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Baylor University
Institute for Faith and Learning
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    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture
      • 2022 Art Seeking Understanding
      • 2021 Living Accountably
      • 2019 The Character of the University
      • 2018 Stewardship of Creation
      • 2017 The Bible and the Reformation
      • 2016 Higher Learning
      • 2015 The Spirit of Sports
      • 2014 Faith and Film
      • 2013 Kierkegaard: A Christian Thinker for Our Time?
      • 2012 Technology and Human Flourishing
      • 2011 Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century University
      • 2010 Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care
      • 2009 Secularization and Revival
      • 2008 Bottom-Up Approaches to Global Poverty
      • 2007 Friendship
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
      • Bailey Lecture Video Archive
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      • 2019 LFP National Conference
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    • Faith Animating Online Education
      • Starting Points
      • A Christian Imagination about Online Education?
      • Cultivating Character and Online Learning
      • Additional Resources
    • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
    • Recommended Reading
    • External Resources
    • The Christian Reflection Project
      • Acedia
      • Advent Ethics
      • Aging
      • Anger
      • Apocalyptic Vision
      • Attentive Patience
      • The Book of Acts
      • Caring for Creation
      • Catechism
      • Chastity
      • Children
      • Christianity and Islam
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      • Cloning
      • Consumerism
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      • Disability
      • Easter
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      • Lent
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      • Mysticism
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      • Peace and War
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      • Where Wisdom Is Found
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      • Women in the Bible
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Baylor BU Institute for Faith and Learning Media and Resources The Christian Reflection Project Sports
  • Faith Animating Online Education
  • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
  • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
  • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
  • Recommended Reading
  • External Resources
  • The Christian Reflection Project
    • Acedia
    • Advent Ethics
    • Aging
    • Anger
    • Apocalyptic Vision
    • Attentive Patience
    • The Book of Acts
    • Caring for Creation
    • Catechism
    • Chastity
    • Children
    • Christianity and Islam
    • Christmas and Epiphany
    • Cities and Towns
    • Cloning
    • Consumerism
    • Death
    • Disability
    • Easter
    • Food and Hunger
    • Forgiveness
    • Freedom
    • Friendship
    • Gambling Culture
    • Generosity
    • Global Wealth
    • Health
    • Heaven and Hell
    • Hospitality
    • Immigration
    • Inklings of Glory
    • Lent
    • The Letter of James
    • Marriage
    • Membership
    • Monasticism Old and New
    • Moral Landscape of Creation
    • Mysticism
    • Parables
    • Patterns of Violence
    • Peace and War
    • Pentecost
    • Pornographic Culture
    • Prayer
    • Prison
    • Prophetic Ethics
    • Racism
    • Sabbath
    • Schools in a Pluralist Culture
    • Scripture
    • Sermon on the Mount
    • Singing Our Lives
    • Sports
    • Suffering
    • Traveling Well
    • Virtual Lives
    • Vocation
    • Where Wisdom Is Found
    • Women and the Church
    • Women in the Bible
    • Work

Sports

Playing, watching, and fantasizing about sports are now defining features of our culture. Are we just enjoying more leisure time together, or have sports become an unhealthy obsession?

"If sports have become the playthings of irresponsible corporations, and being a fan often turns into a hollow, pseudo-religious semblance of true belonging," Eric Miller observes, "there yet remains the undeniable beauty of the sports themselves and the creatures of God who find themselves so irresistibly drawn to them." Michael Kerrigan, C.S.P., urges us "to see sports as the new field for twenty-first century Christian mission."

We have built a generation of "stadiums on steroids" to fund the runaway economics of professional baseball, Philip Bess notes. Can we return to building neighborhood ballparks, from the big leagues to Little League, which are centers of community life?

Jordan Cox describes congregation-based sports, recreation, and leisure programs in which "participants mature as disciples as they learn to live out their faith through sports competition on the field, court, gymnastics mat, or in the swimming pool."

The study guides and lesson plans integrate Bible study, prayer, and worship to articulate a Christian perspective on sports in modern culture. The guides can be used in a series or individually. You may download and reproduce them for personal or group use.

Download the entire Sports issue and the set of six Study Guides. Or, download individual pieces by clicking the titles below.

