Character Coach / Sports Chaplain Blog

Booking is now open for the 3rd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity will be hosted by Ridley Hall Cambridge, UK between 18th and 21st August 2022. We look forward to welcoming delegates in person to this on-site event, with presentations from keynote speakers and contributors taking place on the 19th, 20th and 21st August. Arrival will be followed by a Gala Dinner on the evening of the 18th August and there will be ample opportunity for delegates to explore the historic city of Cambridge and beyond during the Congress. Roger Lipe, Character Coach Director for Nations of Coaches and sports chaplaincy blog author, who has attended both the previous Sports Congresses, warmly recommended it to his readers, saying, “Please make plans for this event if you can. I know of no other event that gathers both practitioners of sports chaplaincy and the academic community for conversation and collaboration like this one.” Further details, including speakers and delegate fees, will be confirme...

Here’s an update from a 2016 note regarding asking questions of people in sport. It is now tailored to serve my Character Coach Teammates in Nations of Coaches as we serve college basketball coaches and players. A number of suggested questions are below the general notes about levels of questions to ask. One of the most effective tools I regularly employ in my service of sportspeople is to simply ask questions. I ask questions to draw them into conversation, and then to probe more deeply toward their hearts. Sneaky, huh? I tend to ask three levels of questions: 1. Questions that solicit facts. I ask the player or coach’s name, home town, position, uniform number, etc… Mostly facts. Usually anyone will offer these details freely. 2. Questions that awaken passion. I ask about the player or coach’s basketball experiences and I’m looking for expressions of their love for basketball. I am leading them to tell me stories that excite their passion for basketball, their team, competiti...

In years past I have written about the value of insights gained from use of the McCown Sport in Ministry Map, developed by Lowrie McCown. It has been my most valuable tool for both design and evaluation of sports ministry initiatives. In recent days I have been using the map as a part of my training of Character Coaches for Nations of Coaches. Most recently I have sought a way of condensing the information for the trainees in a way that equipped them with the information, but required less explanation. To that end, I designed the chart shown below. I hope this simple way of contrasting the mindsets of spectators and recreational oriented sportspeople from that of elite and high profile people of sport is helpful to your service.