Sport is something we do, an experience that is hard to describe because it captures our whole selves. In sport, we show our desire to connect with others, to strive for excellence, and our innate playfulness. Sport also always involves competition, something that brings out both our best and our worst. For this and other reasons, historically the Christian church has been wary of sport and its power in human culture. Now however, Christianity is seen as very compatible with sport, but the relationship is one that operates mostly on the surface. Many Christians do not take the time to consider what sport really is and its place in human life. Instead, most prefer to focus on potential and largely unproven byproducts of sport participation. Sport has become a part of the world that God created. Christians can engage in sport as players and spectators yet would also benefit by understanding that any goodness of the sport experience is not protected from the power of sin. The myth-like quality of sport experience means that we can delight in its relative lack of meaning, while taking it seriously and being honest about our desire to win the contest.

The Christian Athlete is a gospel-centered guide that assists athletes who identify as Christians and are seeking to understand how to practically apply their faith to their sport. Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more. Author Brian Smith shares his story as an athlete and coach, and his experience working with high-level athletes in the last decade to help readers better understand how to integrate faith and sport by: Assisting those who want a wide-angled understanding of how to live the Christian faith in the context of sports Walking through the many questions Christian athletes ask about winning, losing, injuries, practice, and everything in between Moving Christian athletes from simply having clichéd spiritual sayings decorating their bodies or t-shirts to actually living out their faith through all the opportunities their sport offers them The Christian Athlete will show readers how to live out a biblical perspective on athletics and urge them to engage in the gifts they are given to glorify God whether they are the team MVP or riding the bench.

An introduction to the Bible's teaching on sport and a compendium of practical advice for maximising the blessings of sport while avoiding its potential dangers.

Is it possible to integrate your faith with football, your beliefs with baseball, and your spirituality with soccer? Learn from the Pros. Trent Beattie talked with dozens of the world's best Catholic athletes from All-Pro quarterback Philip Rivers to Olympic gold medalist Curt Tomasecicz about integrating their sporting lives with their deeply held religious beliefs. This book is a compilation of their words of wisdom. Fit For Heaven is a perfect read for every Catholic husband, father, and son who is looking for practical, real-world ways to integrate his love for sports with his Catholic faith. Even though winning the World Series is a rarity, every man can play sports with charity.

This interdisciplinary text examines the sports-Christianity interface from Protestant and Catholic perspectives. In addition to a "systematic review of literature," field-pioneering contributors such as Michael Novak, Shirl Hoffman, Joseph Price and Robert Higgs address a wide range of topics from the sporting world, including biblical athletic metaphors, disability, evangelism, professionalism and celebrity, humility and pride, genetic enhancement technologies, stereotypes, sport as art and British and American historical analyses of sport and Christianity. Insightful chapters from Scott Kretchmar, one of the world’s leading philosophers of sport, and Father Kevin Lixey, the head of the Vatican’s ‘Church and Sport’ office (2004-), add further depth and breadth to this book, making it accessible and interesting to academic and practitioner audiences alike. Within the context of this relatively new and rapidly expanding area of inquiry, this collection provides a unique and important addition to the current literature for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and serves as a point of reference for scholars of theology and religious studies, psychology, health studies, ethics and sports studies. The book may also be of interest to physical educators and sports coaches who wish to adopt a more "holistic" and ethical approach to their work. As modern sport is often intertwined with commercial and political agendas, this book offers an important corrective to the "win-at-all-costs" culture of modern sport, which cannot be fully understood through secular ethical inquiry.

Through the words of such Catholic athletes as Sammy Sosa, Tara Lipinski, and Dave Wannstedt, this book reveals that heroes still exist. It also reveals that for many of those who take their role-model status seriously, faith plays a major part in their success and their witness.

Most Christian athletes know they are supposed to play for the glory of God, but what does that actually mean? How can the Bible be practically applied to sports? In The Assist, Brian Smith combines the wisdom of God's Word and his own experience working with athletes to help readers better understand how to integrate faith and sport. This book will show you how to: Use your sport to grow closer to God. Glorify God in every area of your sport, including practice, injuries, relating to teammates, and winning and losing graciously. Leverage your position as an athlete to maximize your impact in God's kingdom. To be a Christian athlete means much more than just giving your best and making sure God gets the credit. It means living out your faith in every aspect of your sport. Smith's book is aimed at helping you do just that: it is designed to assist you in integrating your faith with your life as an athlete.

Many people are passionate about sport, yet few give thought to its role and importance in their lives - let alone its relationship to Christian faith. This book examines the potential of sports and challenges readers to consider how it relates to their deepest passions, behaviours, and actions, while providing newcomers to the field with a framework to help consider the connection between sports participation and faith-based values. Featuring academic writers from a range of disciplinary fields, including philosophy, theology, sports studies and education, Sport and Christianity: Practices for the Twenty-First Century sheds insight into the meaning of sports for Christians as participants and as practitioners. Divided into practises for the mind, for the heart, and for moral life, the numerous topics include the value of play in sports, sports as a means for dialogue between faith traditions, sports as a place to cultivate virtue and the Christian spiritual life, and prayer and religious experiences in sports The result is a text that promotes new ways of thinking about the sports-Christianity relationship while at the same time developing a deeper understanding of the place of sports in our everyday lives.

Good Game retells numerous fascinating stories from the world of ancient and contemporary sports and draws on the history of the Christian tradition to answer "What would it really mean to think Christianly about sport?" --from publisher description.

Many people are passionate about sport, yet few give thought to its role and importance in their lives - let alone its relationship to Christian faith. This book examines the potential of sports and challenges readers to consider how it relates to their deepest passions, behaviours, and actions, while providing newcomers to the field with a framework to help consider the connection between sports participation and faith-based values. Featuring academic writers from a range of disciplinary fields, including philosophy, theology, sports studies and education, Sport and Christianity: Practices for the Twenty-First Century sheds insight into the meaning of sports for Christians as participants and as practitioners. Divided into practises for the mind, for the heart, and for moral life, the numerous topics include the value of play in sports, sports as a means for dialogue between faith traditions, sports as a place to cultivate virtue and the Christian spiritual life, and prayer and religious experiences in sports The result is a text that promotes new ways of thinking about the sports-Christianity relationship while at the same time developing a deeper understanding of the place of sports in our everyday lives.