On Sport – Life and Faith

Published: SuperCoach Weekend Wrap | Round One

I’ve been playing AFL SuperCoach for around 12-13 years now. It’s a fun little hobby of mine that happens during the AFL season. I take it more seriously that I probably should, but in the process have made some good connections and had some traditional rivalries with mates. And let’s be honest, it’s a good bit of wholesome fun.

For a long time I’ve been a keen listener of the Coaches Panel podcast, and a reader of their regular posts. I’m also a patreon member for the Coaches Panel too, which just shows I take it all too seriously. For the uninitiated, this means I pay them money to support them, they give me patreon-only access to their content.

But…the big news this week is that I’ve started writing for them. I’ve begun a series that will come out on a Monday (or when the round finished) giving a SuperCoach wrap-up from the weekend just gone. It’s a bit of fun and a new writing avenue, and I’m looking forward to having a good play around with the content I provide through it. If you’re a SuperCoach player, come on over and have a read. The weekend wrap-up for round one was published a few days ago.

Published: The God of The Last Dance

I had a couple of reflections about The Last Dance, the greatest sports documentary ever. I managed to form these thoughts into coherent words in an article for TGCA.

You can read the article here.

“In reflecting upon this series, I’ve been struck by how relatable it has been to faith. While there is no mention of God himself, there is allusion to the worship and wonder of God through what occurs on the wooden court. It would be a stretch to suggest there is a theology of ‘The Last Dance’, but it definitely contains traces of the God who creates things of glory and wonder—things like Jordan himself in the 1980s and 1990s.”

Other writings can be found here.

Steven PD Smith: The Australian Jesus

For those of us who take a glimmer of interest in Australian cricket, this week has been a memorable one. The Australian cricket team, so often a symbol of our nation, has begun the five-match series against our arch-rivals, England, competing for the holy grail–The Ashes.

And there is something about test match cricket that enables allusion to the Christian faith. The hope our nation puts into the team’s success, the perseverance required for a five-day match, and the ebb and flow, the highs and lows, of what takes place out on the field. Each of these things are aspects of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus–hope and endurance, joy and suffering.

Copy of A Sent People - Part 5_ Being Part of the Answer

But in this past week we have seen the return of king, the resurrection of the spiritual leader of the team, the one in whom our nation trusts.

For a number of years, cricket fans especially, have been in awe of the ability of Steven PD Smith as a batsman. He has led time and time again as a player and as a captain.

But some 18 months ago it all came crashing down. Like Good Friday for us believers, something seemingly bad occurred. Under Smith’s leadership there was cheating, #sandpapergate as it became known, and caused uproar for the Australian public that ricocheted around the cricket world. Down came the leader, whipped and beaten by the relentless pressure, by stupid decisions, and soon enough expelled from the captaincy and the team. Australian cricket’s Good Friday event unfolded, leaving the team, the disciples, in a confused and disappointed mess.

And so, for a year and a half Australian test cricket has been trying to deal with its Easter Saturday. A day of awkwardness, a day of wondering. It is a day with a certain uneasiness about what has just happened and deliberating what’s going to take place going forward. Here we sit, trying to comprehend the awful nature of what has occurred and seeking strategies to cope in order to move forward. Where has the hope gone? What has happened to our saviour? Do we continue on in the same fashion or do we scatter?

But this week we have seen the one who restores and rescues us as Australian cricket fans.

Through two magnificent innings of 140-odd runs we witnessed the resurrection. Our redeemer has returned and all will be forgiven.

Easter Sunday has arrived, and we couldn’t help but be pulled into the hope and joy that comes from such a performance. Whether listening on the radio or watching on TV, we became drawn into the unfolding drama. In the Bible we read of how the disciples were initially shocked to hear that Jesus had risen, and so they ran to the tomb themselves into order to believe. We too became a nation who had to see for ourselves such greatness and glory.

For now, hope has been restored. The joy of watching cricket has returned. The disciples have been re-ignited for the mission. And so we wait, we watch, we have faith and want to follow the king.

When all thought was lost, we see what has been found. We have hope and look to the saviour, seeking sporting salvation. As the coming weeks progress we as a cricketing nation once again put our hope in the Australian Jesus, Steven PD Smith.

Brave – A Reflection For SYG 2017

It’s arrived.

Tonight we head down to State Youth Games.

A long weekend of camping, cold weather, and cramp…for an old guy like me at least.

With over 3000 young people descending upon the camping grounds it promises to be a fairly fun, exciting, and significant weekend. Sports morning and afternoon, dinner around the fire sharing the highs and lows of the day, and then evening sessions of worshipping God together. It’s pretty intense and worth praying for people to see more of Him.

In preparation for the event we as a youth ministry structured our talks at youth group around the SYG main theme of ‘Brave’. As leaders we figured this would help us prepare for what we may well hear through the main sessions across the weekend. While not everyone in our group is coming along to SYG it enables a glimpse into what might be. So with ‘Brave’ in mind we outlined, and have been working through, a series of talks around this theme.

Over the course of this term we’ve covered things like being brave to change, being brave to love, being brave to speak, being brave to risk, being brave to stand, being brave to share, and being brave to be.

Through various passages in the Gospel of Luke we’ve seen how the way of Jesus requires us to be brave. Whether it is what Jesus does himself, through interactions he has with others, and even in the stories he tells, we find glimmers of bravery occurring and being encouraged.

One of these passages is Luke 8:42-48.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Here we see the story of a woman who was brave enough to risk in order to be healed.

This woman was in a constant state of bleeding, that is, she had a continuous period for 12 years. Due to this she was considered unclean and dirty, seen as an outcast, and in all reality was a very vulnerable person in the society in which she lived.

Evidently this woman had heard about Jesus and that he could heal her. In faith she sought him out as he walked through the crowd and then attempted to touch his cloak quietly. Jesus realised power had come out of him, but his disciples think he’s crazy because with such a large crowd of course someone would’ve touched him.

Note that when the woman comes forward and admits to Jesus it was her who touched him he is not angry or disappointed. He is in fact pleased with her and it is her faith that has made her well.

The action taken by this woman is an example of being brave. She is brave to (1) have faith that Jesus could heal her and brave to (2) take action upon that faith.

We may not have the same issue as this woman. We may not even need to be physically healed. But, there may be times when we need to step out in faith, be brave, and take a risk. This could be as little as admitting we’re wrong to admitting we’re struggling with friends, school, self-esteem, or our mental health. Other ways we may need to risk and be brave includes standing up for what we believe, helping someone, stepping out in faith, or even having faith itself.

This coming weekend provides an opportunity for young people all over the state come together to play sport, strike up conversations with people they don’t know, and hear of God’s work in people and places. Please be in prayer for youth and young adults from various churches, that they will come to know more of Jesus, have faith in him, and be brave to step out in that faith.