With week one of the college football season kicking off last weekend, fans across the country began dreaming once again about the gridiron glories of violence and victory. And for the parts of American culture shaped by white evangelicals, these…
Praying football coach returns to field, not sure he’ll stay the season
Update: On Wednesday, Sept. 6, Joseph Kennedy quit his part-time job at Bremerton High School, having been present for only one game. The part-time assistant high school football coach who took his desire to pray at the 50-yard-line after…
Two football coaches went up to pray …
Prayer is communication in the divine realm. When we pray, we share openly with God and listen attentively to the internal whispers of the Spirit in communion with our own. Whether audible or silent, our voice to God should be…
My love-hate relationship with football
This photo from 1964 tells you a lot about me. I had just turned 4 years old. You see how my mother has me dressed. We’re visiting my dad’s sister. My boy cousins had gotten football helmets for Christmas, and…
Amazed by its win against the U.S., Nigeria’s U-17 soccer team ascribes its victory to God
In the usual post-match analysis of soccer matches, many players and coaches like to ascribe their team’s success to tactics and skills. Some openly talk about God’s influence. One such team is the Nigerian Women’s U-17 soccer team that participated…
Ready for some Friday night football and prayer?
Autumn offers a string of Friday Night Lights at high school football. And this autumn marks the first time coaches can feel free to “take a knee” on the 50-yard line to pray at the end of a game. The…
Ken Starr, former Clinton investigator and Baylor University president, dies at 76
Ken Starr, who vaulted to notoriety for investigating President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal and plummeted from Baylor University’s presidency for failing to handle sexual violence complaints, has died at age 76. Starr’s family reported he died Sept. 13 at Baylor…
South African women’s soccer team success shines a light on gender wage discrimination
There is a lingering giddy feeling that comes with winning a major sports competition. If in doubt, ask South Africans. Since July 23, when the country’s women’s national soccer team, Banyana Banyana, won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in…
God, bless this football game to our blood lust’s nourishment
I walked out of the stadium press box and headed down the aisle to return to my usual seat where I’d sat at least five Saturdays a year almost every autumn since 1972. A woman who appeared retirement age said:…