Organizational Principles for Local Church Sports Outreach - Rationale for 3-Tier Paradigm

The 3-Tier Paradigm

This series of blogs are excerpts from Dr. Linville’s yet to be released book.  They will explain and outline the 3-Tier Paradigm introduced in his book.  The 3-Tier Paradigm is the organizational structure upon which Dr. Linville’s series of Sports Outreach Ministry books are based and serves as the guiding light for how the association of Church Sports & Recreation Ministries (CSRM) executes its equipping of local churches. This blog will outline the rationale for the 3-Tier Paradigm

Rationale for CSRM’s 3-Tier Paradigm

CSRM exists to: “equip local churches to change lives through sports outreach.”  The equipping is designed to mobilize, equip, empower and enable churches for Evangelistic-disciplemaking.

CSRM’s Vision is: “A changed Life.”  A changed life is defined as a person who has become a life-long, dedicated-disciple of Jesus Christ.  A changed life assumes new disciples will emulate Christ in all they do, manifested through a biblically-based lifestyle that includes significant and regular participation in a local church.  This new Christ-centered ethic transforms new disciples in their character and impacts every area and role of their life… spouse, parent, church, employee/employer, citizen etc.

CSRM’s Mission to equip local churches, accomplishes CSRM’s Vision and is enabled by, manifested in, and communicated through, a tri-fold organizational structure of training curriculum encapsulated in a: 3-Tier Paradigm.

CSRM’s 3-Tier Paradigm

• Level #1 – Theological Truths that are Christo-centric and which inform and provide the rationale and ethics for…
  
  
• Level #2 - Philosophical Principles that are Biblically-based, from which emerge…
  
  
• Level #3 - Methodological Models that are relevant, strategic, effective and efficient
  
  

CSRM’s 4C Strategy is the practical outworking of CSRM’s Mission, and is how CSRM’s Vision is accomplished.  The 4C strategy consists of four overarching equipping stratagems: Conferencing, Consulting, Certifying and Connecting.   All four are rooted in the 3-Tier Paradigm organizational structure.

  Unless CSRM, or for that matter, any church, Christian ministry, organization or academic institution is founded upon solid Theological Truths, it cannot properly envision its distinctive reason for existence, nor can it organize itself on biblically-based, Philosophical Principles.  And, unless, it is rooted in orthodox theology and biblical philosophy, its Methodological Models will be flawed, and thus will, at the very least, not meet the 4-Fold Evaluation Assessment of being: Relevant, Strategic, Effective or Efficient.  At worst, such models may in fact be unbiblical.  Thus, the rationale of the 3-Tier Paradigm is to envision, organize and expedite a Sports Outreach Ministry which is truly: a) Christo-centric and honoring; b) Evangelistic-disciplemaking focused; c) Biblically-based; d) Strategically-relevant; and e) Effectively-efficient.

Next week’s blog will be an overview of Level #1Theological Truths which will provide both the “why” Sports Outreach Ministry exists and also its ethical foundations and circumference.

This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Linville's book Christmanship and a 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