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"Evangelistic-Disciplemaking" Sports Outreach
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"Evangelistic-Disciplemaking" Sports Outreach
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Sunday Sport
Review This is the 5th installment concerning Sunday Sports in the context of Local Church Sports Ministry. Previous blogs articulated: a) 3 Sabbath mandates to “honor the day:” Rest, Worship, Witness; b) 3 Lord’s Day principles to fulfill the day: Acts of Mercy, Necessity and Ministry; c) 5 crucial reasons for regular participation and committed involvement in a local congregation of The Church based on the theology of The Church (ecclesiology); and d) 2 unintended consequences of Sunday sport outreach (inoculation of non-believers to the gospel message and the weak and anemic faith of new believers due to a lack of participating in and commitment to a local congregation) based on the theology of missions (missiology). This last point is intimately linked to the topic of this blog, Soteriology, the theology of salvation. Definition of Soteriology Soteriology comes from a Greek root word which has to do with saving, delivering and preserving; with a specific connotation of The Messiah’s act of salvation. Its relevance to the Sunday sport question has to do with how it ties into the previous blog’s topic of Missiology: “Go into all the world to make disciples.” The vital point here is, what is the criterion for being a disciple, which begs the real question: “is getting saved the end of, or the beginning of, disciplemaking? For over two millennia, The Church’s answer to that question is, disciples are born when they pray to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, but these new believers become disciples only through an ever deepening relationship with Christ as experienced in and through a membership/participation in a local congregation. Relevance of Soteriology to Sunday Sport If a disciple of Christ is at least partially defined by commitment to a local congregation of The Church, and even more important, if regular participation in a local congregation is vital to the deepening growth of a disciple’s faith, then, even semi-regular participation in Sunday sport which precludes participation in a local congregation, would have deleterious effect on one’s faith journey. Since the main rationale most Christian athletes and local church Sports Outreach Ministry give for sponsoring and/or participating in sports on Sunday is that such endeavors are for the purpose of “evangelism,” the question must be asked: “are these goals being realized? As stated in the previous blog: …the motivation is honorable and seemingly strategic, but deeper reflection uncovers significant unintended repercussions and consequences. These unintended consequences are in fact, antithetical of what the endeavors are intended to bring about. Simply put, rather than producing dedicated disciples of Christ, the Sunday sport efforts of a local church Sports Outreach Ministry and Christian athletes, at their best, produce anemic Christians. This is because, while Sports Ministers and Christian athletes may verbally and relationally proclaim Christ at the sporting event, the spiritual growth of new believers is undermined by what Bonhoeffer might phrase: “easy believism.” This is translated: believe in Jesus but church membership and participation is not important. So the main relevance of the soteriology (theology of salvation) can be succinctly stated: If one’s theology is such that the end goal is to get someone to pray a prayer to accept Jesus as Savior, then Sunday sport becomes more plausible. However, if the goal is to make disciples of Christ, then Sunday Sport is much more problematic. The evidence becomes increasingly apparent. Sunday sport can have the exact opposite result of what is intended. Rather than “making disciples,” it actually produces people who have a passing interest in Christ, but inoculates them from becoming His disciples! Again, the motivation to reach the people of sport and reach people through sport is valid and commendable. However, any sport outreach that sacrifices regular and active participation in a local congregation does not produce dedicated disciples of Christ. Summary of Soteriology and Sunday Sport Church attendance and participation is not necessary for salvation, but it is imperative for becoming a growing disciple of Christ. Furthermore, any serious “evangelistic-disciplemaking” endeavors are greatly jeopardized if such efforts do not clearly communicate new converts are to regularly practice all of the spiritual disciplines including a membership and regular involvement with a local assembly of The Church. Thus, sponsoring or participating in regular, on-going Sunday sport activities is not an effective method for “making disciples” of Christ. Moreover, it runs counter to the goals and purposes of Sunday sport “evangelistic-disciplemaking” endeavors. Next week’s blog will discuss the topic of Sunday sport from the perspective of Olympian and Missionary, Eric Liddell This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Linville's yet to be released book. All rights reserved. For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact: Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville are archived at: www.csrm.org Sunday Sport
