Addressing Cultural Problems

I received the paragraphs below from a dear friend, Brian Kramer, Regional Sales Manager for FieldTurf, in the USA. He had received it from its author, Robert Nowland. I found it to be excellent and informative for people of genuine faith working in a broken world. I hope it is of value to you.

Here are five simple principles gleaned from the Bible that can help us address a cultural problem by offering a biblical application.

Principle #1: A reputation above reproach is built on a path of one right decision at a time.

Problem: Our culture of immediacy and opportunity wants everything now. Waiting has become an annoyance, so shortcuts have become the norm. This paradigm has negatively impacted the once sought-after qualities of integrity, honor, and faithfulness.

Example: In Genesis 6, the world was filled with evil and corrupt behavior. But Noah was the one exception. Day after day, he walked in faith with God and established a good name among the people. His choice to go against the culture led to favor and salvation from God.

Application: Building favor with God and the people in our lives takes time—day by day, moment by moment, one right decision at a time. We cannot rush strong character and a good reputation.

Principle #2: Do all you can with what you have right where you are.

Problem: Busyness and endless demands can easily rule the day, causing us to focus more on what we can’t get done than what we can. Feeling overrun and underappreciated, our productivity and attitude can suffer.

Example: In Judges 3:31, Shamgar singlehandedly saved Israel using not a sword, but an ox goad, a long stick used to herd cattle. Faced with the choice of running, hiding, or offering excuses of “I’m just a farmer, what can I do?” he grabbed his best tool of the trade and got busy, saving his people.

Application: From a tough task to an impossible deadline, as leaders, we can adopt Shamgar’s principle: “I will do all I can with what I have right here I am.”

Principle #3: To walk into the winner’s circle, we must leave the comfort zone.

Problem: As leaders, we want success. Yet we often learn to focus on the wrong factors to win—big numbers, big names, and big talk. We think, “If only I had that budget, that person, or that title.”

Example: In Judges chapters 6 and 7, God takes the unlikely and apprehensive Gideon down from an army of 32,000 to 10,000 to 300. Not at all the direction any of us want when fighting a war. But God would end up using faith as the only weapon, as He won the day without a scratch on the home team.

Application: Inside our circles of influence, we have to consistently make the intentional choice to leave the comfort zone to walk into the winner’s circle. The two will never overlap.

Principle #4: We have to be bridge builders, not bridge burners.

Problem: We live with terms and paradigms today such as “haters,” “trolls,” and “cancel culture.” Talking louder becomes the choice over listening more. Being combative wins out over showing compassion.

Example: In Luke 15, Jesus told the story of the prodigal son, but the real lesson was in the response of the father. He chose victory over victimization, righteousness over being right, and reconciliation over rebellion.

Application: The best reason to never burn a bridge is we just might need to walk back over it someday. The best reason to build a bridge is we create a path to bless others.

Principle #5: A leader encourages, allows for, and accepts that anyone can change.

Problem: Today, because of the prevalence of the internet and social media, people are quickly written off based on the last thing they did. Juries are out and judges are in. Pedestals are built to push people off.

Example: In Acts 9, the most dangerous enemy to the early Christ-followers suddenly became their greatest ally. Jesus proved how His transformational power could literally change anyone. The impact was so radical, even his name was altered from Saul to Paul.

Application: A true leader today will give someone the benefit of the doubt, the opportunity to change, the encouragement that he or she can become exactly what God intended and designed. Belief can turn to being.

Brian Kramer
Regional Sales Manager
FieldTurf

3rd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity

Here’s the latest information for the Third Global Congress on Sport and Christianity. I have attended each of the previous congresses and they were excellent. 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.

3rd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity (3GCSC)

June 2021

Dates and venue confirmed for the 2022 Congress

We are pleased to announce that 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.

Further details, including a full list of speakers and delegate fees, will be confirmed in due course. To receive updates direct to your inbox as they are released, please sign up to the 3GCSC mailing list at their website. https://www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/news/3rd-global-congress-on-sport-and-christianity-3gcsc

Discipleship with Sportspeople

For just over forty years, I have been in the process of making disciples. For the past thirty-five years, I have been using the same approach to this process. I learned it from my mentor, Fred Bishop of No Greater Love Ministries (NGL) http://nogreaterlove.org/. This approach is very simple, but allows for tremendous depth and flexibility for both the disciple-maker, and the disciple.

Having now served the sporting world for almost 27 years, and continuing to make disciples along the way, this approach has proven to be quite effective. Please consider using this model or modifying it to suit your purposes. The form I use is attached as a pdf and pictured below. It focuses on four areas of development of Christian life. Prayer – Study – Christian Community – Sharing One’s Faith. With sportspeople, I often call these exercises or drills that we practice to develop our lives in Christ. I will explain, demonstrate, and assign a process or a resource for exercising, and in succeeding sessions we will review their discoveries, insights, and answer their questions. I always emphasize that Christian discipleship is a life-long process of growth and development.

