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"Evangelistic-Disciplemaking" Sports Outreach
Strategically Relevant, Effective and Efficient
"Evangelistic-Disciplemaking" Sports Outreach
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I approached Andrew, our Director of Digital Resources at CSRM, as he was standing next to one of the conference presenters at the Ridgecrest Conference Center last month. I recorded the presentation on the new iPad the University of Mississippi issued to me. It was my first Apple product to work with after years of being an Android user. I noticed to the left of me in the hallway was Dale, a longtime friend from Baylor University. To my right sat John, the Recreation and Senior Adult Pastor with whom I worked in my last church staff position. These two men know me quite well including both my strengths and weaknesses. As I approached, the presenter asked how we were going to transfer the recording from my iPad to the director. Andrew said, “I’ll just have him AirDrop it to my device.” I replied, “Yeah, that’s what I thought we’d do.” My two friends, knowing of my technological ignorance, broke out in loud laughter. If you had questioned me before Andrew used the phrase, I would have said an “AirDrop” is when one takes supplies to a place with no roads that need supplies. The “REACH” goes even farther as I was telling the story to Ann Margaret, a lady friend of mine, and when I got to my part of saying, “that’s what I thought we’d do,” she burst into laughter as well. I think my friends understood that me knowing a technological term like that would be “quite the REACH.” The phrase, “this is a REACH,” according to the website, English Language App is defined as “far-fetched” or “not likely but also not impossible.” 1 When one thinks of using leisure time experiences as a tool for telling people about God’s love and offering the hope of salvation, some would say that is “quite the REACH.” And, yet, it is happening in local churches all over this world and CSRM is doing what we can to assist in this process. The word, “REACH” on its own has various meanings. The conference referred to above is called REACHGathering and is held for local church Sports, Recreation, and Fitness (SR&F) Outreach Ministers. In a way, based on my experiences through the years with events like this, the conference encompasses different definitions of REACH from www.dictionary.com. 2 To Get to or Get as Far as in Moving, Going, Traveling, etc. (verb) People who attend the REACHGathering conference are interested in going as far as they can in REACHing people for Jesus and teaching them how to be like Jesus through sports, recreation, and fitness programs. Topics at the conference included items such as how to deal with Sunday tournament games or how to deal with gender and transgender issues. Breakout sessions dealt with coach recruitment and retention as well as dealing with diverse populations. I would offer that sports, recreation, and fitness opportunities may be the best method in this world in bringing people together. When one is involved with others in a sport, sitting alongside someone in a craft class, or pitching the tent on the perfect campsite, the thought doesn’t go to the differences in other people. Instead, the idea concentrates on the similarities. The “reach” for others will allow us to get to or get as far as in moving, going, or traveling. A Continuous Stretch or Extent of Something (noun) John Wooden, the longtime successful coach at UCLA, said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” 3 It’s incredible at this gathering how many people attend that have been in sports, recreation and fitness ministries for over twenty years. When asked as to why they still attend, the reason includes relationships and that they will learn something new. Knowledge is a stretching of the mind and heart. It’s a REACH to extend oneself in learning about new techniques or new programs that can help someone else learn how to be like Jesus. To gain new knowledge at this conference and extend all we know about leading in sports and recreation programs is a good “REACH” to attempt. Range of Effective Action, Power, or Capacity (noun) In a culture that is enamored with leisure time activities, it behooves churches to do what they can to influence said culture with love and grace. Sports, recreation, and fitness programs provide the “REACH” to gather the people of a community together. The action, power, or capacity of a single program can be the impetus to draw in a person that needs God’s grace and love. I have heard when missionaries move into different cultures, they learn the culture and then attempt to minister, evangelize, and disciple through the ways of that culture. It is no different for the sports, recreation, and fitness ministries in our culture using all of their action, power and capacity to reach a culture with God’s amazing love and grace. Join us for REACHGathering 2020 While my knowledge of AirDrops and other technological advances are a “REACH,” I can attest to the fact that the REACHGathering Conference is a more realistic “REACH.” The dates for next year are March 31 – April 2, 2020, at the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, North Carolina. You may register now at https://reachlive.org/register. I’ll be there. You can find me around the tech people discussing AirDrops. ---------------------------------- in1 Em1Em1 2, Alicja ZAlicja Z 1. (n.d.). What does “this is a REACH” mean? Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://english.stackexhcange.com/questions/160356/what-does-this-is-a-reach-mean 2 Reach. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2019, from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/reach -------------------------------- Professor David Waddell currently teaches at Ole Miss and is CSRM's Executive Director. He had a long tenure as a SR&F Outreach Minister at a local church in Memphis, Tennessee and has authored three books. Contact him at dwaddell7@gmail.com His books can be ordered at: https://csrm.z2systems.com/np/clients/csrm/giftstore.jsp It was Memorial Day in 1921 that the exhumation of four World War I unknown soldiers took place from a cemetery in France. Sargent Edward F, Younger, decorated for his valor and recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, selected the third casket from the left and decorated it with a spray of white roses. This casket was transported to the United States for interment at the Arlington National Cemetery where it stands on top of a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. and is known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Inscribed on the back of the tomb are the words:
Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God[1] I won’t place myself in the same position of worth as those that have given their lives for this country, but I do understand the feeling of being unknown. Countless people carry out the duties of their lives with a similar lack of recognition. Musicians who labor for small gigs or small crowds, teachers who lack appreciation for their work, or employees who feel underemployed are among those that feel as though they are the unknown in their area of expertise and giftedness. For me, the feeling of being unknown comes with the territory of the career path which God called me into, the sports and recreation ministry. For example, I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, in one form or another, when I was going to get into a “real” ministry. I felt like a child again where people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. It’s a question that many sports and recreation ministers deal with regardless of his or her age. I may be a bit sensitive, but I always got the idea that sports and recreation ministries didn’t warrant the same amount of respect or value as other ministries from certain people in the church. There are those that were sports and recreation ministers at one time that are now in different ministry positions in the local church. Others I’m aware of have entered business venues, became professors in universities, or have joined in some parachurch ministry. Some would view this as upward mobility, or in other words, climbing the career ladder. While this may be the way the world would see the situation, it doesn’t minimize the impact a sports and recreation ministry has in God’s Kingdom. Nor does it mean that sports and recreation ministry is a stepping stone position. I was conducting a recreation staff meeting at Germantown Baptist, and the notion came out about some of these kinds of feelings. I attempted to use the phrase, “the redheaded stepchild at the family reunion,” which means "being neglected, mistreated, or unwanted."[2] I felt as though the efforts of my ministry team made us the redheaded stepchild, or in other words the ministry that didn’t measure up to the others in effectiveness. Unfortunately, my tongue often works quicker than my brain, and the statement came out, “Well, I guess we’re the step-headed red child.” Carla, one of my staff members, drew a cartoon figure with his head being three steps going from a high forehead down to the back of the skull. It might have been better for me to remain unknown in that case. I also got this “unknown” feeling when it came time for budget discussions or priority of calendar dates. Other ministries were “important,” and sports and recreation seemed to be second in importance. After all, as it would be pointed out, it’s just fun and games, right? I know other sports and recreation ministers that have similar feelings of anonymity. In many churches, this great ministry and outreach program is seen as entertainment only. People don’t recognize the value the ministry provides the church and the world. It’s as though we become “the other guys” in the ministry scheme of things. Well, there is hope found for us unknowns in the story of Easter. Two people that were instrumental in the last week of Jesus being on Earth in human form do not have their names given in the story. They are the “unknowns” of the Easter story. I wrote about one of them, the owner of the upper room (Luke 22:7-12), in my second book, Holiday Biblical Characters: Finding My Stories in the Stories of Christmas and Easter, inspired by my good friend, Chris Teague, Administrator at Grace Bible Church in Oxford, Mississippi. In the chapter, Upper Room Owner: Behind-The-Scenes Kind of Guy, it states: “The man seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I would see him before and after the church services around the lobby, where I drank coffee while either waiting on the service to begin or meeting with people after the service was over. This man would be introduced with the other elders in the church, but I would never see him up in front of the people… He seemed to be in the middle of everything but never in the front of anything."[3] The other “unknown” hero was the owner of the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Luke 19:30-34). Here we have two people that were instrumental in the story of crucifixion and resurrection that has changed the world, and yet we have no idea who they are. Jesus gives a message to those that work for God in anonymity, which you'll find in Matthew in what is called the Sermon on the Mount, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 NLT) Perhaps those that minister in silence, like myself, should relish the fact that we play a part of a story in someone’s life. To quote Holiday Biblical Characters again, “It must take an amazing heart to be able to do something and keep the ego in check. It’s easy to work when praise is readily and humanly available. It’s something else entirely when the only praise one receives is from God.”