Review This is the 4th installment concerning Sunday Sports in the context of Local Church Sports Ministry. So far this series of blogs has: a) introduced the 3 Sabbath mandates to “honor the day:” Rest, Worship, Witness; b) established the 3 Lord’s Day principles to fulfill the day: Acts of Mercy, Necessity and Ministry; and c) communicated five crucial reasons for regular participation and committed involvement in a local congregation of The Church; but as yet, no clear-cut conclusion has been established as to whether or not Sunday sport is theologically sound, and biblically defensible. To determine whether or not Christian athletes and local church Sports Outreach Ministries can participate in, and/or sponsor, sports on Sunday, two more theological truths (Missiology and Soteriology) need to be considered. This blog will address Missiology, followed by Soteriology in the next blog. Definition Missiology is the study of The Church’s mission. It considers the theology, philosophy and methodology of The Church’s mission known as the Great Commission: “go and make disciples.” The Great Commission can be encapsulated in the phrase: “evangelistic-disciplemaking.” This phrase succinctly summarizes and combines the comprehensive essence of “going” to the world (evangelism), with the ultimate goal of producing mature followers of Christ (discipleship). Relevance to Sunday Sport The rationale most Christian athletes and local church Sports Outreach Ministry give for their sponsoring and/or participating in sports on Sunday is for the purpose of engaging in “evangelistic-disciplemaking” endeavors. This motivation is honorable and seemingly strategic, but deeper reflection uncovers significant unintended repercussions and consequences. These unintended consequences are in fact, antithetical to what the endeavors are intended to bring about. Simply put, rather than producing dedicated disciples of Christ, the Sunday sport efforts of a local church Sports Outreach Ministry and Christian athletes, at their best, produce anemic Christians. This is because, while Sports Ministers and Christian athletes may verbally and relationally proclaim Christ at the sporting event, the spiritual growth of new believers is undermined by what Bonhoeffer might phrase: “easy believism.” Translated: believe in Jesus but church and consummate discipleship are not important. Even more troublesome, is the reality that many of those whom Sunday sport outreaches are intended to reach, actually become inoculated to the gospel by the Sunday sport outreach! This inoculation occurs because those doing the outreach communicate participation in sport is more important than church attendance! The real problem has a religiously technical term: “idolatry.” Idolatry is rooted in the Ten Commandments concept of “Thou shalt have no other God before Me.” In simple terms it means God is to be the priority of life and nothing is to supplant Him. Thus, one’s sport and sporting activities cannot supplant God. As detailed in previous blogs in this series on the Sabbath Day, Lord’s Day, and church commitments, followers of Christ are to give precedence to spiritual obligations over sporting activities. As indicated in previous blogs, the integration of sport and faith can and should be pursued , but if and where they do conflict, disciples of Christ are not to make an idol of their sport by choosing it over God. Summary of Missiology and Sunday Sport The motivation to reach the people of sport, and reach people through sport, is valid and commendable. However, any sports outreach that sacrifices regular and active participation in a local congregation and/or compromises one’s ability to honor the Sabbath mandates and Lord’s Day principles is not biblically defensible. In fact, such efforts actually run counter to the goals and purposes of Sunday sport “evangelistic-disciplemaking” endeavors. This reality will be made even clearer in the next blog which discusses Soteriology – the theology of salvation. Next week’s blog will feature the 5th Theological Truth in relationship to Sunday Sport – Soteriology This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Linville's yet to be released book. All rights reserved. For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact: Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville are archived at: www.csrm.org Sunday Sport
Review This is the 3rd installment concerning Sunday Sports in the context of Local Church Sports Ministry. In an effort to answer the question of Sunday Sport, this blog series has introduced the 3 Sabbath mandates to “honor the day:” Rest, Worship, Witness; and 3 Lord’s Day principles to fulfill the day: Acts of Mercy, Necessity and Ministry; but as yet, no clear-cut conclusion as to whether or not Sunday sport is theologically sound, and biblically defensible, has been established. Finding the answer to Sunday Sports cannot be determined quickly nor pre-determined by properly-motivated emotional desires to: a) play sport at a high level; b) a desire to utilize one’s sport to glorify God; and/or c) reach others for God. The answer can only be ascertained after significant reflection on at least five key Level #1 Theological Truths: (see the previous two blogs). This blog will address the issue in relationship with the third Theological Truth: Ecclesiology (theology of The Church). After the family, participation in a local congregation of the Universal Church of Jesus Christ becomes the primary obligation of all disciples. Obligations to and Participation in a Local Congregation of The Universal Church Even if athletes can find a way to biblically justify participating in sports on the Lord’s Day, they are best served by a realistic consideration of the impact the consistent and repeated lack of participation in a local congregation has on: a) their personal faith; b) the