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E-mail:  glinville@malone.edu

 

    Greg holds a Master of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity Equivalency from Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Malone College, Canton, Ohio.  He was awarded the world's first Honorary Doctorate of Divinity in Sports Ministry from Briercrest Seminary and is in the midst of his dissertation, pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry degree with a focus in Sports Ministry.

 

 

    Greg currently serves as the Professor of Sports Ministry at Malone College and Graduate School and has served as an adjunct professor for a number of colleges and seminaries throughout North America.  From 1972-1984, he served on the urban staff of the YMCA and Young Life in Canton, Ohio where he ministered to center-city kids and gangs.  He later served as a consultant for leadership development for the Central Stark County YMCA; recruiting, training, and encouraging YMCA staff in their ministry to the greater Canton area.

    He has over 20 years of coaching experiene at the Junior High, High School and Collegiate levels, and over 30 years of coaching Rec Leagues.  He currently serves as the Varsity Assistant Basketball Coach for both the men and women at Heritage Christian High School and as a volunteer coach in local church leagues.  Greg has served an Evangelical Friends Church as the Director of Sports and Recreation and as chaplain for various sports teams including the Akron Aeros, an AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, for over 15 years.

    Linville was one of the founders of the association of Church Sports and Recreation Ministers (CSRM); served for four years on its board; was CSRM Board President in 1999, and was hired in 2000 as the Executive Director of CSRM.  Currently, he serves as consultant to local churches and to specialized Sports Ministries such as FCA, as well as being in demand as a presenter for various Sports Ministry conferences and symposia.  Greg is also married and the father of two teenage children.

 

 

    Greg has written many articles on the Theology of Competition, the Ethics of Competition, The Theology of the Human Body, and other pieces dealing with various aspects of Youth, Sports, and Recreation Ministries.  He has written chapters in Sports Ministry textbooks and is currently co-editing a book on "The Biblical View of Sport and Competition."  He served as editor for numerous other Sports Ministry manuals; and has written manuals such as:  How to Initiate a Sports Ministry in a Local Church and A Devotional for Athletes and Coaches.  He wrote the insert for the Official Olympic Bible given to all Salt Lake City Olympic athletes.  He will present a paper to the CSRM Academic Symposium in April, 2005 at Oxford, England entitled Muscular Christianity then and now and its impact on the local church sports ministry.