Is Sports Outreach Effective?
What follows is a reprint of a blog from February of 2015.  is not intended to be intentionally offensive or hurtful.  It is however, intended to begin a conversation based upon the hard questions asked within.  All truth seekers are invited to continue. This is the tenth in a series of blogs addressing the question: Is Sports Outreach Effective, and continues the conversation on the third Sports Outreach Ministry Continuum:

Sports Outreach Continuum of Tension #3:

Local Church Sports Outreach – Para-Sports Ministry
Previous blogs (see February 2015) stated there was an insidious dilemma facing the Sport Outreach Movement in regards to a Level #1 Theological Truth concerning evangelism that often pits local church sports outreach ministries at odds with sports-based para-ministries.  This blog will continue that discussion by providing a brief history of local church sports outreach and an overview of its theological, philosophical and subsequent methodological approach to “evangelistic-disiplemaking… 

Historical Overview of Local Church Sports Outreach Ministry
With the exponential growth of Local Church Sports Outreach Ministry since 1990, church sports might be assumed to be a recent phenomenon.  Indeed a dramatic increase has occurred in Local Church based Sports Ministry over the last 30 years but examples of Local Church Sports Outreach Ministry date back to the early 1800’s.  Early on, the primary vehicle of Local Church Sports Outreach Ministry was the creation of sports teams sponsored by a local parish church that competed in local amateur leagues.  This tradition continues but it has grown to unprecedented heights in both total numbers of participants and the scope of sports and activities offered by churches. (A much more in depth study of this topic can be found in my book Christmanship: A Theology of Competition and Sport.

Local Church Sports Outreach Ministry Theology, Philosophy & Methodology
The technical theological term that addresses “salvation” is soteriology. Its relevance to this topic is profound.  If a ministry theologically believes their evangelistic job is done when someone fills out a card, prays a prayer or even gets baptized, their philosophy of ministry focuses only on that particular step in the overall process of evangelistic-disciplemaking and the resultant methodologies will typically be events and/or mass media blitzes.

However, the churches that are most successful start with a theological foundation that believes evangelistic-disciplemaking is a process, not an event.  Thus, they have found the most successful philosophy for sports outreach is to mobilize, equip and empower church members to engage in long term relationships with friends, family members and associates who are far from Christ.  These relationships are established and enhanced in and through regular and repeated sports leagues and recreational activities.  The end result is a sustained, long-term ministry that winsomely attracts people into the church community, creates environments conducive to evangelistic conversations and provides easy conduits into the deeper walk with Christ and His Church.

One caution is needed.  Churches cannot fall into the trap of all growth being the same. While some churches report huge successes, those reports of growth are largely due to what is called “transfer growth” (transferring from one to church to another) rather than “conversion growth” (from converts to the faith).  True growth from intentional “evangelistic-disciplemaking” is rare.

Next week’s blog will review sports related para-ministries history, theology, philosophy and methodology.

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Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports written by Dr. Greg Linville are archived at: www.csrm.org and http://www.csrm.org/blog201112-2.html 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

How can I as an athlete justify my sporting endeavors when I Timothy 4.8 reads: “exercise is of little value?”
 
Yes, I Timothy 4.8 is often translated to say physical exercise (and by implication, sports and athletics) is of little value and sadly this verse is often used to deter people from engaging in physical activity such as sports and athletics.  Yet to use this verse to condemn or even criticize athletics demonstrates a lack of understanding of how to interpret the Bible (hermeneutics), including a classical error of basing one's interpretation on a poor translation.  All good Biblical interpretation begins with a translation faithful to the orthodox traditions of hermeneutics.  To that end, the following discussion begins with establishing the best possible translation of this verse.  It continues with an exegesis of the verse and its context, including the requisite implications and applications the passage suggests.  The result provides a reasonable assessment for athletes in regards to their involvement in athletics and whether or not their “physical exercise profiteth little.”  Taken in its entirety, the following discussion helps to substantiate the third principle for establishing a Biblical defense for sport and athletics.  It begins with an overview of the context in which verse eight is found.
 
A.            Context
 
Paul wrote two letters to his protégé, Timothy, who he had assigned as the leader (bishop) of the Ephesian church.  The first epistle written to Timothy outlined directives for how the Ephesian church was to be organized, how leaders were to be chosen and developed, as well as how individual church members were to attain “godliness.”  In this specific passage, found in chapter 4 of the first letter to Timothy, Paul is outlining obstacles to the spiritual growth necessary for attaining godliness.  Verses seven and eight were given as a model to help overcome such obstacles.  The specific model the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to articulate was an athletic one!  The significance of this must not be overlooked or undervalued.  Paul was inspired to urge first century Ephesian Christians to pursue godliness as an athlete pursued physical prowess.  By extension, the model proposed to those in the early church is applicable for believers in all subsequent generations.
 