relationships and fellowship with other members of the congregation; c) how their absence negatively impacts the congregation through the loss of their contributions; and d) last but certainly not least, is the impact such lack of church involvement communicates to teammates and others about personal faith and the model it creates. Athletes need to ask the question: does a lack of commitment to, inconsistent participation with, and sporadic involvement in a local congregation enhance or weaken their witness to those far from Christ? The following considerations are crucial to all who desire to become dedicated disciples of Christ. a. Personal Faith Even though local congregations have services, classes, and fellowship groups that meet on various days of the week, it stretches the limits of credulity to suggest even a sizable minority of churches offer such opportunities at times that don’t conflict with an athlete’s training and game schedules. Church and sport activities often conflict as Sundays, Saturday evenings, and most week night evenings are all consumed by athletic practices, conditioning and games. Christian sportspeople must make a choice. They must make room in their schedules for and be committed to, regular, active participation with a local church for the good of their own spiritual development, even if it means leaving sport. On a side note, it should be pointed out, the same principle would apply to all vocations; sport cannot be singled out. If one’s career precludes or prohibits regular, personal involvement in a local church, then a new career is necessitated. b. Relationships and Fellowship Another aspect of personal spiritual development is negatively impacted for want of regular participation in a local church. One’s faith is always enhanced by and through the personal relationships with other believers. Whether the relationships are peer-based or more of a mentor to a mentee, regular fellowship is crucial to one’s spiritual journey of deepening faith. Furthermore, accountability partners are a must for everybody. This area however, is one that may well accommodate an athlete’s schedule as it can be arranged on days and times other than Sunday. Thus, this point should not be used to deter any sporting involvement. c. Personal Contributions to a Local Assembly One of the most overlooked aspects of sports commitments and church participation is the loss to a church of the gifts, skills, passions and leadership of sportspeople who choose not to attend church functions when they conflict with sporting commitments. The Body of Christ is always negatively impacted when any individual and/or specific groups of people self-select to not be regularly involved in local church ministries, outreaches and activities. One of the prime rationales given by sporting people for their commitments to sports is they have a goal to reach the sporting world by using their sporting gifts and positions for the benefit of the gospel. They should be highly commended and encouraged for this, but I would challenge them to consider how much more effective they could be for the kingdom by applying their sporting gifts and position to a local church sports outreach ministry! d. Communicating One's Faith As just mentioned, most Christian sportspeople want to maximize their sports opportunities for the glory of God and to encourage others to consider becoming a Disciple of Christ. Therefore, it would seem counter-intuitive to ask these sincere people to consider forgoing participating in sport on Sunday. However, by participating in sporting activities on the Lord’s Day, especially when it clearly conflicts with traditional times for church worship services, has the exact opposite effect that is desired! What is communicated is, attending a church service is not as important as participating in a sporting activity! If Christians deem sport a higher priority than church…. Well, you can fill in the blank. What does skipping church to participate in sport really communicate? A Christian who forgoes attending church to reach out to those playing sport on Sunday, but not participating in sport, clearly communicates they are there for ministry, not for playing sports. To repeatedly show up at sporting events for the express purpose of reaching those who play sport is made far more powerful when the “evangelists” don’t participate, than when they do, especially if they are good enough athletes to compete! When participating in the sport, their motives are suspect. The validity of this argument is made obvious by seeing the result in the numbers of people who show up at a Sunday sport event to “evangelize” as compared to those who would come if they could “play.” e. The Sacraments While all three Christian traditions disagree on the number and understanding of the Sacraments they do agree on their vital importance. Catholic and Orthodox traditions share seven Sacraments whereas Protestants claim only two, often calling them Ordinances. All three Christian traditions place a very high priority on the regular receiving of, and participation in the Sacraments. The relevance of the Sacraments in regards to athletes, coaches and Sports Outreach Ministry has to do with the fact that commitments to sport most often preclude participation in the Sacraments for coaches and athletes because athletes participate in sporting activities on the Lord’s Day. The implications of this should be apparent. Christian athletes and coaches, along with Sports Outreach Ministries need to evaluate their priorities and find a way to reconcile their sporting commitments so as to be able to regularly