The Sacraments
While the three great strands of Christianity disagree on the number and understanding of the Sacraments they do agree on the general vital importance of Sacraments.  Catholic and Orthodox traditions share in the belief there are seven Sacraments whereas Protestants claim only two, often calling them Ordinances.  However, all 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 due to athletes participating 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
There are few good reasons to participate in non-church sponsored Sunday Sport and many great reasons not to.  However, I do believe a case can be made for a local congregation incorporating Sunday sport and recreation into an overall ministry plan.  To state it even stronger, I believe a church would find combining recreational and sporting activities with traditional Lord’s Day worship services, Christian Education classes, youth, children and other outreach ministries not only strategic and relevant, but more importantly well within the theological mandates and biblically-based Level #2 Philosophical Principles of the scriptures.  The key distinction is all such activities are church sponsored and they both support and enhance the purpose, function and evangelistic-disciplemaking endeavors of The Church.
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This blog is an excerpt from a future book "Surrounded by Witnesses" by Dr. Greg Linville.  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/

Personal Contributions of Time and Effort to a Local Assembly
One of the most overlooked aspects of the conflict between 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 commitment 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!  Further implications of this are taken up in the Missiology and Soteriology parts of the book of which this is an excerpt and the following paragraph.

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, may have the exact opposite effect of that which is desired by all outreach evangelists!  By participating in sport on Sunday, athletes communicate church is not as important as sport itself.  In addition, if the ones who call themselves 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 far better argument can be made for someone who forgoes attending church to reach out to those playing sport on Sunday but not participating in sport so as to clearly communicate they are there for ministry, rather than arguing for playing sport for evangelistic reasons.  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!  The reason is, their purpose for showing up at the sporting events is clear: They are there for spiritual reasons, not athletic pursuits!  When participating in the sport, their motives are not clearly communicated.  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.”

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This blog is an excerpt from a future book "Surrounded by Witnesses" by Dr. Greg Linville.  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/

Personal Faith
Local congregations have Worship Services, Christian Education and fellowship opportunities that meet on days other than Sunday, but it stretches the limits of credulity to suggest even a sizable minority of churches offer services to nurture a strong faith in any athlete that don’t conflict with the time of athletic trainings and practices.  Christian athletes and coaches must face the facts that church activities most always conflict with sporting commitments.  Sundays, Saturday evenings and most week night evenings are all consumed by athletic practices, conditioning and games.  As hard as it is to say…and even harder to live out…Christian sportspeople must often make a choice between sport and faith.  It is imperative for athletes and coaches to make room in their schedules for a commitment to regular, active participation with a church for the good of their own spiritual development; even if it means leaving sport.  It should be pointed out that the same principle would apply to all vocations; sport cannot be singled out.  If one’s career precludes or prohibits personal involvement in a local church, then a new career is necessitated.

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.  Furthermore, accountability partners are a must for everybody.  This area however, is one that is easiest met on days, and at times, other than Sunday.  Times for such activities can be much easier scheduled around sporting commitments and this point should not be used to deter any sporting involvement.

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This blog is an excerpt from a future book "Surrounded by Witnesses" by Dr. Greg Linville.  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/

Worship in Relationship to Sports Outreach Ministry
The question about worship always comes up in relationship to sport and athletics.  Many ask the question: “Can athletes worship God in, through and by, their sporting activities and endeavors?”  Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!  But!  This does not automatically mean a worshipful sporting activity on a Lord’s Day, especially a Lord’s Day morning, can serve to replace more traditional worship experiences.  Therefore, even though sportspersons can and should attempt to worship God through their athletic activities, they neglect the regular participation in traditional worship opportunities to their own spiritual peril and detriment.

Other vocations also offer opportunities to worship God.  Doctors can worship God in their practice of medicine and their healing of the sick and infirm; actors can worship God as they bring joy and poignant messages to theater goers; teachers worship God whenever they inform and inspire students, and farmers worship God as they provide food for the world.  Yet none of these worshipful activities can replace or substitute corporate, family and individual worship, nor any Christian Education opportunities.  Perhaps this point can be most clearly communicated by realizing not even the traditional Lord’s Day worship can totally replace the complementary and necessary roles Christian Education and regular participation in other disciplines play in the shaping of one’s discipleship.[1]

So, the Scriptures are clear as to the organization and function of The Church and the vital importance for sportspeople to actively participate in the worship and disciplemaking activities of a local congregation.  Some ask however, “what about the gifted athlete’s role and responsibility to maximize God-given talents to reach out to others?”  They sincerely want to know: “should adults be encouraged to join the local Sunday morning soccer league to reach out to friends” and “should a church organize youth league travel teams to be a witness in weekend tournaments, including playing games on Sundays?”