B. Which Translation
 
The athletic model of 1Timothy 4.7 and 8 is easier to comprehend in the original Greek than how it is often translated into English, such as the King James Version’s (KJV): “physical exercise profiteth little.”  Verses seven and eight are rooted by three Greek words, each used twice.  The first, gymnasia is translated “exercise,” and is found in both verses.  It comes from the root word: gymnazo (gymnasium) which means to exercise or train as would an athlete.  In verse seven this word is in the imperative, directing the Ephesians to engage in rigorous exercise and be diligent in their pursuit of godliness.  In verse eight, the same word for exercise is used when comparing athletic endeavors to seeking to attain godliness.
  The second word, also found in both verses, is eusebeian - translated devoutness or godliness. The implication of verse seven is the Ephesian believers were to train (gymnazo) for this godliness (eusebeian) with the same dedication as athletes who trained for the arena.
  The third Greek word ophelimos – translated beneficial – is found only in verse eight but used twice to bring clarity to the overall message of the passage.  It states the purpose of all exercising and training: a “beneficial” end.  Training for the physical (somatike – bodily) is beneficial for a few things (oligon) but training for godliness is beneficial for all things (panta).
  So, how have the various renditions of these verses been translated in regards to the value of physical exercise? The following examples are representatives of the three categories of traditional renderings:
 
             Little value (profiteth little – KJV)
             Less value (limited – Philips)
             Some value (NIV)
 
  There is an obvious disparity between these three.  The first translation makes a negative evaluation: physical activity should not be engaged in because it has little intrinsic value. This suggests bodily exercise and athletics are negative or even sinful.  At the very least, they are held in low regard.  The second view, while a step in the right direction, does not hold physical activity with the same high esteem generally affirmed throughout the Bible, nor does it fit with the basic context and message of this passage.  The first translation assumes physical exercise is evil and the second translation errs by not fully appreciating the intrinsic value of physical endeavors.  Both should be rejected in favor of the third option.
  The third translation does the best job of comprehending the immediate context while also affirming the entire Biblical perspective on sport.  It appropriately renders a textual option affirming physical activity and its intrinsic value.  Yet, it does so without erring in ascribing physical exercise a higher value than is Biblically prescribed.  The first two options are antithetical to the context but the third is congruent with it.  So, the proper translation should be “of some value,” not of “little” or “limited value.”  It could be argued there is only a slight difference between “limited value” and “some value” but the latter is preferred because it states an affirmative whereas the former emphasizes the negative.
  The significance of this point is made even more poignant when one realizes that while the Apostle Paul was the human writer of the epistles to his “son in the faith,” the true author of the Epistle was the Holy Spirit who intended the letter and its lessons to be a model for all future generations.  He inspired Paul to specifically use an athletic term within an athletic motif and context to communicate both the implicit lesson: physical activity is beneficial for some things along with the explicit lesson: godliness is beneficial for all things.
  Therefore, when context is considered, this verse cannot be interpreted to indicate the realm of sports and athletics are to be avoided, thought poorly of, or even more disturbing, devoid of virtue. The true message of this passage is a direct command to be actively, regularly and sincerely working hard to develop godliness, emulating athletes who work to better themselves physically.  If verse seven was eliminated, verse eight would be translated quite differently. The problem of removing verse eight from its context, especially verse seven, becomes apparent.  A completely antithetical interpretation is made when the verse is lifted from its context.  It becomes even more apparent when isolated from the rest of the Bible.
  So, a proper translation as found in the NIV and ESV ensures a proper hermeneutic (Biblical interpretation) and provides a solid foundation from which to base the following exegesis.  Properly understood and rendered the verse should read: "bodily training is of some value" (ESV); "training your body helps you in some ways" (New Century Bible) or "workouts in the gymnasium are useful" (The Message).
 
