In Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller defines an idol as anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. For athletes, that description can hit close to home. Sports—though a good gift from God—can easily become the place we look for identity, meaning, and worth. In The Sports Idolatry Test, we explore ten honest questions designed to help you evaluate whether sport has crossed the line from passion to idolatry. Like the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, the rich young ruler in Mark 10, and the man crying “Help my unbelief” in Mark 9, your answers may reveal where your hope truly rests—and invite you to reorient your worship toward the One who deserves it. Sports are meant to be a vehicle for worship, not a replacement for it. Take the test, see where you stand, and let God reclaim the throne of your heart.

Travel sports often pull families away from Sunday worship, leaving pastors and ministry leaders asking how to respond. Instead of viewing sports as the enemy, churches can leverage them as a mission field. This article shares 8 practical strategies—both inside the church and out in the community—to equip parents, disciple athletes, and turn sports into a teammate for spiritual formation instead of a competitor.

In cultivating the habit in our own lives, and modeling it to our kids, we are “imaging” our Creator. We are making a conscious effort to look and act like him. And when we align our thoughts and actions with his character, it brings him glory—and it best positions our kids to grow and flex their own “patience muscles'' when the moment calls for it. 

What if, in our pursuit to help our kid be the best possible athletic version of themselves, we are contributing to a system that’s more likely going to lead to joyless play and them hanging up their cleats because of pressure from us?

Dude Perfect presents a potential model for what play and sports could look like on the New Earth.

5 things for Christians to consider when athletes talk about God after the game

Yeah, Mahomes messed up. But his statement of remorse should be celebrated. The foundation of Christianity is not perfection, but forgiveness.

Paul does five things in Acts 17 that we would do well to take notice of and put into practice in our own efforts to share the Gospel in the context of sports.

Discipleship takes place in the huddle. Here are 7 things I tried to impart to the kids I coached this year.

9 tips to help youth athletes (and us) overcome their performance anxiety and thrive in sport—and life.

10 of the most provocative quotes from Frank Deford's Religion in Sport series published almost 50 years ago.

How have Christians changed over the past two thousand years with how we have thought about and engaged in sports? How have we stayed the same? And how did the historical context influence our thinking?

How do we redeem youth sports for the sake of our kids, our sanity, and God’s glory? These shifts will best position our kids to thrive today and lay a healthy foundation for their relationship with sport tomorrow.

All of life is in relationship with God for the Christian athlete and this certainly includes the moments before, during and after our games. 

While the approval of fans, coaches, friends, and sometimes earthly parents is often dependent on your performance for them, God’s approval for you as an adopted son or daughter is dependent on His performance for you.

The following post is a 30 minute presentation to the athletic department of a Christian university that has been transcribed. The university is prioritizing mental health conversations throughout the school year and Linsey and I provided the introduction to the topic. We asked and answered 5 questions at the intersection of mental health, faith, and sport. 

How do athletes and parents respond to bullying in a way that honors God?

Eight parental behaviors guaranteed to make your kid hate sports—and resent you

Athletes, coaches, and athletic directors, what if we flipped the script and chose the path of honoring over hazing?

Sports only work when we care. And caring often involves tears.