 

I simply show the prospective disciple the diagram, explain that one’s life in Christ is developed through a vertical relationship with God in prayer and study, as well as horizontal relationships with other believers (Christian Community) and with people yet to believe (the sharing of one’s faith). The stronger one’s relationship with God grows, the shadow cast among the people surrounding him or her will be stronger and broader. Then I ask them, “Where would you like to start?” This question allows the disciple to indicate his or her greatest interest up front, leading to a greater likelihood of success and long-term development.

Once the starting point is determined (almost always Prayer or Study), I flip the page over and begin to share processes and resources that facilitate our growth. Once we have delved into that first element, mastered its processes, we can choose another point in the diagram, and begin its development. I have found it best to ask the disciple each time, “Where should we go next?”

 

It’s also wise to determine the duration of your discipleship process together. You can determine to meet for a set number of sessions, weeks, or months. To not set a timeline often leads to a sense of dread and failure if the frequency of meetings decline or circumstances cause you to stop meeting. Set the duration, complete those sessions, then determine if you should keep meeting or if it’s time to move on.

Obviously, if there are resources you prefer or processes you like better, substitute them. These have been most helpful to me and to those I have discipled.

Let’s make disciples. This is my process, as adapted from a mentor. If you don’t have a process, this one is better. Choose one and get after it.

Mentoring Sports Chaplaincy

In delivering Sports Chaplaincy Training:

• Some people Teach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Other people Coach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Still other people Mentor Sports Chaplaincy.

We who mentor sports chaplaincy (character coaching) do so with an eye toward continuing personal and professional development with our mentee(s). Most often, the mentorship takes place on an individual basis, rather than with a group. It can be delivered in person or via electronic media. Mentors in sports chaplaincy provide a broad view, lending perspective across a career. They’re less involved in the teaching or coaching of techniques, methods, or strategies than they are in sharing their insights, experiences, and expertise. This often leads to telling stories, asking challenging questions, and occasionally directly sharing wise counsel.

If you mentor sports chaplains, be sure to help your mentees gain perspective. Keep their overall wellbeing in mind. Help them develop their own vision, set goals, determine best practices, and lend wise counsel as it’s requested. Your mentees may gather great value by simply spending time in your altruistic presence.

Coaching Sports Chaplaincy

In delivering Sports Chaplaincy Training:

• Some people Teach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Other people Coach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Still other people Mentor Sports Chaplaincy.

Today we’ll discuss Coaching Sports Chaplaincy. We who train sports chaplains (character coaches) focus on the development of skills and use questions to help the trainee discover the why and how that shape their expressions of it. We who coach sports chaplains strive for understanding and processes that deliver excellent ministry. As we discuss ideas, options, strategies, and methods with trainees, we aim to help them apply the ideas to their local contexts; the community, the club or institution, the team, the coaching staff, and the competitors.

If you coach sports chaplaincy as your method of training, do it with patience and thoughtfulness. Coaching takes time and intentional leadership. Coaching sports chaplaincy will lead to depth of service, excellent ministry, and long-lasting results.

Teaching Sports Chaplaincy

In delivering Sports Chaplaincy Training:

• Some people Teach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Other people Coach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Still other people Mentor Sports Chaplaincy.

Today we’ll discuss Teaching Sports Chaplaincy. When we teach Sports Chaplaincy we take an academic approach to it. It’s about the delivery and processing of information. We assign books to read, make presentations, deliver lectures, and otherwise aim to improve the trainee’s knowledge of the subject. The focus is usually on principles and practices. It may include research, writing papers, or making presentations to demonstrate the knowledge gained by the trainee.

Teaching of Sports Chaplaincy happens at universities, in seminary classrooms, in sports ministries’ meeting rooms, and via virtual learning platforms.

If you teach Sports Chaplaincy, teach it effectively. Go for depth of understanding. Train minds and hearts to serve wisely. We need you to help the sports chaplaincy community be a healthy, intelligent, and well-integrated form of ministry.

Sports Chaplaincy Training Methods

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sending some thoughts re: how we help people learn about sports chaplaincy or character coaching. The information and training that equips and empowers a person so serve in this role may be delivered in several ways. I will outline three delivery methods today and one each week to follow.

In delivering Sports Chaplaincy Training:

• Some people Teach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Other people Coach Sports Chaplaincy.
• Still other people Mentor Sports Chaplaincy.

Which do you do? Lean into it. Do it very well. Allow some room for others to do it in a different manner.