Our Team
FSI Staff

Office Manager for the Faith & Sports Institute
Office Manager for the Faith & Sports Institute
Biz DeJong serves as the Office Manager for Truett Seminary's Faith & Sports Institute (FSI). In this role, she provides support in the areas of scheduling, communications, and budget management. Prior to this role, she served as the Program Coordinator for the FSI High School Retreat, where she helped facilitate registration, hiring, and procurement. She loves supporting the Faith & Sports Institute in delivering relevant programs, and she particularly enjoys the enthusiasm and thoughtfulness of sports ministry faculty, staff, and students.

Post-Doctoral Fellow
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Brian grew up in the Show-Me State (Missouri) where he attended the University of Missouri and received a B.A. in Microbiology and ran far too many 5k, 10k, and half marathon races. Although he was planning for medical school, upon graduation he chose instead to work on staff with a local college church in Columbia, MO, ministering to college students for six years.
He went on to pursue an M.Div. at Duke University before heading to Baylor to complete his Ph.D. in New Testament. He has taught classes on Scripture, Theology, Interpretation, and History at Houston Baptist University, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Baylor University’s Department of Religion, and Truett Seminary. In 2017, he published his first book, Mark 15:39 as a Markan Theology of Revelation: The Centurion's Confession as Apocalyptic Unveiling, with T&T Clark's "Library of New Testament Studies" series. He has also authored several articles for the Lexham Bible Dictionary and the Journal of Theological Interpretation.
Brian joined the Faith & Sports Institute as its first Postdoctoral Fellow in 2020, with the goal of writing a new book on the athletic imagery in the New Testament. He has three amazing children. In his free time, he runs, reads, and pretends to be learning how to play the guitar.

Retreat Ministry Coordinator
Retreat Ministry Coordinator
Abby was born in Alabama but has grown up all over the United States, including in Maine, Oregon, Louisiana, and New York. Throughout each of her many moves, only three components were constant: her family, her faith, and her sport. She has been playing basketball her entire life, and the sport is quite literally a family affair—she and her two sisters have all played collegiate basketball.
In 2019, Abby graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Psychology. During her undergraduate years, she started an online bookstore named Little Fox Books, which continues to grow and develop. She has coached and volunteered at several high school and collegiate camps and clinics in both Louisiana and New York and now coaches Valor Preparatory Academy's high school girls' basketball team.
Abby graduated from Baylor’s Truett Seminary with an M.Div. and Certificate in Sports Ministry in May 2o22. Abby came to Baylor to receive the best possible theological education and also learn from the sports ministry pioneers John and Cindy White.
Abby is excited to still be a part of the Faith & Sports Institute now as the Retreat Ministry Coordinator. Abby directs and leads FSI's summer retreat for high school student athletes who are serious or curious about their faith and sport. Abby enjoys showing young people the joy and freedom that sports can bring when approached in a faithful way.

Assistant Director of Sports Ministry
Assistant Director of Sports Ministry
Paul was born and raised in McCook, a small town in the southwest corner of Nebraska. Although he grew up in football country, basketball was his sport of choice. He played in high school and in college at Grace University, where he graduated with a degree in secondary education. Later, he earned an M.A. in history from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a Ph.D. in history from Baylor University. He has spent most of his professional life in education, serving as a high school social studies teacher and a college history professor before accepting his current position with the Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor.
Paul’s research focuses on the intersection of sports and Christianity. His first book, The Spirit of the Game: American Protestants, Big-Time Sports, and the Contest for National Identity, is under contract with Oxford University Press. His research and writing has appeared in a variety of media outlets, including Christianity Today, Religion & Politics, Religion News Service, Slate, Sports Illustrated, and NPR’s “Only A Game” radio program.
When he’s not working, Paul enjoys spending time with his wife, Bethany, and his three children.

Program Director for the Faith & Sport Institute
Program Director for the Faith & Sport Institute
Cindy grew up in a family of nine in Akron, Ohio, where she played volleyball, basketball, and softball competitively. She went on to earn All-American honors in volleyball and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Health and Human Performance with graduate studies in Exercise Physiology. Following a year of coaching at The University of Texas, Cindy received an M.A. from Moody Bible Institute in Biblical Studies and Ministry which prompted her to pioneer the women’s campus ministry with Athletes in Action, where she has served for 35 years.
Cindy develops curriculum for global leaders in sports and has traveled the world speaking at retreats and conferences, particularly in the areas of identity formation and mentoring in elite sports. She has co-authored or contributed to three books related to sports and faith and is committed to helping young people aspire to true greatness. She also is Adjunct Professor at Truett Seminary and facilitates ministry in Baylor Athletics. She is married to John and has three wonderful adult children.

