This week, Jake and Bob continue their series on athletics, and welcome Bart Schuchts, a former D1 football player, to the podcast. Bart reflects on how athletics shaped his self-identity, beliefs, and relationships from childhood through his adult life. They also discuss sports culture, fear based coaching, and the fine line between healthy competition and idolizing sports. Ultimately, when approached with balance and intention, athletics can foster deep connection, personal growth, and spiritual insight that extends far beyond the game itself, enriching every aspect of life.

Key Points:

• Athletic achievement is often tied to receiving love, affirmation, and attention in families, especially when there are older siblings who excel in sports.
• Sports can become an idol when one’s entire sense of self-worth and identity is defined by performance and recognition.
• Sports teaches “conditional love,” when praise and acceptance are contingent on athletic success.
• A coach’s coaching style can establish either a positive, formative atmosphere or contribute to wounding dynamics.
• The question “Am I lovable?” is often unconsciously brought to sports, and how one seeks to answer that can drive them to healthy mastery of athletics or unhealthy obsession.
• Healthy participation in sports fosters union and belonging. It also highlights both the best and worst ways we seek connection, love, and purpose.

Resources:

• Church on Fire (Bart’s Website)
• Interview with Bart and Bobby Bowden
• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:08:43 Sports in Bart’s Life

00:10:44 Sports as an Idol

00:18:55 Finding Our Worth in Sports

00:28:38 The Good and Bad of Sports Culture

00:32:03 Dion Sanders and Work Ethic

00:33:39 Finding the Four Identities of a Human in Sports

00:34:58 Son vs Orphan

00:44:32 Brother

00:52:44 Husband

00:55:31 Father

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This week, Jake and Bob begin a series on athletics, diving into the profound ways sports intersect with faith. Today, they are joined by Dr. Nicole Gabana Chiesa, a sports psychologist and former collegiate athlete. Together they explore the beauty of sports and how they can shape one’s identity, foster virtue, and offer opportunities for healing that extend far beyond the playing field. However, athletics present many challenges beyond just physical injury. They also discuss the dangers of over-identifying with athletic success or failure, the impact of parental and societal expectations, and emphasize the importance of rooting one’s identity in God’s unconditional love rather than achievements.

Key Points:

• Femininity and masculinity can both find authentic expression through sports
• Healthy competition in athletics can foster discipline, humility, perseverance, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. Sports also offer an opportunity to practice and learn delayed gratification, sacrifice, and adherence to rules which are virtues that lead to human flourishing
• Wounds can arise from sports through idolatry, performance culture, unhealthy comparison, or losing sight of the bigger story beyond the game
• Sports rules do not restrict, but rather create the possibility of freedom and meaningful play, much like God’s laws facilitate human flourishing
• The identity of athletes can become overly tied to performance and success, leading to struggles or loss of self-worth when results or careers end
• Integrating faith and spirituality into sports helps athletes anchor their identity beyond achievement, rooting it in being a beloved child of God
• The desire for perfection seen in sports reflects a deeper call toward holiness and striving for spiritual growth
• Coaches and mentors play a significant, often formative, role in shaping not just athletic skills, but confidence, character, and motivation
• Playfulness and joy in sports are glimpses of the freedom and delight intended for us by God, paralleling receptivity in the spiritual life

Resources:

• Pax Perform Website
• Dr. Nicole Gabana Chiesa’s email: paxperform@gmail.com
• Gaudium et Spes
• On the Christian perspective on sport and the human person, from the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life
• Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:05:49 Integrating Sports, Psychology, and Faith

00:08:00 Nicole’s Faith and Experience with Sports

00:17:06 Femininity and Athletics

00:20:51 Identity and Comparison in Sports

00:27:53 When Competition Becomes Unhealthy

00:32:14 Virtues of Sports

00:38:02 Personal Experiences of Virtue in Sports and Coaches

00:47:59 Rules, Sacrifice, and Community in Sports

00:51:28 Wounds and Dangers in Sports

00:54:43 Performance Culture and Identity Loss

00:58:16 Sports as Formation and Healing

01:11:25 Sports Draw Us Closer to God

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast
• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod
• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

Never miss out on an episode by hitting the subscribe button right now! Help other people find the show and grow in holiness by sharing this podcast with them individually or on your social media. Thanks!

This week, Jake and Bob conclude their series on integrating faith with psychology. They welcome Beth Stoll, a therapist from St. Louis, to talk about how an encounter with God’s love at a Healing the Whole Person retreat transformed her practice. She not only shares how suffering creates a greater capacity for empathy but also why therapists who have experienced deep suffering themselves are able to more deeply connect with clients. They also discuss why one must first live a life of faith before integrating faith in their practice, define the difference between praying with and praying for someone, and reflect on the challenges of trusting God rather than our own abilities.

Key Points:

• Personal suffering can deepen a therapist's ability to empathize and connect with clients
• One must live a life of faith in their personal life before one can integrate it into their practice
• As a therapist, it is important to remember Jesus is the one who ultimately heals
• Learning to receive and allowing God to work in and through us can be difficult for both therapists and clients
• Integration is about encounter with the Lord through the therapist or Him directly

Resources:

• Beth’s Website

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:18 Beth’s Journey Through Sorrow

05:58 The Impact of Suffering

11:42 How Prayer Shifted Beth’s Practice

16:24 Jesus as the Primary Therapist

22:40 The Dynamics of Trust in Therapy

28:12 Praying for vs. Praying with Someone

34:57 Learning to Receive

40:42 Being the Presence of Christ

47:02 The Secret of Encounter and Integration

Connect with Restore the Glory:

• Instagram: @restoretheglorypodcast

• Twitter: @RestoreGloryPod

• Facebook: Restore the Glory Podcast

Never miss out on an episode by hitting the subscribe button right now! Help other people find the show and grow in holiness by sharing this podcast with them individually or on your social media. Thanks!