participate in a local congregation’s activities including the receiving of the Sacraments. Summary of Obligations and Participation in a Local Church The reasons to participate in non-church sponsored Sunday Sport are few, while many great reasons not to exist. However, a case can be made for a local congregation to incorporate Sunday sport and recreation into an overall ministry plan. To state it even stronger, churches that combine recreational and sporting activities with traditional church-based ministries enhance their ministry and such endeavors fall well within the theological mandates and biblically-based philosophical principles of the scriptures. The key distinction is all such activities are church sponsored and they support and enhance the purpose, function and evangelistic-disciplemaking endeavors of The Church. Next week’s blog will feature the 4th Theological Truth in relationship to Sunday Sport – Missiology This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Linville's yet to be released book. All rights reserved. For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact: Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports written by Dr. Greg Linville are archived at: www.csrm.org Sunday Sport
Review This is the 3rd installment concerning Sunday Sports in the context of Local Church Sports Ministry. In an effort to answer the question of Sunday Sport, this blog series has introduced the 3 Sabbath mandates to “honor the day:” Rest, Worship, Witness; and 3 Lord’s Day principles to fulfill the day: Acts of Mercy, Necessity and Ministry; but as yet, no clear-cut conclusion as to whether or not Sunday sport is theologically sound, and biblically defensible, has been established. Finding the answer to Sunday Sports cannot be determined quickly nor pre-determined by properly-motivated emotional desires to: a) play sport at a high level; b) a desire to utilize one’s sport to glorify God; and/or c) reach others for God. The answer can only be ascertained after significant reflection on at least five key Level #1 Theological Truths: (see the previous two blogs). This blog will address the issue in relationship with the third Theological Truth: Ecclesiology (theology of The Church). After the family, participation in a local congregation of the Universal Church of Jesus Christ becomes the primary obligation of all disciples. Obligations to and Participation in a Local Congregation of The Universal Church Even if athletes can find a way to biblically justify participating in sports on the Lord’s Day, they are best served by a realistic consideration of the impact the consistent and repeated lack of participation in a local congregation has on: a) their personal faith; b) the relationships and fellowship with other members of the congregation; c) how their absence negatively impacts the congregation through the loss of their contributions; and d) last but certainly not least, is the impact such lack of church involvement communicates to teammates and others about personal faith and the model it creates. Athletes need to ask the question: does a lack of commitment to, inconsistent participation with, and sporadic involvement in a local congregation enhance or weaken their witness to those far from Christ? The following considerations are crucial to all who desire to become dedicated disciples of Christ. a. Personal Faith Even though local congregations have services, classes, and fellowship groups that meet on various days of the week, it stretches the limits of credulity to suggest even a sizable minority of churches offer such opportunities at times that don’t conflict with an athlete’s training and game schedules. Church and sport activities often conflict as Sundays, Saturday evenings, and most week night evenings are all consumed by athletic practices, conditioning and games. Christian sportspeople must make a choice. They must make room in their schedules for and be committed to, regular, active participation with a local church for the good of their own spiritual development, even if it means leaving sport. On a side note, it should be pointed out, the same principle would apply to all vocations; sport cannot be singled out. If one’s career precludes or prohibits regular, personal involvement in a local church, then a new career is necessitated. b. Relationships and Fellowship Another aspect of personal spiritual development is negatively impacted for want of regular participation in a local church. One’s faith is always enhanced by and through the personal relationships with other believers. Whether the relationships are peer-based or more of a mentor to a mentee, regular fellowship is crucial to one’s spiritual journey of deepening faith. Furthermore, accountability partners are a must for everybody. This area however, is one that may well accommodate an athlete’s schedule as it can be arranged on days and times other than Sunday. Thus, this point should not be used to deter any sporting involvement. c. Personal Contributions to a Local Assembly One of the most overlooked aspects of sports commitments and church participation is the loss to a church of the gifts, skills, passions and leadership of sportspeople who choose not to attend church functions when they conflict with sporting commitments. The Body of Christ is always negatively impacted when any individual and/or specific groups of people self-select to not be regularly involved in local church ministries, outreaches and activities. One of the prime rationales given by sporting people for their commitments to sports is they have a goal to reach the sporting world by using