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Locating sport and leisure in Christian faith and practice
11-13 July 2017
Time table Tuesday 11th JULY 9.30 - 10.30 am
Welcome/Powhiri Morning Tea
10.30 - 12.00 pm
Rob Ellis Losing my Religion? The Religiousness of Sport in a Secular Age
12.00 – 1.00 pm
Lunch
1.00 – 2.15 pm
Interview | Grace Rasmussen
2.15 – 3.00 pm
Electives | Paul Dunn or John Tucker
3.00 – 3.30 pm
Afternoon tea
3.30 – 4.15 pm
Electives | Peter Lineham or Paul Askin
WEDNesday 12th JULY 9.30 – 11.00 am
Rob Ellis Competing for Christ: Sin and Salvation in Competitive Sport?
11.00 – 11.30 am
Morning tea
11.30 – 12.30 pm
Electives | Phil Halstead or Oh-Young Kwon
12.30 – 1.30 pm 1.30 – 2.30 pm
Lunch Steven Waller The “Emergence” of Leisure, Recreation, and Sport in the Culture of African American Protestant Churches in the United States: Paradox or Promise?
2.30 – 3.15 pm
Electives | Simon Moetara or Mike Meyer
3.15 – 3.45 pm
Afternoon tea
3.45 – 4.45 pm
Cameron Butler
4.45 – 5.45 pm
Grant Stewart Storm Survival: Riding the Waves of Sports Chaplaincy Through Times of Chaos, Crisis and Calm
6.30 – 9.00 pm
Dinner with Ian Foster Coaching: Its Impact and Its Responsibilities
THURsday 13th JULY 9.00 – 9.45 am
Electives | Grant Harris or Stephen Garner
9.45 - 10.30 am
Electives | Nebosa Tumara or Myk Habets
or Steven Waller
10.30 – 11.00 am
Morning tea
11.00 – 12.30 pm
Rob Ellis Sporting Identities: What We Play and Who We Think We Are
Keynote speakers DR ROBERT ELLIS
IAN Foster
Dr Robert Ellis is Principal of Regent’s Park College, Oxford, and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion in the University of Oxford. He is the author of The Games People Play: Theology, Religion and Sport (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014). Rob’s research interests are currently in the interface of belief and practice. He has published a book on the theology of intercessory prayer, and numerous articles on a wide range of subjects including theology, sport, and film. Rob is an ordained Baptist minister. He has served churches in Milton Keynes and Bristol and is currently a member of the Steering Group for the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. Originally from Cardiff, he is a keen rugby spectator. Rob will deliver three keynote addresses.
Ian Foster is the All Blacks Assistant Coach. He was coach of the Waikato Chiefs from 2004 to 2011, taking the team to the Semifinals in his first year and the final in 2009. He was also co-coach of the Junior All Blacks from 2005–2007, during which time the team won a two-test Series against Australia A, the inaugural IRB Pacific Five Nations tournament, and the expanded Pacific Nations Cup. He also co–coached an All Blacks trial team in 2005. A former player, Foster is the most–capped Waikato player in history (148 games) and played 28 games for the Chiefs.
PRINCIPAL REGENT’S PARK COLLEGE OXFORD
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ASSISTANT COACH ALL BLACKS
Grace Rasmussen
Steven Waller
Grace Rasmussen is a New Zealand netballer player. She currently plays for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and the New Zealand Silver Ferns. Grace was a member of the New Zealand Under 21 team from 2004–09, winning gold (2005) and silver (2009) medals at the World Youth National Championships. Grace made her Silver Ferns debut against Samoa in 2010. As a member of the Silver Ferns she has won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi (2010) and silver at the Netball World Cup in Sydney (2015). Grace is a graduate of Laidlaw College in Auckland, where she completed a diploma in Christian Studies.
Steven N. Waller is a Professor of Recreation and Sport Management in the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (USA) and a practicing sports chaplain. He also co-directs the Sport Chaplaincy cohort in the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at United Theological Seminary (Dayton, OH, USA) and co-directs the University of Tennessee’s Center for the Study of Sport and Religion. His research interests include (a) religious beliefs as a constraint to sport and leisure participation, (b) professional issues in sports chaplaincy (identity formation, training, and credentialing), and (c) institutional evil in sport organizations. Dr Waller’s keynote address will examine the “Emergence” of Leisure, Recreation, and Sport in the Culture of African American Protestant Churches in the United States. He will also deliver an elective presentation on the “DNA” of sports chaplaincy.