[4] So, organize those sports leagues and plan those craft classes. Assemble the tournaments and seminars. Create opportunities for fitness and wellness for the people of your community. Sing for the nursing home residents. Teach with the knowledge that you are helping the next generation be better than we are. Work for your employer as if you were working for God. The work you do is making a difference, one life at a time. So, like the Unknown Soldier, rest in the fact that your work may be "known but to God," and that’s not all that bad of a place to be known. [1] Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (n.d.), Retrieved March 12, 2019, from http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Tomb-of-the-Unknown-Soldier [2] Red-headed stepchild. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-red2.htm [3] Waddell, D. (2015). Holiday Biblical Characters: Finding My stories in the stories of Christmas and Easter. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan. P. 293 [4] Waddell, D. (2015). Holiday Biblical Characters: Finding My stories in the stories of Christmas and Easter. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan. P. 299 ------------------------------------------------ Professor David Waddell currently teaches at Ole Miss and is CSRM's Executive Director. He had a long tenure as a SR&F Outreach Minister at a local church in Memphis, Tennessee and has authored three books. Contact him at dwaddell7@gmail.com His books can be ordered at: https://csrm.z2systems.com/np/clients/csrm/giftstore.jsp The stats are alarming. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (as of 2016), nearly 1 in 5 adults in America battle some sort of mental illness in their lives.1 That’s not a statistic to be taken lightly. I’m one of that 20%. Growing up, did I ever think I would someday be writing about any type of mental illness that I was battling? Not in a thousand years! As far as I knew, I was a happy child with a positive outlook on life. Never could I have imagined what I would face down the road of life. As an adult, and as life began to become a bit overwhelming, I started to struggle with negativity. From there it was a slow decline. While I was in the Word, I wasn’t applying many of its truths to my own life. I had been listening to the lies of the enemy my whole life, but only now was I truly taking these lies upon myself as a part of my identity. The self-talk in my mind was ugly. Wounds from my childhood (and one traumatic incident which occurred 2 months prior to my breakdown) that I didn’t even know the depths of began to open and infect my soul. Have you ever tried to be absolutely perfect on all fronts because inside you feel lost, empty, unlovable, never good enough, and always fear the worst? I have. For 33 years. I just didn’t see it for equally as long. It took the darkest week of my life, which landed me in the ER believing I was dying, for me to begin to see what damage had been done in my mind. That whole summer was really a blur for me. The darkness, the torment, the crying out to God, the fear that took over my every move, the burden that became physical pain, the inability to leave my house, the plans I made for my family in case I should die… it was as if I was living someone else’s life. Surely this wasn’t what had become of me. I’ll admit that prior to my own battles, I didn’t take seriously the battles others faced. Anxious? Stop worrying! Depressed? Get out of bed! Suicidal? How dare you not consider those around you! My entire experience opened my heart to a type of compassion I’d never known before. I knew I wasn’t the only one struggling, and yet I never heard anyone talk about it- especially within the Church. Why wasn’t this talked about? I was determined to be open about my story. But in doing so, people didn’t know what to do with me. By being open and honest with my journey, I may as well have posted a “fragile: breaks easily” sign on my forehead. Yes, I had some who were abundantly kind, prayerful, and supportive, but others, may I be blunt, were clueless and quickly distanced themselves. The world is waking up to the reality of the grim situation we’re finding ourselves in, but is the Church? I know this is finally becoming something that is talked about on talk shows, news specials, in our schools, and even now amongst pro athletes… but where are the people of God? At least in my life experience, the topic of mental health has been kept at arm’s length (or further) within the Church. But why is that when God cares about all parts of who we are: body, mind, and spirit? The Bible has a lot to say about our thoughts and minds, yet we tend to brush right by those parts as if they don’t apply to us or wouldn’t actually make a difference in our mental health. Dr. Caroline Leaf, a Christian Cognitive Neuroscientist, in her book Switch On Your Brain states, “Research shows that 75 to 98 percent of mental, physical, and behavioral illness comes from one’s thought life.”2 Let’s take that seriously and apply God’s Word as He intended! Dr. Leaf goes on to say, “Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.”2 We can’t afford to keep pretending this isn’t present in our ministries and in those we’re trying to reach. If it truly is affecting 1 in 5, then it is much more prevalent in our circles than we could ever imagine. Questions to Consider:
How can we do all of that? Challenge/action step: First and foremost, we must take Scripture to heart:
