📖 Reading 1.1: Called to Serve Competitors (1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Colossians 3:23–24)

Learning Goals

By the end of this reading, you should be able to:

  • Explain what it means to be called to serve athletes, coaches, and sports communities as a chaplain.
  • Use 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 to frame discipline, purpose, and self-control in competitive environments.
  • Use Colossians 3:23–24 to re-center athletes (and yourself) on identity and worth beyond performance.
  • Describe how a chaplain serves competitors with presence, humility, and policy-aware spiritual care.
  • Practice field-ready approaches that support athletes without becoming a coach, recruiter, therapist, or “answer person.”

1) The world of competition: why sports chaplaincy matters

Competitive environments are intense. They shape people’s habits, relationships, identity, and future decisions. Many athletes learn early that:

  • approval follows performance,
  • status follows winning,
  • belonging can feel conditional,
  • and mistakes can feel permanent—especially when they go public.

A sports chaplain serves competitors inside that reality.

Your role is not to control outcomes or manage the program. Your calling is to be a steady, trustworthy presence—someone who cares for the whole person, not just the athlete version of them.

That matters because sports culture often trains people to hide:

  • pain,
  • fear,
  • shame,
  • weakness,
  • and grief.

Athletes may appear confident while carrying heavy inner pressure. Coaches and staff may look composed while managing relentless stress, parent expectations, and responsibility for young lives. Chaplaincy brings non-transactional care into a transactional environment—care that is not based on stats, minutes, scholarships, or rankings.

2) Called to serve competitors: “Run to win” without losing your soul

The apostle Paul uses athletic imagery to teach spiritual formation:

“Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win.
Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I box like that, not beating the air,
but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.”
—1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (WEB)

Paul assumes his readers understand the nature of sport:

  • there is training,
  • discipline,
  • fatigue,
  • focus,
  • sacrifice,
  • and a goal.

But Paul shifts the center. The ultimate “prize” isn’t applause. It’s faithfulness.

What this means for a sports chaplain

Sports chaplaincy often requires the same kind of discipline Paul describes:

  • showing up consistently,
  • resisting ego and spotlight,
  • practicing self-control with speech and confidentiality,
  • staying steady when others are emotional,
  • and serving in ways that are unseen.

You are serving competitors, but you are also serving the deeper formation happening in their lives. A chaplain helps athletes and coaches ask better questions, such as:

  • Who am I when I win?
  • Who am I when I lose?
  • What do I do with shame, injury, or setbacks?
  • What does faithfulness look like when the season is hard?

In many sports settings, athletes are taught to “outwork everyone.” That can become a gift—or a trap. Paul’s picture helps you affirm discipline while also guarding against idolatry of performance.

A chaplain’s watch-outs in “run to win” culture

In competitive culture, healthy discipline can slide into unhealthy extremes:

  • perfectionism that crushes joy,
  • comparison that breeds envy,
  • anxiety that steals sleep,
  • playing through injuries to prove worth,
  • or bending moral lines to get an edge.

Sports chaplaincy is not anti-competition. It is pro-wholeness. You honor effort and excellence, but you help people keep their soul intact.

3) Re-centering work, worth, and identity: “As for the Lord”

Paul’s athletic metaphor is complemented by another anchor passage:

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
—Colossians 3:23–24 (WEB)

This text reframes what “success” is. It does not remove excellence. It redeems it.

What “as for the Lord” does in sports culture

When athletes live “as for the Lord,” several shifts happen:

  • Effort becomes worship rather than self-salvation.
  • Identity becomes stable rather than fragile.
  • Failure becomes instructive rather than devastating.
  • Winning becomes a gift rather than a god.
  • Character matters as much as performance.

For the chaplain, this Scripture is also personal. Chaplaincy can tempt you into:

  • trying to be the hero,
  • trying to be needed,
  • trying to be impressive,
  • or trying to win people through charisma.

Colossians recenters you, too. You serve Christ first. That keeps you humble, calm, and steady.

4) The chaplain’s calling in a performance system

A sports chaplain is called to serve in ways that are both spiritual and practical—without overreaching.

You are called to


  • Show up consistently: trust is built in ordinary moments, not only in big games.
  • Be emotionally regulated: calm presence is a form of leadership.
  • Listen with skill: many high-performers do not feel safe to be honest.
  • Protect dignity: your care is never humiliating or exposing.
  • Practice consent-based ministry: ask permission before prayer, Scripture, or spiritual conversation.
  • Respect policy and authority: you do not undermine coaches, athletic directors, or team rules.
  • Stay in your lane: you do not become trainer, coach, recruiter, agent, compliance officer, investigator, or spokesperson.
  • Be referral-ready: you know when to connect someone with pastoral care, counseling, medical staff, or safeguarding authorities.

