Overview

"How open is our culture to recreation and sports? The popular culture today is saturated with recreation and sports. The Olympics, Super Bowl, World Series, X-Games, Iron Man events, the Final Four in college basketball, and the playoff series in professional basketball capture the imaginations of millions of people in America each time they are held. The questions are, according to general editor John Garner, where is the church and how is the church using these tools to reach people, and will the church see the opportunity to use recreation and sports as ministry tools? The fact is, most churches are not reaching the postmodern culture and are being ignored by an increasingly non-Christian American culture because people see no relevance to their lives. What they do see relevance in is re-creative leisure; they pursue it at break-neck speed and often at great costs. Somehow the church must learn to ""capture the imagination"" of a world that is passing it by. If the church can capture the imaginations of people, it can get their attention, can gain access to their minds, and can reach the heart with the message of the love of God."

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9780997682823

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Reviews

"Jesus Christ understood the concept: ""if you want something you never had, you are going to have to do something you have never done before."" Our businesses, our universities, our school systems, and yes, even our churches, are PERFECTLY designed to get the results we are currently getting. If you don't like those results, then something must change. Today, there are more people on this planet than have ever been here at one time before, and for the first time, the Body of Christ is in decline. The church SHOULD be growing exponentially, but we are not... that is why change is called for. That can be found in discovering relevant ways to impact culture. Because participation and interests in leisure activities is at an all-time high, sports and recreation ministry when done the right way, for the right reasons has been found to be that agent of change to reach the masses with the message of salvation through Christ. That is what this book is about. The Body of Christ, must be diligent in seeking out ever-changing ways to share a never-changing message. This book will provide all the basic tools needed for any church to use Sports and recreation ministry as a dynamic way to share the eternal truth of the gospel. I highly recommend it, not for every church library, but every desk at every church. --Caz McCaslin, Founder and President Upward Unlimited This intellectually invigorating edition of Recreation and Sports Ministry should be mandatory reading for anyone using sports and recreation to spread the Gospel. John Garner continues to engage sports ministers with insightful information by utilizing years of experience combined with research to provide educational and practical information for all. This comprehensive history and analysis of recreation ministry provides the reader with insight into the theological underpinnings, modern trends, and cultural implications. Recreation and Sports Ministry is exactly the tool needed to motivate those with years of experience and to train the next generation to intentionally use recreation and sports to glorify God. --Chad Payn, Assistant Professor of Sports and Recreation Oklahoma Baptist University John Garner's Recreation and Sports Ministry has been the gold standard, guiding church sports outreach ministries since first published in 2003. I have recommended this book to many churches and it is required reading for my sports ministry students at Azusa Pacific University. Many takeaways from the original edition are incorporated into my teaching and my sports ministry. To name a few...Linville's concept of viewing ""opponents"" as ""co-competitors""; Oswald's ""Mandate, Means and Method"" and Garner's ""eight reasons for a church to employ sports."" I'm so excited for this revision. Thank you, John, and contributing authors. --Steve Quatro, Founder, Sports Outreach Los Angeles; Professor Azusa Pacific University"

Jesus Christ understood the concept: if you want something you never had, you are going to have to do something you have never done before. Our businesses, our universities, our school systems, and yes, even our churches, are PERFECTLY designed to get the results we are currently getting. If you don't like those results, then something must change. Today, there are more people on this planet than have ever been here at one time before, and for the first time, the Body of Christ is in decline. The church SHOULD be growing exponentially, but we are not... that is why change is called for. That can be found in discovering relevant ways to impact culture. Because participation and interests in leisure activities is at an all-time high, sports and recreation ministry when done the right way, for the right reasons has been found to be that agent of change to reach the masses with the message of salvation through Christ. That is what this book is about. The Body of Christ, must be diligent in seeking out ever-changing ways to share a never-changing message. This book will provide all the basic tools needed for any church to use Sports and recreation ministry as a dynamic way to share the eternal truth of the gospel. I highly recommend it, not for every church library, but every desk at every church. --Caz McCaslin, Founder and President Upward UnlimitedThis intellectually invigorating edition of Recreation and Sports Ministry should be mandatory reading for anyone using sports and recreation to spread the Gospel. John Garner continues to engage sports ministers with insightful information by utilizing years of experience combined with research to provide educational and practical information for all. This comprehensive history and analysis of recreation ministry provides the reader with insight into the theological underpinnings, modern trends, and cultural implications. Recreation and Sports Ministry is exactly the tool needed to motivate those with years of experience and to train the next generation to intentionally use recreation and sports to glorify God. --Chad Payn, Assistant Professor of Sports and Recreation Oklahoma Baptist UniversityJohn Garner's Recreation and Sports Ministry has been the gold standard, guiding church sports outreach ministries since first published in 2003. I have recommended this book to many churches and it is required reading for my sports ministry students at Azusa Pacific University. Many takeaways from the original edition are incorporated into my teaching and my sports ministry. To name a few...Linville's concept of viewing opponents as co-competitors ; Oswald's Mandate, Means and Method and Garner's eight reasons for a church to employ sports. I'm so excited for this revision. Thank you, John, and contributing authors. --Steve Quatro, Founder, Sports Outreach Los Angeles; Professor Azusa Pacific University

Author Information

JOHN GARNER, a graduate of Mississippi College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has published numerous articles, contributed chapters to ministry oriented resources, and has written extensively on recreation and sports ministry. He has served churches in Mississippi, Texas, and Tennessee and is a conference speaker, lecturer, and an adjunct and online professor in sports ministry. John has served 18 years as the consultant and national sports ministry leader at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville and lives in Franklin, Tennessee.

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