discussed include:
· Performance enhancing drugs – how some Christian athletes justify their use.
· Integrity re: contractual obligations – who is obligated by the contract?
· Respect for opponents, game officials and others in sport – how to restore it in the era of trash talk?
· Racism in sport – how shall the Community of Christ address this issue?
· Pride and its effects upon sport culture – where has humility hidden itself?
· The “win at all costs” sports ethic – how do we counter this with Christ-honoring values?
· Abuse of players – how do we respond when we encounter the abuse of players?
· Class division in sport – who are the elite and how do they take advantage of others?
· Cheating in sport – is it only cheating when you get caught?
More on John Ashley Null - Dr. Null, an orthodox, Protestant Anglican and adherent of historic, Reformational Theology, is canon theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, visiting fellow at Cambridge, visiting research fellow at Humboldt-Universitat in Berlin, and recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He received his MDiv from Yale Divinity School and a PhD from Cambridge. As one of the world's foremost experts on Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556), Dr. Null is a well-known speaker and writer. He also has a long history as a chaplain to elite athletes, serving as the resident Protestant Chaplain in the Olympic Village during the Athens 2004 Games and many other major sporting events. He is also the author of Thomas Cranmer's Doctrine of Repentance — Renewing the Power to Love.
Dr. Null will be a featured speaker at the upcoming FCA Sports Chaplain Conference in Kansas City, February 22-24.
“What the heart loves, the will chooses and the mind justifies.”
This statement has helped me analyze and evaluate my heart’s affections, wise and foolish. It has encouraged me when I have wisely chosen actions and attitudes which are reflective of a pure heart and loving motives. It has also served as the Lord’s piercing arrow of conviction when my behavior has been driven by a heart sullied by selfishness and folly.
We in the Evangelical Sports Ministry community have been woefully silent about many issues which shape the world of sport. Let’s purpose together to lovingly embrace the world of sport and to thereby transform it by living out the truth of Scripture in our daily activities, relationships and decision making in that world. It is far too easy to stand outside sport and to be critical of its ethics. It is too convenient for us to stand beside sport and to toss Christian clichés at it. It is too antiseptic for us to dabble in the culture of sport and to somehow pretend that if we deny what we see, that we’re not responsible for it. It requires little thought and less personal introspection to pretend that we have fulfilled our mission by using the world of sport as a platform for a slick presentation of a Gospel message while we close our eyes to the practices and values of the sports world and don’t even attempt to be agents of godly reformation within it.
Over the next several weeks, I’ll use Dr. Null’s statement as a microscope with which to examine some of the issues in the sports world and I will attempt to bring a Christ-honoring perspective to these issues. I would welcome your comments, questions or additions to the list of issues to be addressed. I will not presume to have the definitive answer to any of the issues, but I will be pleased to begin the discussion. We have been silent and benign for too long. We will certainly also apply scripture to this discussion because of its enduring, penetrating power to discern our hearts’ intentions and attitudes. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
The issues to be discussed include:
· Performance enhancing drugs – how some Christian athletes justify their use.
· Integrity re: contractual obligations – who is obligated by the contract?
· Respect for opponents, game officials and others in sport – how to restore it in the era of trash talk?
· Racism in sport – how shall the Community of Christ address this issue?
· Pride and its effects upon sport culture – where has humility hidden itself?
· The “win at all costs” sports ethic – how do we counter this with Christ-honoring values?
· Abuse of players – how do we respond when we encounter the abuse of players?
· Class division in sport – who are the elite and how do they take advantage of others?
· Cheating in sport – is it only cheating when you get caught?
More on John Ashley Null - Dr. Null, an orthodox, Protestant Anglican and adherent of historic, Reformational Theology, is canon theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, visiting fellow at Cambridge, visiting research fellow at Humboldt-Universitat in Berlin, and recent recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He received his MDiv from Yale Divinity School and a PhD from Cambridge. As one of the world's foremost experts on Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556), Dr. Null is a well-known speaker and writer. He also has a long history as a chaplain to elite athletes, serving as the resident Protestant Chaplain in the Olympic Village during the Athens 2004 Games and many other major sporting events. He is also the author of Thomas Cranmer's Doctrine of Repentance — Renewing the Power to Love.
Dr. Null will be a featured speaker at the upcoming FCA Sports Chaplain Conference in Kansas City, February 22-24.
“What the heart loves, the will chooses and the mind justifies.”
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