The “5-B’s Rubric of Evangelistic-Disciplemaking” of The Sports Outreach Movement
This series of blogs describes and explains the “5-B’s” of Evangelistic-Disciplemaking of The Sports Outreach Movement.  This blogs continues the discussion with the fifth “B” – Becoming
 
The fifth and final step in the 5-B’s Rubric is: becoming. Becoming is perfect as a descriptor because it communicates not only that evangelistic-disciplemaking is a process but also that “dedicated disciples” of Jesus Christ never arrive, but are constantly progressing.  More importantly however, becoming effectively communicates the true essence of the evangelistic-disciplemaking process of the 5-B Rubric.  The commitment to be about making dedicated, life-long disciples of Jesus Christ as opposed to asking someone to make a one-day decision about becoming a Christian, is significantly different.
It should also be apparent becoming is impossible without the first four steps in the 5-B Rubric.  A person cannot not become a person who truly worships and embodies Christ without: a) belonging: being part of a community; b) believing: coming to faith in Jesus; c) baptizing: being baptized in His name; and d) behaving: striving to live as Jesus taught.  Becoming is the ongoing result of the first four “B’s.”   While becoming is a resultant end, it is also truly an ongoing resultant end.  It is an arrival/destination that assumes continual growth and development.
 
The Conclusion of The “5 B’s” - The Relevance of the 5-B Rubric for the Sports Outreach Movement
There may be no other concept more relevant to the Sports Outreach Movement than the 5-B Rubric of Evangelistic-Disciplemaking.  On this Level #2 Philosophical Principle, hang all subsequent Level #3 Methodological Models.  All local church Sports Outreach Ministries and each sports-related, para-ministries raise funds based upon this rubric.  More important, all activities, outreaches and endeavors are built upon the philosophy of ministry...and of course, all Level #2 Philosophical Principles are informed and shaped by their Level #1 Theological Truths.

If the Level #1 theological perspective of soteriology (theology of salvation) of a church or ministry is to “get someone saved,” (decision for a day), then their 5-B Rubric is, at best, reduced to a 2-B approach… belonging and believing.  With such a theological mindset there is no need for the last three “B’s.”  If however, a ministry’s theology of salvation includes “making disciples,” (life-long, dedicated disciples) then the entire 5-B Rubric is of vital importance. 

So, the real question for the Sports Outreach Movement is: is it about evangelism or better said, evangelistic-disciplemaking?  Is the job of a local church Sports Outreach Ministry completed upon a person’s profession of faith, or is that profession of faith a most welcomed and celebrated step on a journey towards becoming a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ?  How Sports Outreach leaders answer this question will decide the future of the Movement…and to a large degree…impact the future of The Church.
_________________________________________

This blog is an excerpt from chapter #3 of Dr. Linville's yet to be released book – Sports Ministry Fundamentals.  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 other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/

The “5-B’s Rubric of Evangelistic-Disciplemaking” of The Sports Outreach Movement

This series of blogs will describe and explain the “5-B’s” of Evangelistic-Disciplemaking of The Sports Outreach Movement.  This series is a Level #2 Philosophical Principle of the “3-Tier Paradigm” and serves to succinctly chart a step-by-step Biblically-based philosophical progression of The Evangelistic-disciplemaking Concept from which Level #3 Methodological Models can emerge.  Each of the five steps starts with a word that begins with the letter: “B.”  It is conceptualized from within, and built out of, the 5th of “7 Sports Outreach Continuums of Tension” – Celtic–Roman as outlined and further explained in the book from which this excerpt is taken.

The “5-B’s” in concept, are not unique to the Sports Outreach Movement but to the author’s knowledge, this is the first place they have been categorized and aligned as such.  While almost embarrassingly simple in concept, the “5-B’s Rubric” is ingeniously helpful to all Sports Outreach Movement leaders who are attempting to comprehend and implement the evangelistic-disciplemaking concept in their Sports Outreach Ministry.  This series has two sections and a number of subsections that include:
 

1. The description and explanation of, the “5-B’s Rubric” of Sports Outreach
   
2. The relevance of the “5-B’s Rubric” of Sports Outreach
   

 

1. The Description and explanation of the “5-B’s Rubric” of Sports Outreach
   

The “5-B’s Rubric” of Sports Outreach is a helpful shorthand way to encapsulate the evangelistic-disciplemaking concept and is designed to help the leaders of the Sports Outreach Movement conceptualize, implement and evaluate whether or not they are actually succeeding in making “dedicated-disciples” rather than the typical “days-decision” experienced by most attempting evangelism.  Each “B” represents a clear step in the evangelistic-disciplemaking process.  Each identifies a necessary step in the spiritual journey of secularized, non-churched, non-believers as they become “dedicated disciples” of Jesus Christ.  Each “B” will be stated and then described.     The “5-B’s” are:

