Sports, Athletics & Faith (Part 3) w/ Fr. Burke Masters and Trevor Williams
Restore The Glory PodcastShow Notes
This week, Jake and Bob conclude their series on athletics by welcoming Fr. Burke Masters, the baseball priest, and Trevor Williams, the Washington Nationals pitcher, to the show! Together they discuss finding your identity in Christ when your job is about performing well, evangelizing as a professional athlete, and how sports can aid you in becoming a better Christian. Fr. Burke and Trevor also share how God led them to athletics, the story of how they met, and play a fun game with Jake and Bob at the end of the episode.
Key Points: Even when our jobs demand we perform well, our core identity is as beloved children of God, not in what we do or achieve. True humility is revealed in how we respond both to success and to failure, not just in our losses. Integrating faith and sports means living out Christian values and witness in every context, not separating religious life from professional or competitive arenas. Authentic evangelization often emerges through genuine relationships, presence, and consistency of character, more than through words alone. Practice, discipline, and perseverance in sports mirror the virtues needed in the spiritual life. The tension between ambition and surrender is navigated by directing all striving and success toward God's glory rather than personal gain. Regular self-examination and reflection help transform both athletic and spiritual setbacks into opportunities for growth. Balancing vocations—such as career and family—requires intentional boundaries and prioritization of what truly matters.
Resources: Grand Slam for God (or on Amazon)
Fr. Burke's Website
Healing Professionals Virtual Workshop
Chapters: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:33 Trevor's Family and Journey to Baseball 00:12:06 Fr. Burke's Baseball Story and Journey to the Priesthood 00:20:18 Finding Identity in God Not Sports 00:26:38 How Fr. Burke and Trevor Met 00:33:52 Evangelization in Professional Sports 00:39:24 Balancing Baseball and Family Life 00:41:55 How Sports Help You Become a Better Christian 00:50:39 Not Relying Solely on Your Own Effort 00:56:25 Sports Teaching Us How to Lose
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!
More from Restore The Glory Podcast
This week, Jake and Bob explore how our experiences with parents, caregivers, and other mentors shape the way we see God. Our relationships, especially those in childhood, can give us a beautiful image of the Father, but they also can leave us with distorted images that make it difficult to trust Him. Their conversation looks at the wounds that can shape our image of God, the subtle ways culture can influence those images, and the people God uses to help redeem them.
This week, Jake and Bob continue their conversation about the wounds that can form between parents and children. They discuss how legitimate human needs can become disordered when we no longer trust that those needs will be met and how these wounds can then quietly shape the ways we relate to our spouses, children, friends, and parents. Bob shares how his mother's childhood wounds affected him and how his own protective responses later surfaced in his marriage. Jake also reflects on his relationship with work, his struggle to receive help, and discovering the ways he unknowingly carried patterns from one generation to the next. Recognizing these patterns in our own lives can open the door to greater freedom, healing, and deeper relationships.
This week, Jake and Bob talk about the relationship between parents and children and what it means to honor one another while also being honest about the wounds we've experienced. They explore the dignity of parenthood, the responsibility parents have to create a loving and secure home, and their call to model honor by honoring their children first. They also discuss the honor our parents deserve, how to honor someone who has wounded us, and how to create healthy boundaries in family relationships.
This week, Jake and Bob welcome John Edwards (Just a Guy in the Pew) back to the show to continue his story of conversion and the long journey of healing that followed. John opens up about what happened after his powerful encounter with Christ in a jail cell, including the hard work of rebuilding trust with his wife and children, learning to be vulnerable, and surrendering control. He also talks about the struggle to reconcile with himself, especially the self-hatred and false identities that can remain even after receiving forgiveness from God and others. Through his story, John reminds us that conversion and healing is not a one-time event, but an ongoing invitation to allow Christ to transform every part of our lives.
This week, Jake and Bob discuss the subtle ways the enemy gains influence in our lives through the interpretations, judgements, and conclusions we draw in the ordinary moments of everyday life. They explore how these footholds can gradually become strongholds, why fear and shame often lie beneath our attempts to protect ourselves, and how distorted images of God shape the way we see the world. No matter where you may find footholds in your life, there is hope. Through simple acts of trust each day, we can learn to let God become our true stronghold.