Help get them professional Christian counseling if you see a need. Finally, make sure to create a culture where there is no shame. We don’t distance ourselves from those who develop diabetes, do we? Cancer? Heart disease? So, why do we see a mental “illness” as any different than any other illness? Treat people with known mental struggles just as you would anyone else. Allow them to talk freely about their journey without any shame or embarrassment. Ask them to share their victories and then celebrate with them! The harvest is great but the workers are few. If we don’t care for our mental health, just as we do our physical health, we won’t be able to serve the kingdom as much and as long. Let us do all we can to help leaders within our own ministries, as well as those whom we serve daily, become stronger in body, mind, and spirit. Later this year, I’ll be back to talk about one more specific area we should be covering as we teach others (and learn for ourselves!) about wholistic health and what that might look like as a component of your ministry. In the meantime, feel free to join me over at http://fixyoureyesonhim.com for other wholistic health tips, resources, and more! ------------------------------------------------- Live whole, Amber Lauren of Fix Your Eyes on Him Biblical Health and Wholeness Amber is a regular contributor to CSRM's Blog Page; Wife of a Lead Pastor; Mother of three school aged children; a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. ========================== Link to free printable version for distribution (unaltered) to those in your ministry: https://fixyoureyesonhim.com/download/3533/ Additional resources: http://hope4mentalhealth.com/ https://www.aacc.net/ https://drleaf.com/ Sources: 1https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml 2https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/26928437-switch-on-your-brain-the-key-to-peak-happiness-thinking-and-health Mental Health- The Missing Link (In case you missed them, you can check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series on Wholistic Health here: http://www.csrm.org/apps/search?q=Amber) 100 years before the American Civil War no Quaker held a Slave! Although some historians have argued that the Civil War was fought to keep the "Union" together, it must be clearly understood the reason the "Union" was dissolving was over the issue of slavery. Thus, slavery was indeed the cause of the American Civil War.
What was the driving force behind the abolitionist efforts of the Quakers? The bible! The bible not only clearly convinced the Society of Friends (the official name of the denomination that became known as Quakers) that slavery was an evil abomination, but also that all Christians were to make a difference...to make the lives of people better in every area of life. How did they accomplish this? How was it that Quakers held no slaves 100 years before the Emancipation Proclamation? Did they protest? Were they violent? Did they vociferously attack slave owners? Perhaps you could find an isolated incident in a history book, but by and large, they accomplished this great movement by engaging in loving conversations with those who held strongly divergent views. It is what the Friends describe as: "reasoning together." The leaders of the Friends Denomination walked up and down the eastern seaboard and lovingly asked all known Quaker slave owners to sit and "reason together." Those sessions led to heartfelt changes in slave owners throughout the country. I encourage all who will be attending this year's REACHgathering to take such an approach about contemporary issues. Let us come to REACH and "reason together," using the bible as our playbook and the Holy Spirit's inspiration (the Friends call that the Inner LIght) about this year's topics related to the redefinitions in regards to human sexuality and gender...and their relevance to the SR&F Community. These topics will be discussed both in the Theological Track and at "Wrestling at REACH." In Robert Harris's new book "Conclave," Cardinal Vittorio Scavizzi admonishes the Conclave of Cardinals who are meeting to elect a new Pope with the following words: "We need not a Church that will move with the world, but a Church that moves the world." Will we move the world...or flow along with it? Come "wrestle" with us at REACH ------------------------------------- Dr. Greg Linville is CSRM's Director of Resource Development ST. Patrick...The Man, The Myth, The Model for Sport, Recreation and Fitness (SRA&F)Ministers...
Really you say! What can I possibly learn from some guy who's been dead for nearly two millennia? A lot... The Man: Patrick was really a Briton who felt a call to reach the Celtic Barbarians...and he followed that call even though he was quite a bit older than the normal life expectancy of his day. His mission work in Ireland set in motion a Celtic model of Evangelistic-Disciplemaking that continues to shape the SR&F Outreach Community. The Myth: Patrick's story has became quite embellished through the years and increasingly secularized...all ending with a day that centers around Green Beer and ungodly revelry. Such "celebrations" and perspectives of Patrick could not be further from the truth. The Reality: Patrick's efforts changed an entire culture and impacted eternity for millions. Patrick was incredibly effective in his Evangelistic-Disciplemaking efforts which resulted in: a) over 700 churches planted; b) thousands of missionary priests ordained; c) tens of thousands of barbarians being baptized; d) ongoing efforts that continue to reach those far from Jesus and His Church. While I can only hope to even come close to those numbers, Patrick's model was a guiding light to my personal ministry as a local church Sports Minister. I incorporated the following principles into my SR&F Outreach Ministry....
Perhaps next year you can sponsor a St. Patrick's Day celebration that would include resourcing; training, equipping and empowering a new generation of local church SR&F Outreach Missionaries ------------------------------------------ Dr. Greg Linville is CSRM's Director of Resource Development and his latest book (Putting The Church Back in the Game) can be ordered through the CSRM website https://csrm.z2systems.com/np/clients/csrm/giftstore.jsp |
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