During the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, 15-seeded Oral Roberts University (ORU) beat No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida, becoming only the second 15-seed in history to reach the Sweet 16. Dubbed a Cinderella team, their story gained national attention.

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra at The Gospel Coalition wrote about ORU’s head coach, Paul Mills, a man of deep faith. Unlike Oral Roberts, who preached prosperity theology, Mills does not. He tweets Spurgeon quotes, holds a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, and says hearing the Bible misused—especially in sports—makes him “go bonkers.”

James Naismith, who created basketball, also had a spiritual mission. He said he wanted “to win men for the Master through the gym.” That became my goal too. At 19, I found that inviting people to a Bible study didn’t work—but inviting them to play basketball did. After a few games, I’d gather the group for a short gospel message. Basketball was the bridge to building relationships and sharing Christ.

One key to competing in sports is what I call the “care factor.” If something matters to you, you’ll give it your best—especially when using God-given abilities for God-given purposes. I emphasized this so often that friends told me to make it an acronym. So I did: CARE — Christ better be first, reflected in your Attitude, followed by Relentless Effort.

Joshua 3-4 – Legacy

Remembering to use our God-given ability to glorify God is nothing new. Joshua 3-4 details the Israelites’ wait to cross the Red Sea. After forty years of wandering, they were finally allowed to cross into the promised land. Joshua told one man from each tribe to gather a stone to build a memorial to serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and power for future generations.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete believe Christ better be first as they reflect a Christ-like attitude and action in their sport.

Bible Memory Verse – “Now it happened when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.” Joshua 5:1 (LSB)