• Belonging
  
• Believing
  
• Baptizing
  
• Behaving
  
• Becoming
  

 
The next blog will begin the first step in the journey by explaining the first “B” - Belonging
_________________________________________

This blog is an excerpt from chapter #3 of Dr. Linville's yet to be released book – Sports Ministry Fundamentals.  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 other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog

Is Sports Outreach Effective?
This is a reprint of a blog from February 2015....

This series of blogs addressing the question: Is Sports Outreach Effective continues the conversation on the third Sports Outreach Ministry Continuum. What follows is intended to begin a conversation based upon the hard questions asked within.  It is not written so as to be intentionally offensive or hurtful.  All truth seekers are invited to continue. 

Sports Outreach Continuum of Tension #3:

Local Church Sports Outreach – Para-Sports Ministry
Earlier in this series (see February 2015) I 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.  Previous blogs in this series provided a brief history of local church sports outreach and an overview of its theological, philosophical and subsequent methodological approach to “evangelistic-disiplemaking.  This blog shares a brief historical perspective of sports-related Para-ministries and also looks at their philosophical and methodological foundations… 

A Brief Historical Overview of Sports Based Para-Ministries
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) was founded in 1954 by professional athletes such as Bob Feller and Otto Graham.  Campus Crusade followed suit about ten years later with its Athletes in Action Sports Ministry.  Since then, hundreds of sports related Para-Ministries have been instituted; most were established since 1980.  Of course some might suggest the YMCA was the first Sports Ministry.  Indeed, it began in 1844 and was an excellent Para-ministry but, the Y did not begin as a sports-based ministry.  It did eventually add a “physical” department but sadly, while it wisely added sports and fitness methodologies, for the most part it Capitulated its Christian distinctive and the YMCA no longer has Evangelism or Discipleship as its purpose for existence. (See my other writings for a much broader history of the Y and all things Sports Ministry). 

Sports-Related Para-Ministry Philosophy and Methodology
Philosophically, the vast majority of sports related Para-Ministries focus on athletes and coaches.  Two main Methodologies are: a) Chaplaincy work which includes team Bible Studies and outreaches with some being campus based and others team or club based; and b) Mega-event and/or multi-media outreaches which focus on providing a “platform” for athletes to “proclaim” their faith via a speaking opportunity or through various media outlets.

All such Para-ministries claim to have great success when it comes to the twin Evangelical endeavors of Evangelism and Discipleship.  But do they?  If all the numbers of “decisions for Christ” reported by these ministries were combined, the entire world would be Christian today!  The statistic that most accurately communicates success however, is not how many "decisions for Christ" were made, but rather is, how many of the athletes and coaches associated with the Para-ministries become life-long disciples of Christ including regular and significant involvement with a local congregation. 

What’s the Problem?
You might be asking “what’s the big deal as long as everyone is focused on Evangelism?”  That question can be answered by asking a different question.  If Para-Ministries are so successful, then why hasn’t this success resulted in the growth of the Church?  If the philosophy of Para-ministries is so significant and the methodologies of Sports Chaplaincies, Mega-Sports-Outreach-Events, Platform Evangelism and Mass Media communication of the gospel are so fruitful, then why has church attendance continued to dwindle in the very countries in which sports related Para-ministries have flourished and claimed such great success?  It could be argued church attendance would have fallen even lower had it not been for the efforts of Para-ministries, yet this is refuted by the fact that other than a few notable exceptions, elite athletes and coaches are not intimately involved with local churches.  Of course, the local church must also “look in the mirror” to see if their philosophies and methodologies are working but the bottom line is, the numbers simply haven’t matched the expectations claimed by Para-ministries fundraising appeals.

The relevant question for both local congregations and the sports related Para-ministries is: “how many Disciples of Christ have been added to the ranks, rather than how many decisions were recorded.”  Evangelistic-disciplemaking should be judged by how many new Disciples of Christ are produced, not by how many prayed a prayer with a counselor, filled out a card at an event, raised their hand at a meeting or “went forward” at service. 

Relevance of the 3rd Sports Outreach Continuum
Future blogs will address the relevance of the Local Church – Para-ministry continuum  and work towards a proposal for a synthesized Philosophical Principle to produce a truly effective and efficient Methodological Model.

