Topics, Issues, and Guests for a New Season of Podcasts

For the last few years I have hosted monthly conference calls, those of the last 8 months now posted as podcasts. 

As I begin to contemplate another set of 8, I’d like to hear your thoughts for topics, issues, or guests to include. Please reply with your thoughts by emailing RLipe@fca.org.

Below is one of the graphics from the past year’s podcasts. Thanks.

March 2019 Sports Chaplain / Character Coach Podcast - Serving Amidst Death and Dying

March 2019 Sports Chaplain / Character Coach Podcast -

Serving Amidst Death and Dying

Please click on the link below to access the recording - 

March 2019 Sports Chaplain / Character Coach Podcast

A Poll of Sports Chaplains and Character Coaches

A poll was conducted among my network of sports chaplains and character coaches via text message. The questions I asked are below and the insightful replies are below them. I hope you find these notes to be of value, to encourage you, and even to challenge you.

Questions –

1.   What have been among your most rewarding moments in serving as a sports chaplain?

2.   What have been among your most challenging moments in serving as a sports chaplain?

3.   When and from whom do you learn the most for your service as a sports chaplain?

4.   Who are the greatest allies for your service as a sports chaplain?

Question 1 – What have been among your most rewarding moments in serving as a sports chaplain?

Brandi Cantrell – Texas Tech University

Walking with a coach or athlete that doesn't yet know the Lord and then getting to pray with them to receive Jesus as their Savior. Also, seeing a coach and/or athlete grow in their walk with Jesus in tangible, noticeable ways. And - when you have been investing, investing, investing in a coach - and finally a door opens for ministry.

Bill Houston – PowerUp Sports Ministry

Two come to mind-once when no one showed for chapel in Arena League and a player caught me later and said, "Sorry we couldn't make it...never stop doing what you're doing!" The other is this season when a coach who arrived later in the season said, "I can't wait to tell you what God is doing in my life!"

Ev Nelson – University of North Dakota

Building Relationships!!! Seeing Gods transformational power working in the lives of those we minister to.

Russ Talley – Northern Illinois University

Witnessing men receiving salvation when they accept Christ.  Also hearing of the people who receive Christ as a result of the testimony and discipleship of an athlete.

Tony Overstake – University of Oregon

Performing wedding ceremonies for the athletes I work with/ baptizing my athletes, and their kids.

David Melms – Minnesota FCA

The student-athletes coming to know and grow in love for Jesus and seeing influence their identity coupled with become a spiritual leader in some form within their team.

Jeremy Tims – Oklahoma FCA

Getting the opportunity to throw a life preserver or even pulling so that these kids into the lifeboat when I notice that they are going down the wrong path. Being able to create an authentic relationship with them when nobody else has that opportunity, so that they can hear what they NEED to hear from a person who loves them and has no ulterior motives.

Billy Holder – Indiana FCA

Serving the athletes.

Richard Lopez – University of Arizona FCA

Being called upon by the football operations guys to address team when one of their teammates passed away in his sleep.

Question 2 - What have been among your most challenging moments in serving as a sports chaplain?

Brandi Cantrell –

The turnover rate with coaches AND athletes!!! Relationship building is hard and takes time! And then they leave.

Bill Houston –

Just last season when our Bible study leader for the GR Drive-Zeke Upshaw, collapsed on the floor and later went home to Jesus. Serving this team at that point, under those circumstances was something I had never done before. God met with us and carried us through a very difficult time. I was called upon to do things I had never had to do before. 

Ev Nelson –

Feeling alone at times because we are separated by distance from the rest of our FCA state team. Also at times the brokenness of our athletes can be discouraging. Sometimes I wonder if we are really making an impact or difference but I know God is there through it all. He is always working behind the scenes.

Russ Talley –

Knowing how to deal with the trauma of injury or death in the moment when it first occurs.  It's always a challenge to know what to say, not say or how much to say.

Tony Overstake –

Performing Memorial services for University of Oregon Athletes and navigating athletic administration.

David Melms –

Student-athlete/FCA leaders living in sin that isn’t confessed and repented that comes out due to public spotlight or some form of humiliation rather than their honesty.

