Christian coaches and athletes experience significant spiritual growth and transformation, referred to as “fruit” in the Bible. This comparison to fruit-bearing is fitting as these changes reflect the work of God’s Spirit within us, producing new behaviors and attitudes. The ultimate goal of this transformation is to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. This transformation is so significant that it is compared to a rebirth, affecting our motivations, curbing sinful habits, and initiating new, righteous ones that will last a lifetime. The Fruit of the Spirit Series explores these changes more thoroughly through its nine-book study series.
Self-control is all about establishing boundaries, living purposefully, and doing so with active accountability. Coaches and athletes need to be alert and attentive to sins and temptations which are common to man. Therefore, they are aggressive in their pursuit of knowledge and invite others to speak truth into their life. Self-controlled coaches and athletes are disciplined as they focus on the eternal rewards promised to them by God Almighty.
ROD HANDLEY is the former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). He is currently the Founder and President of Character That Counts. He is a popular retreat and banquet speaker with men’s and women’s groups, singles, and married. Rod has published over thirty books, including Character Counts—Who’s Counting Yours?, which details how to begin being accountable to one another.
GORDON THIESSEN has published or written more than three hundred books on sports and competition. He founded Cross Training Publishing to provide resources for Christian coaches and athletes. Gordon served 28 years with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Nebraska. You can find his videos and Bible studies at cross- trainingpublishing.com.
RON BROWN is a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champions member and a former Nebraska FCA Director. Ron is a longtime assistant football coach for the University of Nebraska football team. He spent 24 seasons as an assistant coach at Nebraska when they won three national championships. You can find his videos and Bible studies at kingdomsports.online.
Roger Lipe has served with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Southern Illinois since 1994. For twenty-one of those years he was an Area Representative for the southernmost counties of the state. In 2015 his role shifted to serving the sporting people at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, serving as the Regional International Coordinator for the FCA Midwest Region, and facilitating the growth of sports chaplaincy in that region of the USA. He and his wife, Sharon, live in Carbondale.
