Phil Pawley is the National Director of Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand. He attends Thames Baptist Church.
“My life has turned to s**t,” the elite rugby player confessed to his sports chaplain. Sitting in the changing room, injured and suddenly unable to play the game he loved, he was a forlorn figure and utterly broken. His litany of troubles included drug and alcohol abuse, a marriage in tatters, children running riot, a loss of form and now a season-ending injury. He finally blurted out, “I know I’ve got to get God into the centre of my life. Can you help me, Rev?”
With care and compassion, his chaplain gently led him to Jesus in prayer. Unbeknown to them both, the athlete’s wife made the same cry for help and asked Jesus into her life that same week. Their marriage recovered, they sought help for their addictions, learnt better parenting skills, and the athlete recovered, rediscovered his form and went on to complete a stellar international career.
As the chaplain reflected on the six-year journey that led to that point, the most important feature seemed to be his consistent presence. Before the changing room cry for help, the athlete had never broached spiritual matters with his chaplain. And yet he knew and trusted him as a safe person to turn to when life hit rock bottom.
Sports chaplains are the ‘boots on the ground’ when it comes to athlete wellbeing. They are the independent, confidential pastoral presence athletes and staff can turn to and rely on when needs arise. Few athletes ever phone their National Sports Organisation Wellbeing Officer when they need pastoral support. They want someone they know and trust: Someone present, non-judgemental, and who genuinely cares about their wellbeing, not just how well they perform on the field. Sports chaplains are such people. They start where sports people are, not where they might want them to be. They journey alongside them, even when that journey seems to be heading in the wrong direction.
There are many examples of journeying within the Bible, but Luke 24:13-35 stands out. Jesus came alongside two despondent men and walked with them even as they journeyed away from Jerusalem, the spiritual centre of the Jewish universe. Jesus starts where they are, gently explaining life and truth. He accepts their offer of hospitality, and during the meal, their eyes are opened, and hearts burn within.
Aotearoa New Zealand society has rejected Christianity as its prevailing worldview. Secularism has eroded faith, and poor behaviour has marred the Church’s reputation. Colonial attitudes left over from the past have Christians expecting people to ‘come to us and become like us’. Whilst we might rightly hope and pray for personal transformation (ours in the first instance), we must learn to embrace an outward journey as our missional paradigm. Walking alongside people, at their pace, in their direction, without prejudice or precondition, is where mission begins. Being confident in the one who dwells within us and that he is already at work in those who do not yet know him is the precursor to being good news.
More than 75% of adults and 92% of children and youth in Aotearoa New Zealand engage in sport or recreation in any given week. Sport is where a majority of us gather and do life. Luke 10:2 tells us the harvest is plentiful, and yet too few churches recognise the vast opportunities on their doorstep. Sports chaplains (like other chaplains) are local missionaries. They need the support and affirmation of their church. Chaplaincy is not only a valid ministry but is rightly placed for mission in a post-Christian nation. What’s more, sports communities are crying out for such help.
When Christians recognise the subversive power of vulnerability (Luke 10:1-12) and yoke it with the scandalous power of unconditional love, they embrace the missional motif of Jesus. Through his incarnation, Jesus enters our world as the friend of sinners. He stoops down to embrace those who do not darken the door of any church. He so loves the world that he happily pastors those who don’t yet know him. This is the theology behind sports chaplaincy. And it is a thoroughly appropriate theology and missional praxis for Aotearoa New Zealand today.
Image: Supplied
