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How Can Sports be Sacred?

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Practice. Hard work. Skills. Exercise. Competition. These are all important aspects of playing sports. And they are very important aspects of our daily lives. How do we practice our lives? Hard work can help us grow at school and at work. Skills are required to perform any task. Exercise not only keeps our bodies fit, but our minds fit as well. And competition helps us to remember that we are not alone in the world, that there are other people.

Sports have become a huge part of our lives. We watch and play them almost endlessly. We drive our kids to practices, sit and watch their swim meets for hours on end, and then it is time to crash. And because of this cycle, the church gets pushed to the back. But through sports, we can still learn about the sacredness of life and how to walk a journey of faith. Here are some ways to help form the faith of our children even when they are playing sports.

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How Can This Be Sacred?

series by Rev. Jay Deskins

Every day we encounter sacred moments. And yet, we ignore, don’t notice or turn away. This blog, How Can This be Sacred? is created to help us notice the sacred in our every day lives, and how to take those sacred moments to reflect on our faith, give thanks, and to ask questions. As families become more and more busy, handing down our faith to the next generation is being pushed to the back burner. We have to be intentional about passing on the stories of our faith. 

My hope is that you and your family take moments every day in your busy lives to notice the sacred.

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1.)  Being Thankful
Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” It is important for us to be thankful for what we have in life. We can teach our children how to be deeply thankful during games and practice. Be thankful for your body that allows you to play the game. Be thankful for your teammates, who help you learn, grow, and succeed. And when they aren’t helpful, you can be thankful for how you learn patience. Be thankful for coaches and other adults involved. They are passing on knowledge, creating a space for learning, and passing on a game that they love. Be thankful for other teams, they are trying hard and want to win as well. Without the other team, there is no one to play. Be thankful for their time, be thankful for sharing a love of the game. Be thankful by helping them up when they fall.

2.)   Being Good and Forgiveness
Being good and asking for or offering forgiveness is not always as easy as we say it is. Especially in the heat of the moment of a highly competitive game. Our emotions run high and sometimes we say or do things that we only could think of in the spur of the moment. Maybe we foul a little harder than we mean to do. Maybe we say hurtful things to the referees or other players. Maybe we complain about a call. Maybe we throw a tantrum when our team loses. Growing up playing a lot of church league basketball, I was no stranger to my own missteps in this way. Playing sports can teach us a lot about ourselves. How do we respond under pressure? Do we snap? Or do we keep a calm demeanor? And when we don’t respond the way we should, do we ask for forgiveness? What about when an opponent does something wrong, or a teammate? Do we extend to them forgiveness?

When the world doesn’t go the way we think it will, do we respond with love or anger? Do we shake hands with our opponents? Do we thank the referees at the end of the game? When we are good, even when our emotions tell us to do other things, we allow God to shine through us. Being a good sport, shaking hands after winning and losing, helping up an opponent, forgiving others, thanking the refs, are all ways for us to show God’s love in the heat of competition.

3.)   Being a Leader
Leadership is something the bible talks about a lot. God calls us to be leaders, but what kind of leaders? A leader who makes the game about themselves? A leader who takes all the glory for themselves? A leader who shares glory? A leader who knows when to listen? A leader who convinces the team to always pass the ball to themselves? Or a leader who shows how to pass the ball? I think God calls us to lead as best as we can, which means we know when to step up, when to sit down, when to speak, and when to listen. Moses was the leader of the Hebrew people for 40 years in the wilderness, and as he and Joshua looked over into the Promise Land, Moses knew that his leadership skills were not needed in the Promise Land, or that if he doesn’t step away and allow others to step up in this transition, they may never accept new leadership. Teaching this to children will teach them to be humble, and to not put themselves first.

4.)   Being a Follower
Sometimes it is best to be a follower. To know when other’s gifts shine over ours. To know our weaknesses and strengths. Jesus called together the Disciples, and before his death, they weren’t all leaders. In fact, their job was to just follow. Teaching a kid to follow other people in sports, is a good way of teaching kids what it means to follow Jesus. If we are always the star or that the game is always about the individual, the team won’t shine, and probably won’t win.

5.)   Being a Supporter (This is for you, adults — both parent and non-parent)
Our children have to choose many times over church programs and sports or after school programs. If they choose sports, that doesn’t mean they have chosen to not be a part of the church. These kids still need to know about God’s love and God’s community. Show up to their soccer games. Show up to their band competitions. Let them know you are with them. Let them know you love them. Let them know you are proud of the hard work they put in. This will help create trusting and loving relationships for life. And it helps keep kids connected to your community of faith.

Too often we think that sports are the enemy of the church. But they aren’t. Sure, they conflict with our worship time, and sure sometimes sports don’t always teach the values the church wants to instill in its young people. But we can give thanks to God, provide faith formation, and share God’s love with others. And I don’t know what is more sacred than that.

