Recreation and Sports Ministry is one avenue by which your church can capture the imaginations of people, get their attention, gain access to their minds, and reach the heart with the message of the love of God.

How open is our culture to recreation and sports? The popular culture today is saturated with recreation and sports. The Olympics, Super Bowl, World Series, X-Games, Iron Man events, the Final Four in college basketball, and the playoff series in professional basketball capture the imaginations of millions of people in America each time they are held. The questions are, according to general editor John Garner, where is the church and how is the church using these tools to reach people, and will the church see the opportunity to use recreation and sports as ministry tools?The fact is, most churches are not reaching the postmodern culture and are being ignored by an increasingly non-Christian American culture because people see no relevance to their lives. What they do see relevance in is re-creative leisure; they pursue it at break-neck speed and often at great costs. Somehow the church must learn to ¿capture the imagination¿ of a world that is passing it by. If the church can capture the imaginations of people, it can get their attention, can gain access to their minds, and can reach the heart with the message of the love of God.

Should we allow performance-enhancing substances in competitive athletics? The first book of its kind, Well Played answers this question by urging us to a deeper appreciation for the purpose of sport. Giving special reference to performance-enhancing substances, Shafer challenges the incompleteness of the ethical arguments and contributes a Christian voice to the discussion. He initiates a theological conversation that is both scholarly and accessible, arguing that a distinctively Christian understandingof sport will have far-reaching implications for how we treat ethical issues like doping. The values, beliefs, and practices within the Christian tradition show an alternative that prioritizes humility and friendship, grace and gratitude over the 'win atall costs' mentality that drives the use of performance-enhancing substances for a competitive advantage. This ground-breaking book ventures into new theological territory as it explores the intersections of theology, philosophy of sport, and the ethics of doping. Theologians, ethicists, and pastors, as well as coaches, athletes, and sports fans will benefit from this book's thoughtful reflection on how Christians can play well in the modern sports culture.

The hope of the Gospel is a universal message, and sports are arguably the universal language. Sharing the former through the latter is a powerful combination for changing lives. And for students with a heart for both, the field of sports ministry presents compelling career opportunities. Until now, there has never been a college textbook devoted to the subject. With the arrival of Sports Ministry, college and university instructors have a dedicated text for educating students on the how-to process of developing viable sports ministry programs that share the Word and positively influence the world in which we live. The book begins with a description of what sports ministry is and a historical overview of the sports ministry movement, including stories of prominent individuals and organizations past. Students will learn about the many sports ministries serving today at the local, national, and international levels, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, and Missionary Athletes International. Through each chapter’s Sports Ministry in Action and Interview With a Professional sidebars, students will get a glimpse into the lives and ministries of individuals and organizations working in sports ministry and learn about the career opportunities available in the field. The underpinnings of sports ministry are evangelism and discipleship, and to that end students will learn various methods for Gospel communication within the sports context. The book also deliberates the intersection of sports and faith, weighing the positive and negative aspects of competition and whether competitive sport is compatible with faith. Included are six principles for making decisions regarding sport participation and a three-step process for using biblical precepts to determine ethical behavior in sport. Chapters dedicated to finances, facilities, and legal considerations inform students on the corporate aspects of running a sports ministry program. These include the five main approaches for securing financial resources, a framework for planning and selecting the right facility, and strategies for mitigating risk. The final section of the book looks at the implementation of sports ministry programs locally and internationally. Four common types of local church-based events are discussed—onsite, community, jaunt event, and short-term missions—with examples of each included. Students will gain an understanding of key administrative responsibilities for organizing international missions. The cross-cultural nature of sports ministry—both locally and abroad—requires students to cultivate an awareness of and respect for other cultures to foster friendship evangelism, essential to any successful sports ministry. Sports Ministry is the definitive resource for building an effective sports ministry program. When done right, sport is a powerful platform that God will use to transform lives for His eternal purposes. With Sports Ministry, students will gain the knowledge and tools to share their faith and offer hope to others through the universal language of sport.

What is the relevance of a church in any neighborhood that the neighbors do not feel her presence? How can a church be surrounded by unbelievers and yet they do not even feel its presence? The book, Gospel in the Stadium, may be a serious parable for many of our churches; yet, it is a clarion call for us to engage in paradigm shift from what has become a tradition that must not be broken. Sports have become serious gods that some people worship on Sundays, and it may continue to grow given the forces of economics behind them. The media of all types are involved. The author has provided ideas as to how we can make good use of sports to share the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. I fully recommend this book for all our pastors, youth leaders, men and women leaders who will find the contents helpful in organizing sporting activities in the local churches.

Communicating on the Playing Field is a book about reaching out to people around us through sports. The popularity of sports is a bridge builder to 95% of people living in our world. We, as Christians, long to communicate with all nations, but find it difficult to do it through traditional means. As the cultures of our world change, so we must discover effective ways to relate to the secular people. The playing field doesn't present cultural, social, political and religious barriers. It is an open field that is available to Christian athletes and spectators. Since Christ asks us to go and make disciples, sports can help us penetrate our world. This book provides a general introduction to the concept and practice of sports evangelism springing from a biblical and theological platform. It demonstrates many opportunities of doing sports evangelism in the contemporary culture at home and abroad.Dr. Josef Solc is a native of the Czech Republic. He represented his home country in tennis and ice hockey. He wanted to study in a seminary in Prague, but the communist government told him it was more beneficial for their society if he continued playing professional ice hockey than becoming a pastor. During the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Solc left his home and began his studies in Switzerland, then in Oklahoma and Texas culminating in Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. There he became a pastor at Hulen Street Baptist Church where he developed a strong evangelistic ministry by using sports. After seventeen years of pastoral ministry, Solc began teaching evangelism and missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.Professor Solc lives with his wife Joy in Raleigh, North Carolina. He continues teaching and doing sports evangelism at SEBTS.

Beyond an occasional sports-inspired sermon illustration, sports are generally regarded as having little relevance to the Christian faith. More often, they are viewed as a welcome and safe reprieve from politics and religion. Quietly, however, as they avoid the discerning eye of the church, sports are slowly overtaking families and overwhelming parents. Under the labels "elite," "select," and "travel," a new experience of sports has taken root in American culture demanding financial burdens, time commitments, and heightened pressures never before seen. Community leaders from various public sectors have criticized many recent trends in youth sports, but, alas, where has the church been? This new "elite" expression of youth sports is quickly building an intimidating front against the church. As church attendance declines, "elite" youth sports participation is on the rise. This book ventures into the challenging, controversial, and powerful world of youth sports. Young people participate in sports more than just about any other activity, and the church has neglected its role in providing a voice of discernment for what participating in sports should look like. Christians are desperately in need of a manifesto for helping them wrestle with the complex, exciting, and often exhausting world of youth sports.