Twenty years ago a great culture debate in the United States revolved around the television. Was the content being broadcast shaping culture or simply reflecting it? That debate continues today and has expanded to many other forms of media and entertainment including radio, movies, and sports. Behind each one of these methods of entertainment are people, who have used their influence to change culture.
Two thousand years ago, Paul recognized that culture has an impact on people. He challenged Christians not to become comfortable with the culture: “don’t fit in without even thinking”. Rather, when you fix your attention on God you’ll be changed from the inside out. We are to be “in this world, but not of this world”.
How does culture change? Who has the power to change culture? How can you make a difference and what is your role to be a “change agent” for Christ? Where does sport play into all of this? These are questions that need to be explored so that we can effectively be the “salt” and “light” that Jesus describes bringing flavor to life and illumination to others. This is how you can make a difference in this world.
Culture changes when you express and demonstrate your beliefs to others through some form of communication channel. That channel can be simple one-on-one discussion or mass communication like the kinds listed above. Whatever the channel, people are listening and watching and are influenced by what they see or hear. When they are influenced the culture change begins. Usually it is a slow process, but big events such as 9-11 can change culture virtually overnight. One of the most powerful forms of mass communication is sports.
You can shape culture through sports. Whether you are an athlete, coach, parent, or a sports fan, you can shape culture. In fact God calls all of us to shape culture. Changing culture, making a difference, starts with you. You may wonder, “Can one person really have an impact on culture?” Yes! Take a look at two examples of individuals that started small and ended with big results.
Andy Bales was a youth mentor to me while I was going through high school. A self-proclaimed athlete (who I, as amateur as they come, could whip in tennis and basketball), Andy had the heart of a giant. Yet, while working in a downtown parking ramp in Des Moines, Iowa, was confronted by a homeless man who didn’t want money, but wanted the sandwich that Andy was eating for supper. Andy knew that Christ would want him to give away his meal in order “to do unto the lest of these” that Jesus talks about in Matthew, but he told him to “go on!”
The next day, so convicted of his failure to serve the needs of others, Andy quit his meager paying job, and with little money, started a homeless shelter for single mothers. This quickly grew from a four-plex to four buildings, to eventually two city blocks, serving over 200 women and families. For his efforts, president George H. W. Bush, named Andy one of his “thousand points of light” and personally flew in to Iowa to present him with the award.
Another example of shaping culture was evident in the life of John Barr, a missionary kid who I met while he played soccer at Northwestern College (Minn.). John was barely 5 feet 4 inches dripping wet! But the impact he had was gigantic on this world. Why? John got involved. He felt that there were many problems in this world, but to complain and not be a part of the solution, only made you part of the problem. So John took a semester off from school when he was challenged to serve others in a third world country.
He volunteered at a local jail, just spending time with inmates, playing cards, talking, and telling them that they were loved, something many had never heard before. While playing collegiate soccer, he befriended the opponents, often times meeting up with them after a contest to get to know them, sharing his life with them, and ultimately sharing Jesus. His ministry was life, not a specific program, organization, or one week event, it was all the time. John Barr was in a tragic accident, and in the ambulance, as he was dying, he asked the EMT’s what issues they had in their life and if he could pray for them.
Making a difference, shaping culture, it starts with us.
So what can we do to make a difference in this culture? Christ has given each of us talents and a command in Matthew to “go into all the world and spread the good news.” Let me offer five suggestions on how to use your talents.
- Get involved with some form of community service or ministry (or start your own) that aligns with your gifts, whether it be the Salvation Army, a food shelf, an after school program, helping with a children’s Sunday School class, etc…
- Financially support an organization, ministry, or person that is an active agent in changing culture. Good examples of this are sponsoring a third world child through Compassion International, or a local homeless shelter, or an orphanage.
- Don’t conform to the world, but transform it. Sit in the stands at a sporting event and cheer for your team, and not against the other team. Challenge others to do the same. Have integrity and demonstrate it to others. The majority of the world wants to get away with as much as they can until they get caught. Take the other approach – play by the rules.
- Pray for opportunities to make a difference. God will bring them to you!
- Use your talents and influence to affect others. This could be your teammates, fans, opponents, community, whoever, and demonstrate what a Christ filled athlete looks like. View your sport as your opportunity to make a difference. The world loves athletics, you have an immediate platform to perform, what are you going to do with it?
Colossians 3:17 (New International Version): “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed [action], do it all unto the name of Jesus, giving glory to God the Father.”
Dr. Matt Hill is the Director of Athletics at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hill is a former collegiate track athlete, football player and former collegiate coach. He is the leader of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle and is a board member for the National Christian College Athletic Association.
