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Today, I had the privilege of presenting two sessions on sports chaplaincy to about thirty men and women interested in or whom are currently serving as sports chaplains in the country of India.

In the first session, I presented an expanded presentation of a Biblical Foundation for Sports Chaplaincy along the lines of last year’s presentation at Calvin University in Michigan. It was at the 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity, where I met with delegates from India who invited me to conduct today’s training. With about 40 minutes, I was able to expand further into the study of Genesis 3 as the biblical foundation for the work of chaplaincy in sport and provide examples and illustrates along the way.

A short break and intermission allowed for us to dive into a second session, whereby I presented a reformatted version of a teaching from 2016 in which we looked at the four foundational elements of pastoral care as a framework for how one might take on the role of chaplain. The second session featured more around passages in the New Testament and a brief discussion of Saint Martin of Tours and the origins of chaplaincy. Our time flew by, but I encouraged the attendees to go away with the teaching and reflect on the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Prior to Coronavirus, initials talks had been in place to do some form of training for soccer chaplains in India and the global pandemic and the uptick in utilizing video conferencing resources has opened some new doors and ways of thinking of how we take on different training and educational opportunities.

I look forward to seeing further opportunities open up for us and for Soccer Chaplains United!