their sporting gifts and positions for the benefit of the gospel. They should be highly commended and encouraged for this, but I would challenge them to consider how much more effective they could be for the kingdom by applying their sporting gifts and position to a local church sports outreach ministry! d. Communicating One's Faith As just mentioned, most Christian sportspeople want to maximize their sports opportunities for the glory of God and to encourage others to consider becoming a Disciple of Christ. Therefore, it would seem counter-intuitive to ask these sincere people to consider forgoing participating in sport on Sunday. However, by participating in sporting activities on the Lord’s Day, especially when it clearly conflicts with traditional times for church worship services, has the exact opposite effect that is desired! What is communicated is, attending a church service is not as important as participating in a sporting activity! If Christians deem sport a higher priority than church…. Well, you can fill in the blank. What does skipping church to participate in sport really communicate? A Christian who forgoes attending church to reach out to those playing sport on Sunday, but not participating in sport, clearly communicates they are there for ministry, not for playing sports. To repeatedly show up at sporting events for the express purpose of reaching those who play sport is made far more powerful when the “evangelists” don’t participate, than when they do, especially if they are good enough athletes to compete! When participating in the sport, their motives are suspect. The validity of this argument is made obvious by seeing the result in the numbers of people who show up at a Sunday sport event to “evangelize” as compared to those who would come if they could “play.” e. The Sacraments While all three Christian traditions disagree on the number and understanding of the Sacraments they do agree on their vital importance. Catholic and Orthodox traditions share seven Sacraments whereas Protestants claim only two, often calling them Ordinances. All three Christian traditions place a very high priority on the regular receiving of, and participation in the Sacraments. The relevance of the Sacraments in regards to athletes, coaches and Sports Outreach Ministry has to do with the fact that commitments to sport most often preclude participation in the Sacraments for coaches and athletes because athletes participate in sporting activities on the Lord’s Day. The implications of this should be apparent. Christian athletes and coaches, along with Sports Outreach Ministries need to evaluate their priorities and find a way to reconcile their sporting commitments so as to be able to regularly participate in a local congregation’s activities including the receiving of the Sacraments. Summary of Obligations and Participation in a Local Church The reasons to participate in non-church sponsored Sunday Sport are few, while many great reasons not to exist. However, a case can be made for a local congregation to incorporate Sunday sport and recreation into an overall ministry plan. To state it even stronger, churches that combine recreational and sporting activities with traditional church-based ministries enhance their ministry and such endeavors fall well within the theological mandates and biblically-based philosophical principles of the scriptures. The key distinction is all such activities are church sponsored and they support and enhance the purpose, function and evangelistic-disciplemaking endeavors of The Church. Next week’s blog will feature the 4th Theological Truth in relationship to Sunday Sport – Missiology This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Linville's yet to be released book. All rights reserved. For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact: Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports written by Dr. Greg Linville are archived at: www.csrm.org Sunday Sport?
Review Sunday Sports is perhaps the most currently controversial issue confronting the Sports Outreach Movement: Many Sports and Recreation Ministers, Church Recreators and Fitness Ministry leaders wrestle with whether or not to program sports outreach activities on a Sunday and almost every Christian athlete, coach and athletic director has already made a decision on whether or not they will play, coach or organize sport on Sunday. Christian families are also faced with the question of their “sporty” kids’ priorities and commitments in regards to sport on Sunday. The answer to Sunday Sports cannot be determined quickly and must not be pre-determined by the often emotional desire to play sport at a high level, a desire to utilize one’s sport to glorify God and/or reach others for God. The answer can only be ascertained by reflection on five key Level #1 Theological Truths: a) Sabbath Day; b) Lord’s Day; c) ecclesiology (theology of The Church) in relationship to church association and participation; d) missiology (theology of missions) in relationship to biblical principles of reaching those far from Christ; and e) soteriology (theology of salvation) in relationship to evangelism and discipleship. The issue of Sunday Sport is indeed uniquely linked with each of these Level #1 Theological Truths and a complete understanding or decision cannot be made without a thorough theological examination. Last week’s blog focused on the Biblical principles of the Sabbath Day. This blog looks at the principles of The Lord’s Day in regards to Sunday Sport. The Lords’ Day and Sunday Sport The Sabbath commandment (see the previous blog) was very much alive and well