In Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller defines an idol as anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. For athletes, that description can hit close to home. Sports—though a good gift from God—can easily become the place we look for identity, meaning, and worth. In The Sports Idolatry Test, we explore ten honest questions designed to help you evaluate whether sport has crossed the line from passion to idolatry. Like the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, the rich young ruler in Mark 10, and the man crying “Help my unbelief” in Mark 9, your answers may reveal where your hope truly rests—and invite you to reorient your worship toward the One who deserves it. Sports are meant to be a vehicle for worship, not a replacement for it. Take the test, see where you stand, and let God reclaim the throne of your heart.

Competition can bring out the best in us. Especially when teammates are striving together toward excellence. But Genesis 4 also shows us the dark side of competition.

A stand-alone resource created by Athletes in Action staff member and former college Tennis Coach, Chad Simpson, to help coaches reflect on five key areas of life so they can experience their best season yet.

What does Elijah’s showdown with Baal teach athletes today? Discover how divided worship in sports competes with God for your full allegiance.

Discover how Christian coaches can shift sports from idolatry to worship, guiding athletes to honor God, find identity in Christ, and compete for His glory.

Sports debates crown GOATs by stats and status, but Jesus redefines greatness through humility, grace, and elevating others.

From stadium anthems to personal playlists, music influences athletic culture, unites teams, shapes athletes, and inspires faith.

“Jesus Won” has become a rallying cry for Christian athletes, but the gospel story is bigger than just victory. Before the triumph came surrender, loss, and sacrifice. After all, Jesus is both Lion and Lamb. For athletes and coaches, it’s a reminder that true identity isn’t in the scoreboard but in Christ’s victory through the cross.

As the category of mental health continues to gain more momentum within the culture of sport, coaches need some semblance of competency with how to think about and speak this new language—because athletes seem to be more fluent in it with each passing day.

Rest needs to be a rhythm, not just a reward. There are seven different types of rest that each of us needs, to varying degrees. And because each of us is different, the rest required often differs from person to person. 

Whether you call them commands, principles, or coaching points, Paul lays out a map for faithful living. For athletes, how do we apply his words faithfully to our sport?

If God is our primary audience, and sport offers an opportunity for us to bring him glory, what does that look like practically?

This is the fourth video in a four part series written and recorded for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The videos are linked to their sharing platforms.

Glorifying God through sport is accessible and attainable to all of us, at all times, regardless of what the scoreboard says and regardless of how much or how little we play. The world measures worth by wins and personal glory. God measures it by what’s happening inside our hearts

This is the third in a four part video series written and recorded for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The videos are linked to their sharing platforms.

The context of sports provides opportunities for us as competitors to give God the glory he desires. But what is it that we are “giving” God? What is glory?  It’s the weight of everything that makes God who he is—and the sharing of this weight for the benefit of us and those around us. 

This is the second in a four part video series written and recorded for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The videos are linked to their sharing platforms.

Instead of asking if God cares about sports, what if we asked a better question? What if we asked this: What does God care about the most? The Bible has a lot to say about the heart of God and what He cares about. 

This is the first in a four part video series written and recorded for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The videos are linked to their sharing platforms.

Sabbath is both a gift from God and a form of resistance to sport culture that teaches us we are only as worthy as we are productive.

In cultivating the habit in our own lives, and modeling it to our kids, we are “imaging” our Creator. We are making a conscious effort to look and act like him. And when we align our thoughts and actions with his character, it brings him glory—and it best positions our kids to grow and flex their own “patience muscles'' when the moment calls for it. 

What does it look like to take a story like Jonah and teach it to athletes?

Praying scripture for your family will not solve the daily pressure and demands you face as a coach. It certainly won’t solve choosing between another meeting and making it home to enjoy dinner with your spouse (and kids). But it will, hopefully, give you a few action steps to choose your family while you are still on the field or in the office.

As a coach, your calendar often feels like it’s not your own. Between early practices, travel weekends, recruiting calls, film breakdowns, and game prep, the margins are razor-thin. And when you finally do get home, you're often running on fumes. You’re constantly pulled in a dozen directions. Sometimes, the people closest to you—like your spouse or kids—end up getting the least of you.

You can’t give everyone all your time, but you can give them your best time. And when you do, you reflect the heart of a God who is never too busy to be fully present with us.