C.            Biblical A Priori:
 
A second basic underlying principle of Biblical interpretation is to allow Scripture to interpret itself by comparing and using other relevant Scriptures to shed light on the passage in question.  As it relates to sport and athletics, the overwhelming Biblical evidence concerning sport is positive and thus would support the translation: “bodily training is of some value.”
What does the Bible state about athletics?  First and perhaps foremost, the Scripture never condemns sport, athletics or physical activity.  Secondly, every time the Bible mentions or references athletics it does so in a positive light.  The most profound example of this is the Holy Spirit inspiring the Apostle Paul to use an athletic metaphor to summarize his life.   It is inconceivable to believe God would inspire such a metaphor to describe the life of the most important, the most spiritually influential person, within the entire New Testament outside of Christ Himself or perhaps Barnabas, if the metaphor was intrinsically or inherently evil.   Suffice it to say, athletics are treated favorably in Scripture.
Even more profound however, is not so much what this verse is not saying, as what it is saying.  It places an intrinsic value upon physical activity by clearly stating it is of some value.  This statement is in agreement with the overall Biblical view of sport and its perspective of the human body as found in the Corinthian correspondence and elsewhere.
 To summarize then, this brief overview of the Biblical a priori on sport and athletics supports the third option of interpretation: “some value.”  The first option of interpretation – “little value” does an injustice to the overall Biblical view (Biblical a priori) of physical activity and sport.  The second interpretation “less or limited value” is a step in the right direction but still communicates the negative rather than the positive and thus doesn’t square with the overall message of the Bible.  The best interpretation by far, is the third option because it is congruent with the rest of Scripture.  The third option emphasizes the positives of physical activity while accurately upholding God’s intent to maintain spiritual activity as the highest, all-encompassing value.
 So once again, rather than interpreting this verse as a support for denigrating athletics, this passage is in complete agreement with the rest of Scripture.  It actually lifts athletic training and physical exercise up as great examples of a most beneficial model for spiritual growth!  Followers of Christ are encouraged to approach their spirituality as would athletes their sporting endeavors: consistently, energetically and under the direction of a knowledgeable trainer.  Certainly, Paul places spiritual development as the highest priority in a Christian’s life but any interpretation attempting to use this passage to state athletics as non-valuable, demonstrates a revealing bias and true lack of how to approach and interpret the whole of Scripture.
 
D.            Biblical Comparison
 
A third aid in interpreting this passage comes from the Biblical technique of comparison.  A good example of how to establish the meaning of a verse through the technique of comparison is Luke 14.26.  Jesus’ teaching about hating one’s family members, at first blush, seems harsh and even unbiblical.  Indeed, at face value, it is.  However, when understood through the lens of Biblical comparison, Jesus’ command for His followers to “hate” their parents and siblings make sense.  He wasn’t saying His followers were to conjure up passionate negative emotions or engage in hurtful actions towards family members.  Rather He was teaching one’s love for God should be so passionate it would seem, by comparison, the person hated his or her family. Furthermore, Jesus demonstratively loved His family and He taught loving one’s family was imperative.  Similarly, Paul uses the same teaching technique: comparison.  By comparison, Paul wrote Spiritual activity is beneficial for all things, whereas physical activity is beneficial for a few things.  This is quite different than saying it is of no value or “profiteth nothing.”
 
E.            Summary of Biblical Interpretation of 1 Timothy 4.8
 
After a careful analysis, the true essence of this passage emerges: 1Timothy 4.8 affirms physical exercise.  However, this passage cannot be used to suggest physical activity should be the highest priority or noblest virtue of a believer.  Physical exercise is beneficial for some things but godliness is beneficial for all things.  The strongest criticism anyone wishing to denigrate athletic endeavors can offer from this verse would be to use it as a safeguard to keep athletics and sports in check.  This appropriate caution would help to maintain a proper perspective about sporting activities by insisting physical activity be kept in its rightful place as being important but never superseding spiritual endeavors.  Furthermore, and perhaps even more profoundly, efforts to attain godliness can be enhanced if they emulate athletic training!  For example, a consistent and fervent training program supervised under the watchful eye of a qualified “coach” will greatly advance one’s pursuit of godliness.
Thus, once again for emphasis, this passage cannot be used to denigrate sport or to discourage participation in athletics by stating the Bible condemns sporting endeavors. The Biblical perspective is clear: physical activities are of some value, but spiritual activities are to be valued above all others.  Of course this then begs the question: can physical activities be separated from spiritual endeavors?  Or perhaps more to the point: can people worship God through their physical activities? This frequently asked question will be addressed in the FAQ chapter; chapter eight.__________________________________________

Next week’s blog will discuss the second set of Biblical Obstacles to Sports Outreach
 
This blog is an excerpt from Dr. Greg Linville's new book "Christmanship: A Theology of Competition & Sport."  It is a companion blog of an edited article by Rodger Oswald originally published in “The Sports Minister” Journal – Spring 2000 and the two should be read in tandem.

