My Initial Post

Hi everybody,

I’m new to this site. In fact, this is my first true blog. I’ve written for some websites before, but it was more informational. I wrote for a site called Bleacher Report for awhile, but that as the name probably implies, was about sports. This is my first time writing about Christ on a public forum such as this one (not that I’ve never included Christ in my writing, just not as the main emphasis).

Anyhow, the point of my blog I hope is to really speak gospel truth. I am starting a book tentatively called, “What Does The Gospel Say About Sports?” I am extremely excited about that right now. This week I have written five pages for it. At the same time, I’m teaching some Chinese foreign exchange students how to speak English.

Right now despite some difficult circumstances I am resting in the blood of Christ, and finding my joy in Him each and everyday. My hope is you will too. To follow are the opening paragraphs of this book that I plan to publish someday. I am more than happy to post sections online for free since I am not writing for the money but to see lives turn to Jesus. I hope my writing can bless you and others. Here is the opening excerpt from my book:

Growing up all I wanted to do was play sports. I was 100% convinced my career would entail something in sports. For awhile I thought it would be as a sports journalist or broadcaster. For a brief time, I then fooled myself into thinking I was good enough to become a major league pitcher.

When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I took most of the necessary steps to become a professional football coach. I went to coaching seminars, networked, and even coached at the high school level for the necessary experience, as I finished college. I even took a one thousand dollar class to improve my overall knowledge of football as well to learn to scout and understand the business of football.

Let’s just say I put all my cards in pursuing a career coaching football. Even today, I have moments where I want to coach or scout. Heck, at this moment I still scout college players for fun. But I honestly believe that now I scout for fun instead of it being because I’m holding onto it as a career option. Then again, I even have moments where I desire to give pitching one last try.

But why? Why do I still desire to sacrifice all that I am just to throw a ball in front of thousands of people? Why do, or why did I ever, desire to work 100+ hours per week preparing a bunch of young adults to play a game? And is that desire bad?

The primary purpose of this book is to answer these kinds of questions and more. Is there room for athletics in the life of a Christian? What about the fans? Are we as Christians selling out or forgetting the Gospel when we pledge allegiance to a favorite sports team? Is the primary purpose of sports to serve as an analogy to the rest of life? In short, how are we to view sports as a people radically changed by the Gospel?

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