during the time of Christ and the founding of the Christian Church. Christ not only observed and honored the day but He also taught about it and lived out its fulfillment in the New Covenant, including his weekly attendance at the Synagogue. Jesus, however, taught against the Pharisaical approach of onerous adherence to a ritualistic religious set of un-Godly expectations. To fully understand and appreciate the shift in emphasis from Sabbath to Lord’s Day, two historical occurrences must be studied. In addition, there are three principles that emerge from Jesus’s teachings about how to observe and fulfill Sabbath principles. Together they provide clear direction for how followers of Christ should “honor the day, to keep it holy.” Historical - The Lord’s Day came to prominence for the Disciples and early church because of the two most significant events in all of history. Both the Resurrection of Jesus (Easter) and the descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) occurred on a Sunday, and both, support the Sabbath principle in the fact they didn’t occur on the Sabbath![1] Therefore, what started off as descriptive language: “the day the Lord was risen” or the day the Lord descended,” morphed into the Lord’s Day. Following Jewish tradition of designating “Holy Days” to commemorate significant historical works of God; these days, upon which the most significant actions of God occurred, were designated as “Holy Days.” Yet, in this one instance, the utter significance of what happened on Easter and Pentecost was given rightful pre-eminence over all other Holy Days, as Sunday became a “Holy Day” with the unique distinction of not being commemorated just once a year but rather weekly! These two events were so superior to anything that had ever occurred before, that they resulted in the early church’s two seismic shifts. The first was, the Lord’s Day represents the only time in history a Holy Day achieved once-a-week status (in comparison, not even Good Friday received this status)! But even more incomprehensible, when the Pharisaical movement in specific, and broader Jewish theology are considered, changing the weekly Holy Day from Saturday to Sunday becomes even more stunning. Thus, historically the weekly observance and the change from Saturday to Sunday indicate two very profound arguments on why all local church sports and recreation ministers should sincerely contemplate what, if any sporting activity should be engaged in. Principles - The three principles concerning the Lord’s Day fulfillment of the Sabbath are taught by Jesus as inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by Matthew in chapter twelve of his gospel. The three Sabbath Day principles of rest, worship and witness are fulfilled, further explained, and summarized by three clarifying “acts” taught by Christ. These three acts as taught in Matthew 12 are: acts of mercy, acts of necessity and acts of ministry. So, in the Sabbath we have what the goals of the day are – rest, worship and witness – and in the principles of the Lords Day, Jesus teaches that while the day is to be a day of rest, there are specific activities that would not dishonor the day, but in fact, enhance and fulfill the purpose of the day. To offer acts of mercy and necessity would be both a worship and a witness and would work in conjunction with acts of ministry. Therefore, does participating in and/or organizing sporting activities on Sunday meet the basic Sabbath/Lord’s Day criteria? Does it provide for the mandated rest, worship and witness. Can it be considered an act of mercy, necessity or ministry? The answer to the first three mandates is mixed… Rest - Recreation can be part of the answer to meeting the mandate of rest but it should be obvious the refreshing renewal of recreational activities is much different than the tension and fatigue that often accompanies participating in professional or day long sports. Worship - One’s sporting endeavors can indeed be worship and sporting Christians cannot be condemned for worshipping God in and through their sport, however, as stated earlier, worshipping through sport is a supplement to traditional, congregational worship, not a replacement. Witness - The witness question is also not so clear cut and will be dealt with in a later blog. So the answer to the three principles remains inconclusive. Only in the rarest of circumstances could anyone make a case for declaring Sunday sport a necessity, although it remains a theoretical possibility. It’s an even harder sell to state Sunday sport is to be considered an act of mercy. The strongest case supporting Sunday sport may come from the principle of it being an act of ministry, however, this is far from decided conclusion at this point in the argument. It too will be discussed in a later blog. Summary of Sabbath / Lord’s Day So as to the 3 mandates and 3 principles, there is no clear cut conclusion as to whether or not Sunday sport is theologically sound and biblically defensible. More thought, research and reflections are needed. Inconclusive yet leaning is how I would summarize it. [1] I believe a most powerful support for the Sabbath principle lies in the fact God did His three most significant “works” on days other than the Sabbath: Good Friday; Easter; Pentecost. This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Linville's yet to be released book. All rights reserved. For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact: Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports written by Dr. Greg Linville are archived at: www.csrm.org |
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