________________________________________________
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

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.

___________________________________________________________
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

 
Overcoming Obstacles in Local Church Sports Outreach Ministry #5 - Practical Objections
This set of blogs revisits and updates a series of articles that address common obstacles faced by many Local Church Sports & Recreation Ministers.  The articles first appeared in CSRM’s Journal “The Sports Minister” and were originally written by Sports Ministry Pioneer Rodger Oswald.  They appear here in edited excerpts.  The end goal of the series is to help identify, define and explain various obstacles faced by Local Church Sports Outreach Ministers
 
Practical Objections to Church Sports Overview
Having addressed the major Biblical and Philosophical-based objections to Church Sports, I now move to objections based on practical matters.  While Biblical and Philosophical issues are significant, the most prevalent obstacles Local Church Sports Ministers face are practical. 
 
After careful analysis, I have concluded the major obstacle Sports Ministers face when initiating a new ministry into the life of the church can be summarized in one word: CHANGE.  And, as you know, people don’t like change.  It disrupts status quo, it mandates adjustments in the way people think and operate.  Change moves churches into areas of the unknown, and some might even conclude change implies what a church has done historically hasn’t been good, or at least not good enough.  The change created by adding a new ministry often strains relationships and causes relational difficulties amongst church staff and volunteers.  In specific there are three practical areas of tension that arise when a Sports Ministry is initiated or expanded in a local church: finance; leadership; facility.
 
Finance
A hard reality when a ministry is added or expanded is the overall church budget doesn’t increase.  Therefore, everyone’s “piece of the pie” diminishes.  This makes it hard for leaders of existing ministries to embrace a new ministry when it comes at the expense of shrinking the portion of existing ministries budgets.
 
REALITY CHECK #1 - Church funds don’t belong to anyone person or ministry.  They are the Lord’s funds given to local congregations to carry out the Lord’s work.
 
REALITY CHECK #2 – Sports Outreach Ministry is one of the few revenue generators in a church.  People won’t pay to sing in the choir or to attend a Sunday School, but people will pay to participate in the church’s sports and recreation activities.
 
Leadership Loss
It is equally hard to embrace a new ministry if it means existing ministries lose either leaders or participants to the new ministry.  Every local church ministry needs servants…the hand and feet that make a ministry go.  Thus if a new, and often what is perceived as, a more exciting ministry “steals away” people, it is disdained by those leading existing ministries.
 
REALITY CHECK #1
As for servant stealing…you never steal anyone away from the Lord’s work.  If the Lord lays a ministry on a person’s heart, you would be foolish to try to stop them from going.  If they served you for a time, thank them, bless them and release them to the work God is calling them.
 
REALITY CHECK #2
Most churches with an effective Sports and Recreation Ministry mobilize many people who have never before been a church volunteer…many of whom acquire the “volunteer bug” and later serve in other church ministries.  In addition, Sports Ministries attract many new people to the church and many of them eventually serve in many other church ministries.  In other words, Sports Ministry gives people to other church ministries, it doesn’t take them away.
 
Facilities
All ministries need space…whether it’s a field, gym or a basic room.  At least at first, new ministries don’t bring new facilities.  In fact, they take up a portion of the facilities other ministries used in the past.  Now the new ministry has become a rival for space…something most churches never have enough of.
 
REALITY #1
Should ministries that produce spiritual fruit and growth be stopped because facilities need to be shared?  I have never known a church with sufficient facilities – regardless of how many they have.  Space will always be a problem with a dynamic church.  The goal of a church regarding facilities ought to be to have good communication, blessed cooperation, humble conciliation and flexible creativity.
 
REALITY #2
Churches with effective Sports Outreach Ministries not only bring in new people but also new financial resources and this expanding critical mass often results in new, upgraded and ever expanding facilities, equipment and resources for the entire church.
 
Summary
Local congregations are wise to do all they can to enable and empower ministries that produce evangelistic-disciplemaking, and integrate them as directed by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4.1-3 where he called for unity.
 
Whatever the obstacle is that you face, the bottom line is to know you have: a) Biblical mandates and freedom for Sports Outreach; b) Historically-based, philosophical evidences; and c) Successful practical precedence to overcome any resistance you might face.
  
___________________________________
Next week’s blog will begin a series entitled: “Surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses” which highlights historical Muscular Christian pioneers who created models for Local Church Sports & Recreation Ministry
 
This blog is an edited excerpt an article by Rodger Oswald originally published in “The Sports Minister” Journal – Spring 2000.  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