NETBALLER NZ SILVER FERNS
PROFESSOR OF RECREATION AND SPORT MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE-KNOXVILLE
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OTHER speakers
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Tuesday 11th JULY Paul Dunn
| Narrative Designer, Scarlet City Studios, Auckland
READY PLAYER ONE: NARRATIVES, GAMES, AND FOLLOWING JESUS Narratives are a vital part of how we understand ourselves and our place in the world. The stories we immerse ourselves in and surround ourselves with say something about how we see the world, how we want it to be, and who we aspire to be in it. This is never more true than in gaming, where the fictions are not passive but active, and we can choose to engage with people and places that challenge, inspire or derail our sense of self. As followers of Christ, there are concerns about the tension this may create between the fictions we choose to inhabit and the truths we are called to incarnate. Can there be a place for Skyrim and Scripture, for Mario and Mary in the believer’s world? Is gaming harmful escapism for disciples, or could there be some good that comes from engaging with video games? Could it be that by exploring these virtual worlds we are in fact enabling ourselves to be better representatives of the Kingdom in the real world, and by inhabiting digital spaces we are actually facilitating a more robust and engaged discipleship in the real world spaces we occupy?
John Tucker
| Lecturer in History and Homiletics, Director of the Carey School of Preaching, Carey Baptist College, Auckland AN ENEMY TO BE FOUGHT OR A TOOL TO BE USED? BAPTISTS AND SPORT IN NEW ZEALAND, 1882-2011 Historically, the church’s attitude toward sport has tended to oscillate between two poles: opposition and coalition. From pulpits, councils, and imperial thrones, the church has often denounced sport as an enemy of true religion. Alongside this pattern of opposition, the church has often also tried to co-opt or use sport as an ally, a tool of religion. The very same church fathers who denounced the sporting arena as an idolatrous temple and “the seat of plagues” were quite prepared to use imagery from the arena where it served to enhance their preaching. The medieval Pope John XXII willingly overturned the ban on tournaments when it became evident that they could increase the number of knights available for the crusades. English Puritans like Richard Baxter argued that if exercise served a higher purpose, such as increasing one’s capacity for work or prayer, then the fun and pleasure of sport could be tolerated. And from the late nineteenth century Evangelicals embraced a form of Muscular Christianity: sport became |7
TUesday 11th JULY a vehicle for communicating the Christian faith, a tool for discipleship and—supremely— evangelism. This paper traces New Zealand Baptist rhetoric on sport since 1882 (when the Baptist Union of New Zealand was formed). It demonstrates that this double pattern of opposition and instrumental use is clearly evident within the New Zealand Baptist movement. It reflects on the relationship between sport, discipleship, and ministry and argues that the churches of Aotearoa New Zealand need to move beyond seeing sport only as an enemy to be fought and an ally to be used.
WEDNesday 12th JULY Peter Lineham
| Professor of History, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University, Albany SPORT AND THE BIBLE CLASS MOVEMENT The purport of this paper is to argue that the Bible Class Movement which developed within the New Zealand Protestant churches from the 1880s, led by George Troup, renegotiated the value and appropriateness of sport as a form of activity for the churchgoing young person. The significance of this among Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Congregationalist youths was great. It was especially significant in changing the churches’ perspective on rugby football, often enough described as “a hurtful habit” (James Pinfold), and as “low animal and brutalizing” (William Colenso). In 1903 Troup campaigned to have its legitimacy recognised by the churches. The introduction of netball (indoor basketball) to the country was the consequence of the Bible Class travelling Secretary, J.C. Jamieson’s vision of the value of sport for young women. This paper will seek to evaluate sport within the vision of the Bible classes and seek to evaluate this factor among others that propelled sport into a central pastime of youth.
Paul Askin
| Senior Pastor, Kaiapoi Baptist Church, Canterbury
TRANSCENDENCE AND DEATH I love pig hunting! It’s a ticket into another world for me, the timeless contest where hunters test their strength and resolve, and the courage and skills of their dogs, against a strong, resourceful, and potentially lethal quarry. I love being a Christian. It’s the ticket into another world, the timeless experience of being connected to the eternal God. It’s a test of faith and trust. It’s a journey that is almost impossible without brave and resourceful 8|
WEDNesday 12th JULY friends, and there is a dangerous, deceitful, deadly foe on the prowl. This presentation will explore the intersection of Christian faith and the sport of pig hunting. It will consider theological issues around killing for sport, the ethics of killing, and hunting as a gift from God. It will examine the unique pastoral opportunities offered by this pursuit. It will consider the environmental implications for believers, and whether we can see hunting as a parable not just told but lived and experienced. This paper will draw on personal experiences over many years, reflections from a variety of hunters, reflections from my mother-in-law, and Biblical reflections on the abundant life that Jesus promised. My argument will be that while hunting is not for everyone, a life of challenge and adventure, the joys of success and the pain of failure, the welcoming of things which build courage and trust into our lives, are all part of God’s good purposes for each of us, and these things can be found and celebrated in our leisure time activities and sporting endeavours.