Jeremy Tims –

The 1st couple of years were very challenging for me. It takes many practices, many visits, many questions and high fives in order to gain trust and access into their locker room and hearts.  It is also challenging now because there is so much more opportunity to do ministry with 100 plus people on a specific team or University staff.

Billy Holder –

Coaches' attitudes.

Richard Lopez –

Watching coaches degrade athletes and tearing them down.

Question 3 - When and from whom do you learn the most for your service as a sports chaplain?

Brandi Cantrell –

Fellow chaplains and best practices share sessions! Sometimes conferences. But mostly from friends who serve in the same area of ministry that I do! Especially the ones that have experience.

Bill Houston –

Many sources come to mind here...phone calls I will make to fellow chaplains for direction and encouragement. Books, online resources on sports ministry...conferences I might attend and from a couple gentlemen who have agreed to listen to me and pray for me.

Ev Nelson –

Listening to God and the fellowship of other FCA staff and ministry partners. My wife Teri who works by my side and really our FCA student leadership have taught us so much!!

Russ Talley –

The Bible is #1. #2 is Roger Lipe.

Tony Overstake –

Dusty Davis former University of Oregon Chaplain, Ryan Johnston Western Oregon FCA Director, and Roger Lipe.

David Melms –

Tom Lamphere (Minnesota Vikings chaplain with AIA) has taken me under his wing and imitated ministering to people of sport in a way I can see it being played out and innovate based on my gifting and circumstances.

Jeremy Tims –

My main source of leadership comes straight from the previous chaplain who was in my position for 10 plus years. He understands the process and the value of relationships. He also understands how the program operates and what they expect.

Billy Holder –

The Holy Spirit, Roger Lipe, my own studies.

Richard Lopez –

By always watching and learning from others and reading as much material on creating relationships and leadership principles.

Question 4 - Who are the greatest allies for your service as a sports chaplain?

Brandi Cantrell –

Coaches for sure. Also, athletic administration - ADs, associate ADs, etc. Another great ally has been the athletes themselves. Sometimes if a coach is unsure about utilizing a chaplain, an athlete who will talk to their coach about the need for you goes a long way!

Bill Houston –

Again, a couple gentlemen I meet with on a regular basis have been a huge help to me. Even a couple coaches, not believers, but very supportive of the chaplain program, will offer insight as it relates to the work I'm involved with and how I can serve them and our players on a more effective level. 

Ev Nelson –

FCA Staff. Without a doubt. Their encouragement and prayers in the hardest times help to refocus us and keep us fighting.

Russ Talley –

My wife - The head coach.

Tony Overstake –

Christian Coaches and Administrators.

David Melms –

Christian athletic administrators or coaches.

Jeremy Tims –

My greatest ally is one of our associate athletic directors. He is a Christian man that looks out for our best interests. Another great ally (who doesn't know he is) is the director of football operations. He controls everything that happens off of the playing field. You have to be in good with him. I also believe the athletic department secretary is another person you half to make sure you have a relationship with. They hold the key and know so much!

Billy Holder –

Parents, athletes, administration, and coaches that brought me on board.

Richard Lopez –

Other ministries who are devoted to serve athletes and coaches.

Unite my heart to fear Your name.

For the last several years I have been encouraging coaches and competitors, sports ministry professionals and volunteers, to live their lives in sport in an integrated, holistic fashion, over against a compartmentalized, dualistic manner. This is the Lord’s way and it is the best, most satisfying, fulfilling way to experience Christ’s presence and pleasure in the experience of sport. One excellent scripture that speaks to this approach is below. I hope it encourages your heart toward a rich, full, and Christ-filled life in sport.

Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. Psalms 86:11-12

"Unite my heart..."-

To unite one's heart is to take the presently divided, compartmentalized, duplicitous heart, and to restore it to integrated, complete wholeness. Far too often, our sporting friends live in the pernicious dichotomy of sport vs. faith, rather than the graceful life of sport and faith.

