Welcome to Spirit of the Game

Reflections on sports and Christianity through the lenses of history, theology, and culture

Ten years ago I enrolled in a history PhD program and started on a journey to understand the ways Christianity and sports were intertwined in American culture.

It was sparked by my own story as a Nebraska-born, sports-obsessed pastor’s kid who participated with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and played basketball at a small Christian college. I knew that my identities as a Christian and an athlete had been central to who I was. I also knew that my involvement in sports had been more important in shaping me as a person than the classes I took or the subjects I studied in school.

Yet, as I began to dip my toes into the study of American religious history, I did not see many historians taking sports seriously as a site for Christian formation and a subject worthy of study.

So I decided I wanted to dive into that story. I wanted to explore the origins and development of the ideas I had been taught about what it means to be a Christian athlete. I wanted to write a cultural and intellectual history of the ways Christians had connected their faith with sports—and examine the ways those ideas were shaped by broader social and political trends in American life.

Ten years later, my book exploring those questions is complete and will be coming out with Oxford University Press (read more about the book here). But even though I’ve written a whole book on the subject, my questions and curiosity haven’t stopped. I continue to be endlessly fascinated by the significance we assign to sports, by the meanings we make from the games we play.

And that’s why I’ve started this newsletter.

A few things you can expect:

• Discussion and reviews of new and recent books that focus on American religious history, sports history/culture, and/or Christian theology and formation.

• Reflections on current trends, issues, and debates related to sports, Christianity, history, theology, and American culture.

• Previews, highlights, and vignettes from my historical research.

• Conversations and Q&As with scholars, thinkers, authors, athletes, and coaches related to sports and Christianity.

• Basically, similar vibes to the writing I’ve done for places like Christianity Today, Slate, Religion & Politics, Religion News Service, and more.

If you, like me, think we should take sports seriously as a site of intellectual inquiry, cultural influence, and moral formation—as well as a place for human creativity, playfulness, and joy—then this newsletter is for you.

Please drop me a note if you’d like to connect, and please follow along for more in the year ahead.

A few more things about me:

• I serve as the Assistant Director of Truett Seminary’s Faith & Sports Institute, where I lead an online graduate program centered on theology and sports.

• My wife grew up in the same small Nebraska town as me. And her dad was a pastor, too. We’ve been married for fifteen years and have three children ranging from elementary to middle school.

• My Spotify Wrapped tells me that in 2023 my favorite artists were Zach Bryan, J. Cole, Maverick City Music, and Lecrae.

• I firmly believe Michael Jordan is the GOAT, but I’ll allow consideration for Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Lebron James.