L. Gregory Jones— Throw Deep: Rediscovering a Christian Vision for Sports

Introduction

• Speaker: Dr. Greg Jones
• Background:
  • Former Dean of Duke Divinity School
  • Vice Provost for Global Engagement at Duke University
  • Senior Advisor at the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor

Key Themes

• Importance of integrating faith and sports
• Challenges of balancing faith with modern sports culture
• Personal anecdotes and stories to illustrate points

Challenges in Sports and Faith

• Cultural Challenges:
  • Competing interests and distractions (e.g., football games)
  • Overemphasis on winning and competition
• Theological Challenges:
  • Gnosticism: separation of spiritual and material worlds
  • Puritanical views: suspicion of pleasure
  • Moralism: focus on do's and don'ts

Personal Journey

• Dr. Jones' love for baseball and his struggle to reconcile sports with faith
• Influence of his upbringing in a pietistic tradition

Historical Context

• Early Christian ambivalence towards sports
• Examples from church councils and medieval practices

Modern Context

• The idolatry of sports in American culture
• Examples of sports being used instrumentally for various agendas

Proposed Solutions

• Move beyond "sanctified ambivalence" to a holistic integration of faith and sports
• Faith should animate all aspects of life, including sports

Vision for Sports

• Rediscovering the Goodness of Creation:
  • Embrace the joy and playfulness inherent in sports
• Addressing the Fall:
  • Recognize and critique the brokenness in sports (e.g., idolatry, external goods)

Key Concepts for a Christian Vision of Sports

• Playful Purposelessness: Embracing joy and play
• Embodied Excellence: The integration of body, mind, and spirit
• Relationships: Teamwork and empathy
• Character: Development of virtues and moral formation

Practical Wisdom

• Balancing competitive excellence with playful engagement
• Encouraging a culture that supports good parenting and character building

Q&A Highlights

• Challenges of burnout among young athletes
• Instrumental use of sports in a positive way
• Spectator culture vs. participation in sports
• Differences between individual and team sports

Conclusion

• Emphasis on a "Christologically shaped beauty"
• Need to tell stories of faithful and virtuous individuals to inspire hope

Final Thoughts

• Vision of sports should be animated by faith and point towards the kingdom of God
• Importance of balancing critique with hope and redemption