NOW, beyond long-haired formality, there resides the worthy mission to mentor holistically student-athletes to experience the Christian life both in and beyond sports. Let’s up the game: how about to know God, others and self in a deep holistic manner? Now, that is exciting and challenging!
WPDer “Revvin Evan”!
A Fast Image Bearer!
PC: T. Talley
“Will they know God, others and themselves? Will they be ready for life beyond sports? Will they be “influencers” for good? A blessing to others? Frankly, will others like to be around them? So many questions. So little time.”
– Dr. McNeal
Whole Person Development
WPDSports includes…
The Mission:
- Holistically mentor student-athletes to experience the Christian life both in and beyond sports.
The Vision:
- To see every student-athlete fully experience God, others, and self within a biblical framework.
The Purpose:
- Purpose of the non-profit organization is to provide Christian, holistic mentoring to student-athletes.
WPDSports values…
- Acknowledging and honoring the image of God (imago Dei) within each person.
- Approaching each person in a holistic manner.
- Engaging the sport, its culture and all those who participate in it.
- Honoring God in all things.
- Building personal relationships based on trust, respect, and integrity.
- Practicing responsible stewardship.
WPDSports.org Est. 2021. Exclusivity of marks claims for “WPDSports” as a trademark are on file with the USPTO.
The Team
Dr. M. – Sag support for the student-athletes. pc: T. Talley
“[I] maintain a ministry of BGP (Bald Guy Presence), making myself accessible to student-athletes, embedding myself into workouts, competition and travel, and supporting the coaching staff. Reciprocal stuff!”
– Dr. M.
Dr. Scott W. McNeal – President and Executive Director, Chief Sports Mentor
Dr. M. helps collegiate student-athletes fully experience God, others, and self within a biblical framework. Intersecting soul and sport!
As an athlete (runner) for many…many…oh so many years, Dr. M. knows the “mind” of an athlete.
With years navigating within the higher education world, Dr. M. has a keen sense of the collegiate demands placed on a student-athlete. These demands can “bless” or “curse” the student-athlete. How will the student-athlete manage these demands? Manage self and others? Manage life beyond sport?
As a man of Christian faith, Dr. M’s presence with student-athletes is holistic, focusing on the “whole” student-athlete in academic, social, athletic and spiritual areas.
Holistically and personally equipping the student-athlete to prepare for life in and beyond sports is his passion and that of WPDSports – Intersecting Soul and Sport.
UPPING THE GAME: 2023. Dr. M. is out-of-his-mind (in the most disciplined way) with the completion of the Sports Culture & Leadership Certificate from the Faith and Sports Institute at Baylor University.
Courses covered (but not limited to): Mental Health in Sports, Sports & Theology, Bible & Sport, and Sports Leadership.
Mr. Barry Tate, B.S. – Chairman of Board
Mr. Tate brings a strong “left” brain to the team with twenty-one plus years as a software development architect. Being a sportsman, he loves to run and occasionally gets hurt playing basketball. He currently wears his hair long!
Mr. Kelly Rehm, M.A. – Secretary and Treasurer
Mr. Rehm brings over twenty years of collegiate student-development, pastoral, and missional experience to the team. He loves to build and race cars. At times his machismo is palpable.
The Statement of Faith
With humility and graciousness, WPDSports leadership affirms and practices the following biblical and theological perspectives:
- We are motivated by Mark 12:30-31: ‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31, NIV).
- We are motivated by Hebrews 12:1:Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1, NIV).
We believe that God created all human beings in His image. Therefore, we believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; that we must honor the physical and spiritual needs of all people; following Christ’s example, we believe that every person should be treated with love, dignity and respect. GENESIS 1:27 | PSALM 139:13 | ISAIAH 49:1 | JEREMIAH 1:5 | MATTHEW 22:37-39 | ROMANS 12:20-21 | GALATIANS 6:10
We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, trustworthy and true, without error, Word of God. 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
We believe there is only one God who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. MATTHEW 28:19
We believe Jesus Christ is God, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His death that paid for, our sin through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension/rising up to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return in power and glory. JOHN 1:1 | MATTHEW 1:18,25 | HEBREWS 4:15 | HEBREWS 9:15-22 | 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-8 | ACTS 1:9-11 | HEBREWS 9:27-28
We believe that acceptance of Jesus Christ and the corresponding renewal of the Holy Spirit are the only paths to salvation for lost/sinful men and women. JOHN 3:16 | JOHN 5:24 | TITUS 3:3-7
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, who lives within and guides Christians, so they are enabled to live godly lives. JOHN 14:15-26 | JOHN 16:5-16 | EPHESIANS 1:13-14
We believe in eternal life, and that through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, we spend eternity with the Lord in Heaven. We believe that in rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we receive eternal suffering in hell. MATTHEW 25:31-46 | 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, that all believers are members of His body, the Church. PHILIPPIANS 2:1-4 We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God created man and woman to complement and complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic man and one genetic woman. GENESIS 2:24 | MATTHEW 19:5-6 | MARK 10:6-9 | ROMANS 1:26-27 | 1 CORINTHIANS 6:9