These and other questions will be more fully answered in sections and chapters (of the book from which this excerpt is taken) under the headings of missiology and in the Chapter that outlines the application of Sabbath/Lord’s Day principles, but two things are clear.

The first question is, should the church reach those playing sports on a Lord’s Day and second, should they participate in sport with them on Sunday as a way to reach them?  The answer to question #1 is an emphatic yes.  However the answer to the second question is much less clear.

In fact, it may well be, that the very act of trying to reach them by participating in sporting activities with them, precludes being able to reach them!  This must be clearly understood…reaching them is far different than participating with them.  This can best be understood by asking such questions as: should a Christian get “high” with drug addicts, or should they visit a burlesque with those who frequent such places?

So, the bottom line question for sports participants who are disciples of Christ concerning worship is: “What/Who is Lord,” and how does Jesus being Lord translate into determining one’s priorities of time, values and participation in sporting and church related activities.[2]  Part of the answer is found in understanding the biblical principles about the Sabbath and Lord’s Day.


[1] One of the most troubling realities of the 21st century church is the trend away from “The Lord’s Day” to the “Lord’s Hour” in which a growing majority of Christians only attend a one-hour worship service rather than participating in a full Lord’s Day set of spiritual formation activities including bible study, fellowship, outreach and more.  This trend has led to a most pervasive, stunted and shallow spirituality for the overwhelming majority of church attenders.

[2] I fully believe God is a Who, not a what, but I use “what” to communicate how easily it is to make something other than God the Lord of our lives…which for athletes and coaches too often becomes sport.


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This blog is an excerpt from a future book "Surrounded by Witnesses" by Dr. Greg Linville.  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/

Participation in, and Attendance of, a Local Congregation and the Relevance to Athletes Coaches and Sports Outreach Ministries
While The Church of Jesus is fully united in Him, there remain significant theological divides, a myriad of denominational worship traditions and in a few circumstances issues that encompass both, such as the view of the Sacraments.   Regardless of the theological diversity and the varied expressions of worship, all three of the major historic strands of The Church (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant), agree on the importance of becoming a member of, and regularly participating in, a local congregation.  What follows is a survey of the various components of what membership and participation encompasses, but more importantly, what their relevance to, and implications for, local church Sports Outreach Ministries concerns.
Perhaps even more vital, those trying to integrate sport with faith must wrestle with the deleterious (negative) effect their lack of regularly participating in the corporate worship, bible study and fellowship of a local congregation will have on their spiritual growth and fervor.  The issue must be raised…  If sporting involvement precludes athletes from consistent and regular participation in a local congregation’s worship, Christian education, fellowship, accountability, receiving the Sacraments and opportunities to serve and minister, then can their pre-emptory participation in sport be theologically condoned and supported?
I truly believe a Christian sportsperson’s participation in sport can (in fact I believe it must) be viewed as worship but, a Christian’s faith will be weak and anemic if their only worship is experienced on the athletic field, pitch or gym.  Similarly, participating in only a one hour traditional worship each week or relying upon a few minutes of daily personal devotional or biblical inspiration will at best produce a stunted and unfulfilling spiritual life.  To grow one’s faith deep and strong, one must participate in all the functions of The Church, in and with a local congregation.  Even if one’s sporting involvement is understood as worship, it must not be allowed to cause a sportsperson to relinquish the need and responsibility to regularly and consistently take part in the other essentials of being a disciple such as:  Christian Education, fellowship and the receiving of the Sacraments; nor can it come close to replacing them.
The Biblical mandates are each and every disciple of Christ is “not to forsake gathering together” and are to do so regularly (at least once a week).[1]  This mandate cannot be stated too strongly, nor should Christians want it any other way.   Disciples of Christ have the great privilege to experience a Holy Day (Holiday) once each week as The Church gets to celebrate the truth of Easter and the empowering of Pentecost each and every week!  By “honoring the day,” in ways which include participating in weekly, corporate worship, Christian Education and fellowship activities, followers of Christ not only ensure their own spiritual formation and development but also will experience a significant impact in reaching others for Christ as they grow into stronger disciples of Christ.
It is important to explore a full understanding of the importance of a commitment to, and a regular participation with, a local congregation which includes: a) worship; b) the Sabbath Day/ Lord’s Day; c) the Sacraments; and d) obligations to one’s church.

[1] Luke 4.16; Acts 2.41-4;16.13; 17.2-11; Acts 20.7; I Corinthians 16.2 &19; Colossians 4.15; Philemon 1.2; Hebrews 10.25
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This blog is an excerpt from a future book "Surrounded by Witnesses" by Dr. Greg Linville.  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/