It's summer and the sporting season is well underway. As Roger Federer bags his hat-trick, 18-year-old Maria Sharapova sees defeat, and the London bid team celebrate their Olympic success, you'd be forgiven for wondering if there'll be anyone left in the pews come summer 2012. Many clergy already report the absence of family worshippers of a Sunday morning because it's key training time for the local hockey league or similar.

But this competition between sport and faith is nothing new, nor a peculiarly British problem. It was the Christian Emperor Theodosius in fourth-century Byzantium who banned the Olympic games because they were too 'pagan'. Rather more recently, in February 2004, a writer for the Boston Globe noted that many parents simply feel there are more benefits to be found in league-games than church services: "their children can gain self-confidence and skills in athletics that are not taught in Sunday school".

So does sport necessarily set faith off-side or can we re-write the competition rules?
Whether its advocating different patterns of worship or telling the gospel through sporting champions, there are plenty of books proffering if not precisely the hope of victory at least an amicable draw.

Through the eyes of an East London journalist, Saunders follows a young footballer into the limelight. Sought out by a nation whose team have just lost to Tajikistan in the World Cup play-offs (the humiliation), young John Christie is destined to be their Saviour. Or is he?

In a moden allegory of first-century messianism, John's faith sets him at odds with the crowds' expectations, while Saunders deconstructs the discipline and excesses of the professional game.

Returning to real life, this is the autobiography of 29-year-old Rugby-player (and England fullback) Jason Robinson. His is a rags to riches story, but not wholly glamorous. Jason recounts the day he found faith, and tells how his relationship with Christ has changed his life.

A Christians in Sport publication, it is a story which connects the discipline of keeping fit with the disciplines of Christian living.

This collection of sketches puts a fresh spin on Christian sport. The Good Rollerblader in question is in fact Luke's Good Samaritan. In true parabolic form, the potential hedonist overturns expectations to save an elderly lady from her muggers.

This is not the only sporty retelling, as the Parable of the Talents becomes a story of soccer skills. In the climate of child obesity this is a pertinent setting, as keeping up your skills is juxtaposed with becoming a couch potato.

Connect Bible Studies are typically relevant, and although a couple of years has passed since the publication of England manager, Sven Goran-Eriksson's, thesis On Football, this four-session study remains topical.

Each session builds on discussion of quotations from Sven's book, looking at how his reflections on soccer relate to our lives, and to what extent they connect with or diverge from our faith and practice.

An odd contribution to the subject? In envisioning new patterns of worship this report advocates making space in the week for those for whom Sunday morning is simply not a practical moment for worship.

The product of a working group chaired by the Rt Revd Graham Cray (Bishop of Maidstone), this book offers practical information and successful case-studies for those wanting to encourage more people to find space for faith in their busy lives. The prominence of Sunday sport is just one example of the changing context to which the authors respond.

This is a book for those of us who are already breathless at the thought of so much sport. If you're more likely to spend the summer indoors in front of the television than out on the track, why not check out some of Shreeve's excellent suggestions to improve your condition?

Two major factors differentiate this from other 'get fit' manuals: Firstly, Shreeve offers a wide range of case studies showing that there are options open to all shapes and sizes. Secondly, the aim is not to look like a teen idol but to improve your general wellbeing and enjoy it.

From treating yourself to childhood past-times and then refreshing yourself with a lime sparkler, to dancing your way through the housework there's plenty of choice to tickle your fancy. We never knew getting out of the armchair could be so much fun!