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Youth & Children

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Affirmations – DUCC 2019

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I can’t believe that camp has come and gone, it feels like yesterday that we began planning this summer’s camp and now it is a few weeks in our rearview! What an impactful week for so many of our campers and adults! During our time together, we worshipped, played, had deep conversations about how we understand God moves in the world, we sang, we ate, and, thankfully, we slept. This summer was our first as Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ Church Camp (DUCC). While we experienced literal growing pains (did you know that it takes twice as long to get twice as many people through a meal line??), but in the end, camp was camp.

One of my favorite camp traditions that seems to span regions and even denominations is at the end of the week we give each other “affirmations.” In Family Groups each camper and adult gets a chance to hear and read positive things about themselves from members of their group. It is always one of the most impactful events of camp. Our kids today don’t get affirmed by their peers all that often, and many times not by adults either. But when kids hear “To see you having fun and being happy is special,” or  “you are the coolest person,” or “meeting you was meeting a legend” (actual quotes from campers to other campers), it carries them through the year. Knowing that even during the tough days of school, where many of our kids hear that they aren’t good enough or smart enough, they have words of love from a community of love will give them sabbath from the world. When we hear affirmations, we hear God’s voice. And that alone is worth every penny that our region, churches, and families spend on camp.

Rev. Jay Deskins

Regional Youth and Children’s Minister, DUCC Director

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Spark the Wildfire of God’s Love

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Wow! DUCC is just a few months away! I can’t believe we are so close! We hope that the transition to our new registration system has been good for you and the families of your churches. I appreciate the patience and grace that has been given to the regional office as we live into this new model of camp and way of registering. DUCC (Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ Church Camp) is quickly filling up, in fact, we are ahead of where we were this time last year, so please make sure you are registering your kids! Don’t wait!

Our theme for DUCC this year is “Be the Spark.” We are going to be talking about what it means to be the spark that sets ablaze the wildfire of God’s love in the world. A few weeks ago I saw this sign on Catalina Highway in Tucson:

One Less Spark - One Less WildfireWhile this photo is warning us how we should be careful with fire in the wild, I was hit with this sign for another reason. It was another kind of warning to me: if we keep the spark that we know to be God’s love to ourselves, and never share it, we are unable to spark the wildfire of God’s love.

This is especially true with our kids. So many parents today want kids to find their own way, and never encourage them to participate in a community of faith, leaving them to be brought up not by a community of love, but by the voices of the outside world that tells them that they aren’t good enough, that they aren’t attractive, and that they aren’t worthy of being loved. At camp, our kids are not allowed to have their phones. This keeps them from distracted by the endless texts, or scrolling through Instagram, and keeps them focused on the community they are a part of. Where they are taught about God’s love and the love of a community of faith. We can let the wildfire of negativity take over our children, or we can let the wildfire of God’s love reign in our kid’s hearts. So help spark the fire of God’s love in a kid’s life and encourage them to come to camp!

 

Rev. Jay Deskins

Regional Youth and Children’s Minister

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5 Things You and Your Church Can Do To Support Camp Ministry!

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So we all know that Summer Break means many things, but what is most important? Not going to school, duh! But outside of that is CAMP! At the most recent Mission Focus and Administrative Board meeting, the overwhelming answer to the question, “What is the most impactful ministry that a region (Arizona or other) has provided you?” was “CAMP!” This is not so uncommon, in fact, this is quite common in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). And yet, camp numbers are dropping, both financial numbers and enrollment. I want to reverse that trend, especially here in Arizona. So, what can you and/or your church do to help out with camp? I am glad you asked! 

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1.) Have a Camp Takeover in Worship!
– Invite your kids/youth/young adults/adults who are recent participants in camp to share a brief story about how camp has impacted them. If you don’t have any recent camp participants, then you can:
– Invite the Regional Youth and Children’s Minister and some Youth Leadership Team members to come and talk to your church about camp!
– Replace all your hymns with camp songs (they are all worship songs anyways!)
2.) Sponsor a Camper (or 100)!
– Many youth and children come to camp on some sort of scholarship, either from their church or from the region. These funds rely on the donations of awesome people and awesome churches!
– You can sponsor a child on your own, or you can go in as a group with a Sunday School class, small group, or a whole church!
– Loose change offering, after church meals or fellowship times,
3.) Send a Child or Youth
– It is hard to believe that many of our youth and children have still never been to camp. Camp has many benefits to our young people: self-confidence boost, a sense of independence, strengthened faith, new friends, and a community that is full of love and support.
4.) Donate to Camp!
– Outside of scholarships, camp needs funds for crafts, activities, snacks, first-aid supplies, just to name a few things! It doesn’t sound as cool as “Sponsor a Camper,” but it is very important to the ministry of camp! If you would like to donate money to help out behind the scenes please consider a donation to camp. Visit our Youth and Children’s Ministry page to make a donation.
5.) Pray for Camp 
– Our camp needs prayer! Especially in this year of transition, camp needs prayer!
– The youth and children need prayers for safety and fun!
– The adults need prayers for SANITY! And also for safety and fun!
 
If you would like help with any of these things, please reach out to me, the Regional Youth and Children’s Minister, Rev. Jay Deskins (jdeskins@azdisciples.org). I am so excited about the future of our camp ministry, but camp needs YOU!

Peace,

Rev. Jay Deskins, Regional Youth and Children’s Minister

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