Pickleball Theology

Pickleball continues to build momentum in America, one former tennis court at a time. For Christians, the thriving sport can also serve as an avenue for experiencing the Christian life in a noteworthy way. Anything can lead believers to reflect theologically and teach us to follow Christ. I work at the Hendricks Center (a DTS department that focuses on demonstrating the relevance of theology to everyday life), study at DTS, and recently learned to play pickleball; thus, I find myself uniquely situated for pickleball-related theological reflection. As I’ve stumbled my way onto the court and gotten a grip on my paddle, I’ve discovered that pickleball can teach me a lot about the Christian life. The sport supplies ample opportunities to humble my heart, train my body, and share the gospel.

Humility

Pickleball has humbled my heart. My lackluster hand–eye coordination helps me realize my limitations. If I find myself arrogant in other areas, the pickleball court helps me recall the finitude of my humanity. Learning how to position my feet and swing a paddle offers new opportunities to explore my embodiment. With no prior sports experience, I had failed to appreciate the difficulty of making split-second decisions and expecting my limbs to respond accordingly. I also failed to appreciate the times I was not being whacked with a plastic sphere. My identity must reside in Christ, because it certainly cannot hold up on the pickleball court. I more fully appreciate God’s grace that endures regardless of my performance. I earn myself no standing before God. Whether I win or lose, whether I carry my team (this rarely happens) or disappoint my partner (this happens frequently), the finished work of Christ on my behalf remains unchanged. As a result, I can congratulate my opponents on any ball they hit beyond my reach.

Physical Training

And yet, to the surprise of everyone—most especially mine—my game has improved. Although pickleball has humbled me to the point of bruised knees, I have also learned that we can train our bodies. By God’s design, our bodies can change. At the risk of embarrassing myself with my initial feeble efforts, I learned that I could get the ball across the net on a serve. But it only came with practice and sporadic shots. From one day to the next, I noticed little improvement. But contrasting my skills from March to September revealed a marked shift in my performance—at some point, thankfully, I began to serve more often inside the lines than outside.

This slow pace of change mirrors the reality that much of the Christian life involves slow transformation over time. Our sanctification often takes longer than we would prefer. But reflection on years’ worth of transformation reveals God’s steadfastness and patience with us, gradually increasing our Christlikeness in compassion or integrity. I now display more self-control with my words than I used to—but perhaps not as much as I will learn to in years to come. Spiritual disciplines rarely cause massive change from day to day. But meeting with God and reading the Bible for years train saints for godliness. Though not by our own effort, we develop more intimacy with God’s Word and the story of Scripture over time. As believers, our powers of discernment “are trained by practice” (Heb 5:14), not by overnight success.

Spiritual Conversations

Finally, pickleball has provided opportunities to connect with unbelievers; every time I have the opportunity to share the good news about Jesus, I remind myself what good news it is. Sharing my vocation and field of study with others has given me the chance to testify to Jesus’s influence in my life. On the sidelines, I have shared with fellow players how God’s goodness finds compatibility with suffering in the world. Like the physical dimensions of the sport, the more I practice articulating truth, the closer I come to persistent readiness, as Peter put it in his first letter. By having spiritual conversations, I grow in compassion for the lost, whose hopes—not founded in Christ—will fail them. By talking about the person of Jesus, I remember my gratitude for knowing him. By answering questions about the Christian faith, I prompt myself to remember what I’ve studied and consider more deeply what I believe. The calling to make disciples comes from Jesus himself and facilitates formation for the believer.

Pickleball Theology

Pickleball exemplifies that God can use anything to change us—spiritually and physically—and allow us to share the gospel with others. Learning a sport for the first time produces a humility unique to activities that don’t come naturally. By the grace of God, even a novice can improve at a physical pursuit, similar to the way believers—although not through our own effort—slowly become more like Christ the longer we grow with him. Articulating the truths of the Christian faith reminds us of what we believe, the grace that saved us, and the gratitude we have for life in Christ. We walk with him by grace . . . even to the pickleball court.