A note about “calling” and platform

Calling does not automatically mean access. Sports settings vary widely:

  • school policies,
  • league rules,
  • athletic department expectations,
  • and local leadership structures.

This course trains you for chaplaincy practice, but placement depends on local approvals and policies. A wise chaplain honors the platform and builds trust by respecting boundaries.

5) Field-ready actions for Topic 1

If you are stepping into sports chaplaincy, here are simple actions that help you start well.

A) Begin with presence, not a program

Your credibility grows through:

  • consistent attendance,
  • respectful posture,
  • and “low-drama” reliability.

Try:

  • showing up to practice (with permission),
  • greeting people briefly,
  • learning names,
  • and leaving without clinging.

B) Use consent-based spiritual care language

Simple phrases:

  • “Would you like me to pray with you, or would you prefer I just stay with you quietly?”
  • “Would it be helpful if I shared a short Scripture encouragement?”
  • “If you’d rather not talk right now, that’s okay. I’m here.”

C) Anchor athletes in identity beyond performance

You don’t preach at people. You offer steady truth.

Try phrases like:

  • “Your worth is bigger than this moment.”
  • “I know today mattered. But it doesn’t define you.”
  • “How are you doing as a person—not just as an athlete?”

D) Guard your role early (before pressure tests it)

Pressure will come—parents wanting influence, athletes wanting you to lobby, staff wanting inside information, people wanting you to take sides.

You can be kind and clear:

  • “I’m here to support you, but I don’t advocate for playing time or roster decisions.”
  • “I respect the coaching staff and team policies. I’m not part of that decision chain.”
  • “I’ll protect your privacy, but I can’t promise secrecy if someone’s safety is at risk.”

Starting with clarity prevents painful cleanup later.

6) What Not to Do (Common early mistakes)

Sports chaplains can harm trust when they drift into roles that are not theirs. Avoid these patterns:

  • Becoming the “assistant coach” (offering strategy, critiquing decisions, lobbying for athletes).
  • Becoming the “parent whisperer” (taking complaints and stirring division).
  • Becoming the “team therapist” (overpromising confidentiality, treating beyond your competence).
  • Becoming the “platform preacher” (public spiritual pressure, showy devotion moments).
  • Becoming the “fixer” (trying to solve everyone’s problems, carrying emotional load alone).
  • Becoming the “insider gossip pipeline” (collecting stories and sharing them).

A chaplain’s strength is not control. It is trustworthy presence.

Reflection + Application Questions

  1. When you think of “competitors,” what emotions or assumptions do you bring into sports chaplaincy (admiration, intimidation, resentment, pride, nostalgia)? What might those assumptions do to your presence?
  2. Read 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (WEB) again. What does Paul emphasize about discipline and purpose? How can you affirm discipline in athletes without feeding performance-idolatry?
  3. Read Colossians 3:23–24 (WEB) again. How does “as for the Lord” change the meaning of effort, failure, and success?
  4. Which “What Not to Do” pitfall feels most tempting for you (fixer, preacher, coach-like influence, insider info)? What boundary will you set now to stay in your lane?
  5. Write two consent-based phrases you will actually use in the field (prayer, Scripture, listening, or quiet support).
  6. If you are serving in a setting with minors, what safeguarding practices will you follow to protect athletes and yourself (two-deep norms, observable spaces, messaging policy, mandatory reporting awareness)?

Academic References (for further study)

  • Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). (n.d.). Coaches Ministry & Sports Ministry resources (organizational best-practice guidance on character, discipleship, and sports ministry contexts).
  • Lavelock, C. R., Worthington, E. L., Davis, D. E., & Hook, J. N. (2016). Humility: The quiet virtue in sport and performance contexts (overview of humility as a protective factor in high-performance identity and relational trust).
  • Storch, E. A., Storch, J. B., Killiany, E. M., & Roberti, J. W. (2005). Self-reported psychopathology in athletes: The role of perfectionism and pressure (research supporting how performance pressure can connect to anxiety, shame, and coping strain).
  • Watson, N. J., & Parker, A. (2015). Sports chaplaincy and religious support in sport: Roles, ethics, and practice considerations (scholarly discussion of chaplaincy presence and boundaries in competitive environments).
  • Wylleman, P., Alfermann, D., & Lavallee, D. (2004). Career transitions in sport: European perspectives (research on transition stress—injury, deselection, graduation, retirement—and the need for holistic support).

Last modified: Sunday, February 22, 2026, 6:59 AM