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 and Rodger Oswald are archived at: www.csrm.org

The 3-Tier Paradigm

This series of blogs are excerpts from Dr. Linville’s yet to be released book.  They explain and outline the 3-Tier Paradigm introduced in his yet to be published 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 is the final in this series and outlines the significant relevance of the 3-Tier Paradigm for the Sports Outreach Movement.

Relevance of CSRM’s 3-Tier Paradigm

Two Local Church Sports Ministers called in the same week.  Their churches were attempting to write position papers in response to the prevailing cultural shifts regarding gender issues.  They had contacted denominational leaders, universities and various sports-related para-ministries but were disappointed with the lack of, and/or depth of, the responses they received.

Another issue that has a long history of controversy, but has resurfaced due to recent changes in policies by some sports-related, para-ministries and churches, is the Sunday Sport debate.  The 3-Tier Paradigm provides the foundation and structure for how to envision, plan for and implement truly Christ-honoring; theologically sound, biblically-based and strategically-relevant Sports Outreach in relationship to such dilemmas.

Gender Issues

Church Recreators and Sports Ministers are struggling with changes in cultural values as they impact their women’s leagues.  Never before have they been faced with finding compassionate ways to relate to all women registering for their woman’s softball league in light of a growing trend of transgenderism.  Women on opposing teams who play third base are fearful of losing their teeth due to the speed of the batted ball from transgendered players.  In addition, women on opposing teams, as well as teammates, are extremely uncomfortable sharing changing rooms, restrooms and shower facilities with transgendered league members.  The answers to such dilemmas can be found, but without the 3-Tier Paradigm the possibility of following the lead of a secular society is very real and even more troubling is the high likelihood, the church’s interaction with the transgendered will be negative; not at all Christ-like.

There are at least five Level #1 Theological Truths that must be considered in relationship to gender related issues.  They include:

• Cosmology - The Doctrines of Creation
  
  
  • Including a subset of Cosmology
    
    
    • Anthropology - The Doctrine of Humankind – including the Doctrine of Gender
      
      
• Ecclesiology – The Doctrine of The Church
  
  
  • Including answering the question: can transgendered people be members of The Body of Christ, and can those who want to deny the transgendered church membership be members of the church
    
    
• Missiology – The Doctrine of “Evangelistic-Disciplemaking”
  
  
  • Including how to reach those far from Christ (if the transgendered person in question is in fact far from Christ)
    
    
• Soteriology - The Doctrine of Salvation
  
  
  • Including can (are) the transgendered be “saved”
    
    
• Hamartiology - The Doctrine of Sin
  
  
  • Including
    
    
    • Is being transgendered a sin
      
      
    • Is denying the transgendered person love, compassion and opportunities within the body of Christ a sin
      
       
      
      Sunday Sport Issues
      
      There are also at least five theological truths that need to be applied to any philosophical and methodological decisions regarding Sunday Sport.
      
      

• The Doctrine of the Sabbath Day
  
  
• The Doctrine of the Lord’s Day
  
  
• Ecclesiology – The Doctrine of The Church
  
  
  • Including when, where and how The Church meets
    
    
• Missiology – The Doctrine of “Evangelistic-Disciplemaking”
  
  
  • Including how to reach those who play sport on Sunday
    
    
    • Is it necessary to participate in Sunday sport with those who play sport on Sunday in order to reach them
      
      
• Soteriology – The Doctrine of Salvation
  
  
  • Including does playing sport on Sunday communicate “easy believism” and thus become an impediment to true belief and/or become an impediment to true discipleship
    
     
    
    Next Steps
    
    Has your church waded through these theological truths?  Will your church take the time and make the effort to think theologically before acting methodologically?  CSRM can help.
    
    The relevance of the 3-Tier Paradigm has to do with mobilizing and empowering local churches to envision Sports, Recreation and Fitness Outreach Ministries that are Strategic, Relevant, Effective and Efficient.  A major reason many existing Sports Outreach Ministries have become ineffective, inefficient and irrelevant is because they are not founded on solid theological and philosophical foundations.  Churches can ensure strategically-relevant and efficiently-effective sports outreach if they are willing to do the hard work of envisioning their methodologies on solid Christian theology and biblically-based philosophies.  Feel free to contact CSRM for further resources on how to incorporate the 3-Tier Paradigm into your Sports Outreach Ministry.
    
     
    
    Next week’s blog will begin a series on addressing Gender issues in relationship to Sports Outreach Ministry.
    
     
    
    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