I recently ran across this quote from Paul David Tripp in a Resurgence blog that is an excerpt from Tripp’s book, Dangerous Calling. Because of what I do, I have heard church leaders, in moments of pastoral crisis, say to me many times, “We didn’t know the man we hired.” As I read this I…
A great post here from Justin Buzzard. Below is an excerpt: At our church we talk about 4 root idols that we tend to attach our lives to. CONTROL. You know you have a control idol if your greatest nightmare is uncertainty. APPROVAL. You know you have an approval idol if your greatest nightmare is…
We frequently tell those in and outside of the sports ministry world the following: The job of a sports minister is the most logistically demanding job in the church. It makes sense right? In order to do the “ministry” you need to do the “sports”…and sports take time. It is just a reality of the…
The gospel produces in Christians both humility and boldness. Read what Tim Keller says: “When the gospel ‘comes home’-humbling and affirming you, it turns every believer into a natural evangelist…Evangelism happens because of a) the humility of the gospel. The gospel (unlike religious moralism) produces people who are not disdainful and contemptuous towards those who…
Can sports chaplains be coaches??? If you had asked me this question a few years ago I would have responded with an unequivocal ‘NO’. And these are the reasons why one of performance and one of spirituality – 1) Sports Chaplains operate best when they are independent of performance. A chaplain needs to provide advice and counsel to…
Last week we completed our second Global Sports Chaplaincy Summit where we gathered together key leaders of sports chaplaincy agencies from across the globe. Our aim was to discuss how to develop sports chaplaincy worldwide and we had representatives from Africa, Spain, Portugal, Eurasia, Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. There were two huge encouragements…
Matt Baker from Sports Chaplains UK joins Rich Gamble to discuss the intricacies of Sports Chaplaincy
As I have been fortunate in recent years to talk with chaplains from different continents of the world, I know that this statement will provoke a wide range of responses. I agree with it, but not in the way you might think. Some of our practices have to be adapted to the culture in…
The “Minnesota Miracle.” Alabama’s overtime victory over Georgia. Georgia’s overtime win over Oklahoma. New England’s late drive to defeat Jacksonville. The Eagles defense holding off the Falcons on their final drive. These are just a few of the recent games that illustrate this idea – “It could have gone either way.” In…
Well Christmas is arriving and for most chaplains its an extremely busy time of the year. It occurred to me the other day that there is nowhere in the Bible that says that we should celebrate Jesus’ birth….or is there? We see in the word there is a great tradition and ongoing theme to remember…