Articles

  • "Play On!," by Eric Miller
  • "Sports in the Christian Life," by Michael P. Kerrigan, C.S.P.
  • "The Grace of Neighborhood Baseball Parts," by Philip Bess
  • "Would Jesus Wear Face Paint?," by Geoff Bowden
  • "Upward Sports," by Jordan Cox

Art

  • "Joyful Recreation," by Robert B. Kruschwitz and Haley Stewart, on Jan Steen and David Teniers the Younger

Hymn and Worship Service

  • "We Give Our All to Christ," by Terry W. York and C. David Bolin
  • Worship Service, by Sharon Kirkpatrick Felton

Inspirational Pieces

  • "Long-Distance Running," by Hannah Elliott
  • "When Sports and Religion Mix," by Philip Wise
  • Other Voices, Quotations on Sports

Book Reviews

  • "God in the Gym," by Roger Ward
    • William J. Baker, Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport
    • Tony Ladd and James A. Mathisen, Muscular Christianity: Evangelical Protestant and the Development of American Sport
    • Clifford Putney, Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America 1880-1920
  • "When Playing Becomes Sports," by Rick H. Hoyle
    • Shane Murphy, The Cheers and the Tears: A Healthy Alternative to the Dark Side of Youth Sports Today
    • John Garner, editor, Recreation and Sports Ministry: Impacting Postmodern Culture
    • Joel Fish with Susan Magee, 101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent: Making Athletics a Positive Experience for Your Child

Study Guides and Lesson Plans (Download the set of six Study Guides)

  • "Play On!"
  • "Exploring the Joy of Sports"
  • "The Grace of Neighborhood Baseball Parks"
  • "Would Jesus Wear Face Paint?"
  • "Sports in the Christian Life"
  • "Upward Sports"
Baylor BU Institute for Faith and Learning Media and Resources The Christian Reflection Project Sports
  • About
    Back
    • Staff
  • Conferences and Symposiums
    Back
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture
      Back
      • 2022 Art Seeking Understanding
        Back
        • Call for Proposals
        • Conference Schedule
        • Key Information and Frequently Asked Questions
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
      • 2021 Living Accountably
        Back
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2019 The Character of the University
        Back
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2018 Stewardship of Creation
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2017 The Bible and the Reformation
        Back
        • Co-Sponsors
        • Featured Speakers and Panels
        • Video Archive
      • 2016 Higher Learning
        Back
        • Featured Speakers and Panels
        • Video Archive
      • 2015 The Spirit of Sports
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2014 Faith and Film
        Back
        • Video Archive
      • 2013 Kierkegaard: A Christian Thinker for Our Time?
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2012 Technology and Human Flourishing
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2011 Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century University
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2010 Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2009 Secularization and Revival
        Back
        • Video Archive
      • 2008 Bottom-Up Approaches to Global Poverty
      • 2007 Friendship
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
      Back
      • Bailey Lecture Video Archive
    • Other Conferences and Events
      Back
      • IFL@25
        Back
        • Select Pictures from IFL@25
      • 2019 LFP National Conference
        Back
        • Presenters
      • Art & Soul
      • Pruit Memorial Symposium
        Back
        • 2001 Celebrating Augustine's Confessions
        • 2002 Christianity and Economics
        • 2003 The Schooled Heart
        • 2004 Slavery, Oppression, and Prejudice
        • 2005 Global Christianity
      • Baylor University Medical Ethics Seminar
        Back
        • 2016 Medical Ethics Seminar
        • 2017 Medical Ethics Seminar
        • 2018 Medical Ethics Seminar
      • One-Time Conferences
  • Programs
    Back
    • Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
    • William Carey Crane Scholars Program
      Back
      • Additional Information
    • Missio
    • Forming Character in the Classroom
      Back
      • About the Program: Called to Character
      • Past Workshops
    • Reading Groups and Guest Speakers
    • Soundings Project
  • Media and Resources
    Back
    • Faith Animating Online Education
      Back
      • Starting Points
      • A Christian Imagination about Online Education?
      • Cultivating Character and Online Learning
      • Additional Resources
    • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
    • Recommended Reading
    • External Resources
    • The Christian Reflection Project
      Back
      • Acedia
      • Advent Ethics
      • Aging
      • Anger
      • Apocalyptic Vision
      • Attentive Patience
      • The Book of Acts
      • Caring for Creation
      • Catechism
      • Chastity
      • Children
      • Christianity and Islam
      • Christmas and Epiphany
      • Cities and Towns
      • Cloning
      • Consumerism
      • Death
      • Disability
      • Easter
      • Food and Hunger
      • Forgiveness
      • Freedom
      • Friendship
      • Gambling Culture
      • Generosity
      • Global Wealth
      • Health
      • Heaven and Hell
      • Hospitality
      • Immigration
      • Inklings of Glory
      • Lent
      • The Letter of James
      • Marriage
      • Membership
      • Monasticism Old and New
      • Moral Landscape of Creation
      • Mysticism
      • Parables
      • Patterns of Violence
      • Peace and War
      • Pentecost
      • Pornographic Culture
      • Prayer
      • Prison
      • Prophetic Ethics
      • Racism
      • Sabbath
      • Schools in a Pluralist Culture
      • Scripture
      • Sermon on the Mount
      • Singing Our Lives
      • Sports
      • Suffering
      • Traveling Well
      • Virtual Lives
      • Vocation
      • Where Wisdom Is Found
      • Women and the Church
      • Women in the Bible
      • Work
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