Phil Halstead
| Lecturer in Applied Theology, Carey Baptist College
WHEN SPORT IS NO LONGER THE FOCUS: STORIES FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS, THE TRENCHES, AND THE HOSPITAL WARDS. This paper examines the journeys of three Christian individuals - an Olympic medallist, a national age-group representative, and Joe Average - who for a variety of reasons are no longer participating in the same sport that once was a major focus of their lives. Their stories respond to the question what constitutes a healthy relationship to sport over time. As we unpack each person’s narrative we can identify and explore key psychological, theological, and relational principles that contribute to this conversation. These include the concepts of suicidal ideation, identity formation, idolatry, confession, theodicy, and the role of interpersonal relationships. The paper suggests implications for pastoral care and outlines a strategy that incorporates activities designed to help churchgoers develop a balanced relationship to sport.
Oh-Young Kwon
| Lecturer in New Testament Studies, Whitley College, University of Divinity, Melbourne JESUS IS SEATED AT A STADIUM: A CROSS-CULTURAL READING OF 1 COR 9.2427 FROM THE SPORTING CONTEXT OF AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE The Pauline language of sports and athletics in 1 Corinthian 9.24-27 – “race,” “running,” “runners,” “prize,” “athletes” and “boxing”– appears to reflect on the sporting environment of the Roman Empire and Roman Corinth in the first century CE. Sporting and athletic contests such as Isthmian Games played an important role in shaping the civic life of people in Roman Corinth. These games attracted a great number of tourists, participants, and dignitaries like the emperor Nero who himself, in later years, actually participated |9
WEDNesday 12th JULY in the contests. Moreover, these games and especially the Isthmian games would have played a significant factor in bringing together people of different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. It would be imaginable that Paul took advantage of the opportunities to share with his neighbouring spectators in the crowd the gospel of Christ who broke through hierarchical social structures and ethnic boundaries and welcomed all people (cf. 1 Cor 1.18-29). This observation will be re-examined and re-evaluated through the lens of Australian Football League (AFL, afterwards). Affordable ticket prices are arranged for most of its games. Hence, people of any level of socio-economic status and of any ethnic background are welcome to spectate the games. An AFL stadium is a place where Christ, who welcomes all people of different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, is invited and seated. This paper further acknowledges and appreciates Christian chaplains who are involved in the AFL and their remarkable contributions to introducing and enhancing the Christian and biblical concept of justice in sport and competition.
Simon Moetara
| Lecturer, School of Leadership, Vision College, Hamilton
THE WINTER GAME IN THE AUTUMN SEASON: AN EXPLORATION OF MOTIVATIONS, MASCULINITY AND FAITH AMONG OLDER CHRISTIAN MALE RUGBY PLAYERS IN AOTEAROA - NEW ZEALAND. Although rugby union is usually regarded as a young person’s game, it is also popular among middle-aged men (over 35). International research notes that the motivations of middle-aged men who choose to play the game are not clear (Dong, Zhang, Choe & Pugh, 2013), and this is especially so for Christian men in this age bracket. What is it about rugby that maintains interest and facilitates the continued active participation of middle-aged Christian men, in spite of the inherent risk of injury to aging bodies, and the concerns raised by a number of social critics regarding rugby’s promotion of a particular type of masculinity that esteems toughness and aggression, tolerance of pain, violence, homophobia and misogyny (Pringle, 2009; Schacht, 1996)? The purpose of this study is to examine the motivations of middle-aged Christian men participating in rugby union in Aotearoa - New Zealand. This research employed a qualitative approach that included semi-structured interviews, overt full member participant observation, and autoethnographic reflection. A total of 7 rugby players professing Christian faith with ages ranging from 37 to 58 from the Hamilton Marist Presidents (over-35) rugby team were interviewed, along with other players involved in the World Masters Games held in Auckland in April 2017. This study found that the key motivations for rugby participation were ‘being with the boys’, the pleasure of the game’s physical contact and competition, health and fitness, and the joy of the game. This research also reflects upon these motivations with respect to player perspectives of masculinity and Christian faith and practice in the context of the local rugby team’s culture. 10 |
Mike Meyer
| PhD Candidate in Theology, University of Auckland
FIGHTING FAITH: JACOB WRESTLES GOD This paper explores the intersection of violence and spirituality in combat sports, such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and wrestling, through a contemporary reading of the biblical story of Jacob wrestling God (Genesis 32:23-33, Hebrew versification). My PhD thesis draws on the work of French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty to recover the bodily dimension in the story and demonstrate that it is best understood in terms of embodied spirituality. In other words, both the spiritual and the corporeal are intertwined in the wrestling match and dialogue that occurs between Jacob and God. One of the consequences of such a reading is that it brings the reality of violence to the fore. This is further underscored by the responses I have collected from some 30 local combat sport participants and fighters to questions regarding spirituality and fighting, and the role of violence within a kind of combat spirituality. So, through the biblical story, as informed by Merleau-Ponty and my interviewees, I will examine a range of violence issues, such as the differences between competition, aggression, and violence, violence against self and against others, justifications of violence, and the link between intimacy and violence. In particular, I will address what I take to be the fundamental issue, so evident in my reading of the story, and expressed by Merleau-Ponty himself, that “[i]nasmuch as we are incarnate beings, violence is our lot.”
