Chris Lassiter
AUTHOR
About Chris
When Chris Lassiter finished his college basketball career – as the first guy off the bench on a decent-but-not-great Division III team – no NBA executives came calling. It was time for him to get a job.
He chose to become a sports writer, a job that allowed him to combine his passion for sports with his passion for writing.
Chris was a sports writer at The News Leader for 15 years, writing well over 2,000 articles. During that time, he kept growing in his desire to write about the gospel of Jesus Christ in addition to sports. He’s written faith and culture articles for VIBE, Rapzilla, HipHopDx.com, Jam The Hype, Hard Magazine, Young Life Relationships and other print and online publications.
Chris lives in his hometown of Staunton, VA, along with his beautiful wife Emily and their five kids:
Chris’ Books
You’re Grounded
A theology book aimed at the generation influenced by hip-hop. It’s theology the remix. Filled with stories from hip-hop culture and the sports world, You’re Grounded seeks to explain the gospel of Jesus Christ and how to live the Christian life in a warm, relevant way.
Grits & The Grimels
What happens with a kid throws a rock through his neighbor’s minivan window? Something completely unexpected. Grits and the Grimels is an illustrated kids’ book about a broken window, an inner-city church-planting family, God’s grace and a plate of cookies.
Blog
I Wanted to Live Forever But …
My heart broke at news that DMX had died. As I processed his death, one DMX lyric in particular stuck in my brain. Dark Man X was the last rapper to perform on Bad Boy artist Ma$e's hit song, 24 Hours to Live, which was released on Feb. 20th, 1998. In the late 1990s,...
Rose Petals and Ahmaud Arbery
Dee Wilson’s Black & White Hymnal is currently my favorite album. I’m a creature of habit. And I easily get stuck on albums. Rather than searching for another one I might like as much, I just go with what I know. And it's a good album to be stuck on. A...
7 Encouraging Writing Tips
I’d rather not learn anything the hard way. If I can learn from someone else’s mistake, I’ll always choose that path. Here are a collection of things I’ve learned about writing. Some are from mistakes I’ve made. Others are jewels that wise people passed along to me. ...
My Michael Jordan Story
My Michael Jordan story does happen in Chicago. But if I'm being completely honest, I've never met Michael Jordan. I live in a small city called Staunton, VA. The best player ever from our high school, Kevin Madden, played at UNC right after MJ. So a couple of people...
10 Biggest Personal Ls I’ve Taken in Basketball
Unless you are Michael Jordan, you won’t always win. I grew up playing basketball almost every day of my life, and I’ve taken plenty of team Ls and plenty of personal Ls. Here are 10 of the worst personal Ls I can remember taking. No. 1 has to be Phil Dixon, the star...
A (Maybe) Helpful Prayer Template
I struggle with shame. No matter what I do, I always think I could have done it better somehow. I'm constantly having to preach the gospel to myself to remind myself that Christ dealt with our shame on the cross. (If you struggle with shame, check out a link to a...
An Idea for Family Devotionals
I hope this is helpful. But it may not be for everyone. There's certainly no scripture that says, "try it the way the Lassiters do it." And I'm not even sure it's the best way. But it is a way. And hopefully it helps someone. Quick disclaimer: If you came for ideas...
My Favorite Notorious B.I.G. Story
March 9th is a somber day for hip-hop fans worldwide. It's a time when the hip-hop world mourns the death of Christopher Wallace - the Notorious B.I.G. - the "King of New York." His perfect emceeing voice, clever wordplay and flawless storytelling ability - combined...
To Hug or Not to Hug?
Three hundred and ninety-seven months. The words literally overwhelmed me. I felt numb. I felt sick. I felt hopeless. I was doing Christian ministry in a mostly urban context. As "urban" as it gets in a small town. On this day, that meant being a character witness in...
You Might Be Wrong About Space Jam 2
Mike is the G.O.A.T., but I really like LeBron. That makes me an anomaly. I can appreciate both. For those who of us who tend to love Jordan, there's a tendency to criticize everything LeBron does. Mike has more championships. Mike's shoes are more popular. Mike made...
GOD, GOOD & GASHES
Could a tree help you get through 2020? The story on this one particular tree just might. Over the weekend, I was helping plant trees in our community. On Sunday, I snapped a photo of my son (pictured) up in a tree. All of this made me remember a story I read...
Media Coverage
“For Lassiter, differences are a start to a conversation”
