A number of the leaders in
Sports Chaplaincy from around the world were gathered in Charlotte, North
Carolina for discussions on a number of topics and to coalesce their efforts
toward continuing growth of this form of ministry across the globe. We were
gathered by Richard Gamble of Cede Network (@CedeNetwork), formerly
of Sports Chaplaincy United Kingdom. We were very graciously hosted by Bob Dyar
of Cede Network (http://cedenetwork.org/)
in conjunction with Joe Gibbs Racing.
The august list of attendees included these
men:
Brad
Barts - Athletes in Action
Cameron
Butler - Sports Chaplaincy Australia
George
Dansey – Hillsong Church – Sydney, Australia
Bob
Dyar - CedeNetwork
Warren
Evans - Sports Chaplaincy United Kingdom
Richard
Gamble - CedeNetwork
Ross
Georgiou - Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand
Landon
Huffman - Johnson University - Knoxville, Tennessee
Brad
Kenney - Cross Training - USA
Reid
Lamphere - Athletes in Action
Roger
Lipe - Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Larry
Thompson - Athletes in Action
Stephen
Waller – University of Tennessee - Knoxville Tennessee
Our discussions included such
matters as: defining sports chaplaincy, outlining characteristics for the
quality delivery of sports chaplaincy, and naming various models of sports
chaplaincy service. The aim was to find agreement in such matters and to
provide clarity as to what sports chaplaincy is. Many forms of ministry in and
around sport are being called chaplaincy, but are far from these agreed to
standards of sports chaplaincy.
Because of the global nature
of our group and the presence of men from the academic community, we also
discussed strategies and alliances for encouraging and growing sports
chaplaincy as a form of ministry in non-Anglo regions of the world. We were most
thrilled with the collegiality experienced by all of us.
One of the consistently
strongest felt needs listed by sports chaplains is that of isolation. Most of
us feel terribly remote from our colleagues. One of the ways we aim to address this
issue is through a global registry of sports chaplains. Our teammates from Cede
Network have the technical expertise to develop, to manage, and to lead such a
network with state of the art security features to protect the data and
identities of all concerned.
We left Charlotte for our
respective homes with a great deal of momentum for the growth and development
of sports chaplaincy around the globe and with a strong brotherhood between us.
Please join us in praying for wisdom, favor, and vision as we pursue the Lord’s
purposes for this form of ministry in the world of sport.
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