Cameron Butler
| National Director, Sports Chaplaincy Australia
THE UNTAPPED POWER OF PRESENCE IN SPORT This presentation will unwrap the biblical perspectives of ‘time’ and show how finding the correct balance can powerfully increase our ability to influence and transform our sports communities.
Grant Stewart
| Chaplain to the Melbourne Storm NRL team and Senior Pastor of East Doncaster Baptist Church, Melbourne STORM SURVIVAL: RIDING THE WAVES OF SPORTS CHAPLAINCY THROUGH TIMES OF CHAOS, CRISIS AND CALM This paper reflects on the changing role of Sports Chaplaincy through the lens of my own experience as Chaplain with the Melbourne Storm NRL team from the year 2000 until the present. Recent crises in the history of the Melbourne Storm organisation have included the well-publicized salary cap rorting and subsequent punishment involving heavy fines, the removal of several Premierships, and playing an entire season for no | 11
WEDNesday 12th JULY points. Subsequent “redemption” and hard-won success has embedded itself into the club’s resilient and now (generally!) much admired culture. Other challenges faced have included dealing with several suicides amongst the younger players, funerals for the sudden deaths of two significant staff members, and working with the club to better understand the cultural distinctions and needs of players with Maori/Pacific Island backgrounds. Over these years my role as Chaplain has shifted from being in earlier times the only “port of call” to being a part of an extensive and well-staffed Welfare department whose goal is to provide holistic care for the players and their families. The provision of pastoral care through chaplaincy extends beyond just the playing group and football department and is now seen as providing a resource for the whole organisation. Opportunities for missional engagement are many and varied as rarely do visits conclude without at least one significant conversation around issues of faith, life and relationships.
THURsday 13th JULY Grant Harris | Senior Pastor of Windsor Park Baptist Church and Chaplain to the SkyCity New Zealand Breakers Basketball Club, Auckland SPORT CHAPLAINCY: THE FORGOTTEN FRONTIER According to Sport New Zealand 74% of adults in New Zealand (2.5 million) take part in sport and recreation each year, including 1 million who volunteer in some capacity (these figures don’t include children). In a recent advertisement for the Baptist Chaplains Conference (to be held in November 2017) the target market was identified as being military, hospital, school, university, hospice, and workplace chaplains, etc. This presentation will explore the question of why Sports Chaplaincy always seems to be in the “etc.” category. It will argue that the local church needs to embrace Sports Chaplaincy as a missional frontier with a greater potential to impact people’s lives than most traditional church outreach ministries. And it will suggest some easy wins that churches can have on the sports fields of their local communities. This paper will be anchored in Grant’s experience as both a local pastor and, at the same time, a chaplain to New Zealand’s most successful professional sporting franchise for the past seven years.