Purpose-

The aim of this uniting of heart, the restoration to integrity of heart, is to properly honor the name (the essence and nature) of God our Father. We who live in the sporting world are privileged to bring honor to our Lord by the way we compete, the way we serve each other, the way we love coaches, teammates, opponents, and the officials.

Process-

Receiving the continual teaching of His way (selfless integrity) and the daily dwelling in His truth (God-breathed wisdom) are the pathways to a united heart. We must receive training in the Lord’s way as we train and prepare for sport. We must also dwell in the Word of God for our minds and hearts to be informed by truth.

Results-

With a united, integrated heart we daily and forever express thankfulness and glorify God's name with wholehearted devotion. Our worship-work reveals the nature of the One we serve. Such a life is glorious to behold and it inspires gratitude in the soul of the worshipful servant of Christ Jesus. My prayer is that our lives in sport are channels for expressions of thankfulness to God for all that we experience. I also pray that our daily training, teamwork, and competition reveal the nature of the Lord Jesus. The end result is that God is glorified and our souls are filled with thankfulness.

Registration is live for the Second Global Congress on Sport and Christianity

Start making plans because Registration is LIVE! Dear Friends, You are among the first to take advantage of our Early Bird Price of $200 (a savings of $100) for the 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity set to take place October 23-27, 2019 on the campus of Calvin College. Spots are limited so sign up soon. We are working every day to craft a meaningful 5-day experience for you and all participants. This includes content you can access now! Check out our podcast “Dig Deep: Sport, Faith, Life” (see below) or our recent article published in Christianity Today, a timely read this past Super Bowl Sunday. And finally, we want you a part of our conference line-up too! Please consider submitting an abstract. Send all papers to ccarlson@hope.edu. Sincerely, Brian & Chad REGISTER Let's start the conversation today!  Dr. Brian Bolt and Dr. Chad Carlson have a podcast where they discuss the intersection of sport and faith in our everyday lives. You can listen via iTunes or at www.brianrbolt.com. Copyright © 2019 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity 3201 Burton St SE Calvin College Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4301 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

February 2019 Sports Chaplain Podcast

Click on the link below to access the recording.

February 2019 Sports Chaplains Podcast

Purpose

Purpose

Over the last several years more and more people are talking, thinking, and writing about purpose. From Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, and its accompanying market offshoots to any number of websites, podcasts, and blogs it seems purpose is on everyone’s mind. A simple Google search of the word “purpose” leads to this message – “About 3,130,000,000 results.”

I have been contemplating how the Lord might express His thoughts about purpose and I took a leisurely stroll through the Bible searching for answers. A sampling of the most direct expressions of purpose are below with some simple remarks on each.

God’s purpose:

I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
Psalms 57:2

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;
Acts 13:36

For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
Acts 20:27

David, the psalmist, speaks of God having a purpose for him, and then the Apostle Paul echoes the sentiment hundreds of years later. Later, Paul also speaks of having declared the whole purpose of God to his friends. I will not presume to know what the whole purpose of God is, but I am sure it is being revealed, day to day, as we follow the Lord Jesus. Our joy is found in the pursuit and eventual fulfillment of His purposes.

Jesus’ purpose:

"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”
John 12:27

Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:7-8 

Jesus speaks more overtly of His purpose as He prays in Gethsemane. Decades later, the Apostle John, speaks of Jesus’ purpose in the strongest of terms. Thankfully, we are the beneficiaries of the Lord’s fulfillment of His life purpose.

Paul’s purpose and ours:

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

Colossians 1:28-29

The Apostle again speaks about purpose, this time his own. He writes most clearly and directly about the subject, object, and manner of the fulfillment of that purpose. It’s about Jesus. It’s directed toward others. It’s fulfilled by admonishing, teaching with wisdom, to present individual persons complete in Christ, according to the power of God. That’s a remarkable sense of purpose.

We may similarly find ourselves engaged in that same purpose. If we are actively engaged in serving sporting people with the aim of presenting them complete in Christ, admonishing and teaching with wisdom, laboring and striving as empowered by the mighty power of God, we are. You and I share in the same purpose of God’s calling as the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John, and all the saints before and behind us.

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Walk on and fulfill the Lord’s purposes for your life.