Associate Professor of Practical Theology; Holder of the Harold and Dottie Riley Director of the Sports Chaplaincy/Ministry Program
Associate Professor of Practical Theology; Holder of the Harold and Dottie Riley Director of the Sports Chaplaincy/Ministry Program
John is a native of the Midwest, and in particular, he is a Hoosier. One of his sports highlights came when he raced in the legendary cycling race "The Little 500" at Indiana University on Team Cutters (dramatized by the film Breaking Away). Along with his involvement with Team Cutters, John managed to make time for school, receiving a B.S. in Business with his favorite subject being Economics.
After college John sensed God's call to sports chaplaincy and ministry. His work included serving and ministering on various college campuses, at the Olympic Training Center, and in Europe. While serving in ministry, he also completed an M.Div. and an M.A. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He graduated summa cum laude for both of his graduate degrees.
John eventually moved with his wife Cindy and three children to Scotland to study moral theology and to earn a Ph.D. from The University of Edinburgh. After graduating, he came to Baylor University to assume the position of Harold and Dottie Riley Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the Sports Chaplaincy Program. John’s publications have appeared in Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, Implicit Religion, Studies in Christian Ethics, Practical Theology, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Bible and Ethics, and he recently co-edited books with Routledge Press (2016, 2018), Cambridge Scholars, and Mercer Press (2017).
He is grateful to serve at a research university like Baylor University where his scholarship and leadership can integrate faith and sports in order to contribute to the transformation of the people and culture of sports.
FSI Team of Advocates

Author, Speaker, and Former ESPN Producer
Author, Speaker, and Former ESPN Producer
"Sports ministers deeply and lovingly invested in my spiritual growth, and their discipleship thereby enabled me to live and work in sports in a manner worthy of the Gospel. Working with FSI is an exciting opportunity to pay that gift forward and equip more individuals for this vital work."

President Emeritus, Taylor University Chairman, Christianity Today
President Emeritus, Taylor University Chairman, Christianity Today
"As the premier entity with a faith and sports focus in the United States, perhaps the world, the Faith & Sports Institute of Baylor University provides opportunities for graduate students and others who are passionately committed to the integration of Biblical faith and the role of sports. This is a passion I celebrate and value."

Retired LPGA Professional
Retired LPGA Professional
"I have joined the Faith & Sports Institute Team of Advocates because they are intentionally working to integrate faith and sport at a holistic level for athletes and sports leaders. FSI is on the cutting edge of creating space and resources that will change the landscape in providing spiritual training, along with emotional and mental care in the sports world. It is an honor to be included among this gifted group of men and women who make up the FSI team."

Sports Medicine Physician
Sports Medicine Physician
"My journey as a Christ-follower has inspired me to integrate my faith with every endeavor I undertake. I played sports growing up and in college and was convicted by the importance of faith and how it informs all that I do, how I do it, and why I do it. My vocation as a Sports Medicine Physician and marriage to a like-minded, award-winning sports journalist have afforded me unique experiences that have further shaped my perspectives on faith and sports. When I learned about FSI and its unique mission, I was fascinated by the concept and enthusiastically jumped at the invitation to serve on the TOA!"

Consultant and Strategist
Consultant and Strategist
"I joined FSI to partner with co-workers in Christ to launch FSI. I hope to use my God-given gifts to witness God’s glory as He impacts the world of sport with the beauty and goodness of Christ Jesus. I’m looking forward to all that is in store."

Former NFL Player and Football Coach
Former NFL Player and Football Coach
"FSI’s vision inspires me with its intentional focus of doing theologically-driven reflection on competitive sports and engaging with the complexities and challenges of Christian leadership in sports. Additionally, I resonate with FSI’s ethos of how coaching is an authentic Christian vocation that matters in the here and now."

Deputy Athletic Director, University of Wisconsin
Deputy Athletic Director, University of Wisconsin
"I believe in the life-changing power of faith in Jesus Christ and the power of sport! Serving with the FSI Team gives me the opportunity to play a small role in helping athletes, coaches, staff, and administrators harness this power for transformational educational, athletic, and spiritual experiences."

Entrepreneurs and Sports Parents
Entrepreneurs and Sports Parents
"As parents and stewards of three young athletes, the most important thing we can do is provide a foundation of spiritual truth for them to grow their own lives built upon their faith. Whether the opportunity is within their God-given gift of athleticism or off the rhetorical court of competition, we want to provide our children a culture for life and love to be spoken into them. FSI allows for the ability to root that foundation into every athlete, which is why we feel called to sit on the FSI TOA."

Executive Pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church
Executive Pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church
"I came across the Faith & Sports Institute during my research for my Doctor of Ministry project/thesis that is exploring the integration of faith, sports, and activism among Black athletes. I was excited to find others who are on a similar journey of exploration, learning, and teaching. For those who have been and/or are engaged as a player, administrator, or fan, we understand the ways that our connection to sports touches and moves us at some deep levels. There is a spiritual dimension to sports and I am eager to join FSI on the journey to uncover the transformational possibilities it provides us."