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THURsday 13th JULY Stephen Garner
| Head of the School of Theology, Laidlaw College, Auckland
PLAYSTATIONS AND PEREGRINATIONS: PILGRIMAGE EXPERIENCES IN PLAYFUL, DIGITAL SPACES The figure of the pilgrim generates a number of images in both popular and religious imaginations. The pilgrim may be part of the masses journeying to Mecca, or someone describing their own journey of faith. The pilgrim might be travelling to Gallipoli for Anzac Day, to Eden Park for an All Blacks game, or back to their ancestral home on their “overseas experience.” We find pilgrims on package tour to the Holy Lands, walking the trails to Canterbury or Santiago de Compostela, or a short-term mission trip. In any of these examples, the journey itself is crucial. This journey is, in some way, sacred, drawing the pilgrim through both time and space. Participation in this sacred journey, while not always be straightforward or easy, contributes to the life experience of the pilgrim, hopefully, in the form of personal formation or growth. Many computer and video games are premised upon some form of journey, with the player (and the player’s proxy) commencing a “journey,” overcoming challenges, acquiring skills, and being shaped by both the game’s narrative and the player’s self-narration. This paper explores whether this form of recreational digital “journeying” constitutes a form of pilgrimage complete with aspects of sacredness, personal development, and storytelling. Implications for Christian life, faith, and education will be drawn from this examination of playful, digital pilgrimage.
Nebojsa Tumara
| Lecturer in Biblical Studies, St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Theological College, Melbourne LIFE AND APOSTASY OF SAINT NOVAK DJOKOVIC OF SERBIA Sport, as folk religion, has its foundational myths, its pantheon of gods, its angels and demons. For sure it has its saints and sinners. One of the unofficial saints of modern Serbian folk religion is, without a doubt, world famous tennis player Novak Djokovic. He is honoured with the Order of Saint Sava, the highest decoration awarded by the Serbian Orthodox Church, for bearing witness to the Orthodox faith and its ethos. His ascetic, shirtless torso, with the wooden cross from Hilandar monastery is the iconographic image that testifies that sport, even without blood, can be a “martyria,” a “witness of faith,” and a powerful missionary tool. Once the Orthodox Cross is replaced by a heart shape amulet, as has happened in Djokovic’s case, the public stoning is inevitable. This act, perceived as an utmost form of apostasy by the Sanhedrin of public internet space, once again bears witness that, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” sport is always perceived to be more than just a game. This paper will try to construct a theology around the hagiography | 13
THURsday 13th JULY of Novak Djokovic, as perceived by Serbian folk religion, analysing rhetoric of various internet portals. It will be addressed to the broader frame of official Orthodox Christianity and its theology of body, asceticism, and disease, using the work of Archimandrite Jerotej Vlahos and Jean-Claude Larchet. At the end, we will try to construct a theology of sport as defined by folk and official (Serbian) Orthodoxy.
Myk Habets
| Head of Carey Graduate School and Lecturer in Systematic Theology, Carey Baptist College, Auckland WE PLAYED THE FLUTE FOR YOU AND YOU DID NOT DANCE: A THEOLOGY OF PLAY What is play and what place should it occupy in a healthy Christian life? Does God play and if so, what might that mean for humans created in his image? These and other questions will be explored with specific reference to the eschaton-the new heavens and new earth-in an interactive theological conversational style.
Steven N. Waller
| Associate Professor, Recreation & Sport Management, Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies, University of Tennessee EXAMINING THE ‘DNA’ OF SPORTS CHAPLAINCY: CELEBRATING OUR HERITAGE, CLARIFYING OUR IDENTITY Identity formation is the development of the distinct personality of an individual in a particular stage of life in which individual characteristics are possessed and by which a person is recognized or known (such as the establishment of a reputation). This process
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defines individuals to others and themselves. Pieces of the person’s actual identity include a sense of continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation. In sports chaplaincy, the topic of identity formation does not appear in the literature often nor is it commonly discussed by practitioners or researched by scholars. One of the major challenges to sports chaplaincy practitioners is to establish a professional identity outside of the prevailing health care model. For more than seventy years the identity of chaplains has been shaped by the clinical pastoral education (CPE) especially in North America and seminary-based academic training (Swinton, 2003). But, with the emergence of sports chaplaincy as a strand of professional chaplaincy, challenges have been raised about the fit and relevancy of the CPE model (Kenny, 2016; Waller, 2016). One of the concerns with sport chaplaincy is that as a strand of professional chaplaincy it has not effectively articulated a professional identity. The challenge is to establish an identity for sports chaplaincy on its own terms. In this session we will examine: 1) the process of identity formation and its importance to the work of the sports chaplain; 2) examine how pastoral theology should inform the identity of sports chaplains; and 3) compare and contrast identity formation among sport chaplains and traditional chaplains. At the conclusion of the presentation, attendees will be able to engage in a coherent dialogue about identity formation for sports chaplaincy that is grounded in pastoral care, pastoral theology and current practice in the field.
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