I came across this quote yesterday from Tim Keller about preaching:
“A man who is not deeply involved in personal shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care will be a bad preacher.”
What a humbling quote. It makes sense though, doesn’t it? How are you going to be able to connect and communicate to your congregation if you’re isolated and disconnected from them? How are you going to able to lead them as they grow spiritually if you’re not personally involved in shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care?
The same is true for sports ministers. A healthy sports minister would be involved in shepherding, evangelism, and pastoral care. Perhaps you don’t use those terms though so this may be confusing, allow me to clarify:
1) Mentoring and training coaches and volunteers would be shepherding.
2) Sports ministers need to be personally involved in evangelism, particularly through sports. Are you currently engaged in this? What non-believers are you praying for? How often are you rubbing shoulders with non-believers?
3) Whenever a behavioral issue comes up in your sports ministry, how do you handle it? Do you dismiss it quickly? Do you avoid it? Do you leave it alone and hope it works itself out? This is what most sports ministers do. If you’re doing any of those three, you’re missing an excellent opportunity for gospel ministry. You’re avoiding what “pastoral care” looks like for a sports minister.
About the Author
Tim Briggs is the Creative Media Pastor at Church at Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. He blogs regularly at Church Sports Outreach. He also regularly writes about ministry, the church, technology, culture, and creative stuff. He is married with two children and is currently pursuing a M.A. in Biblical Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.