Why I Missed the Game

What??  Jason didn't watch the Husker game?  The reason runs deeper than me being fickle, but wayward enough to be funny.

Over the years, one complaint of nearly every pastor in Nebraska is about the Husker game that happens every weekend in the worship center or sanctuary.  There is the game on Saturday, and then there is the game on Sunday to see whether the Huskers or the church can capture more of an audience.  Pastors often comment and share sentiments like this in their pastor-friend circles:

"If the Huskers lose, nobody come to church!  If the Huskers win, too much celebrating; nobody comes to church.  If it's an away game, everyone travels to the game; nobody comes to church.  If it's a night game, we might as well have church in the stadium; nobody comes to church.  If it's a byeweek, everyone is trying to get married, run marathons, and take fall trips to Ireland; nobody comes to church..."

When I'm in these circles, I chuckle and nod my head.  A lot of it is true.  But I'm not one to buy into trends like these that explain or excuse certain behaviors.  For example, they say that Pastors need to "time down" and "activity up" the sermon because attention spans are much shorter these days.  In other words, make them shorter and action packed.  But I don't buy it, and I won't employ the trend to explain why people aren't seeming to engage with my sermon.  Most of us went to see the 3+-hour marathon "Hunger Games," loved it, didn't blink the entire time, and now have it at home to watch over and over again.  People can play video games for days straight.  Are our attention spans shortening, or are we engaging in different ways?

So, I don't buy a lot of things that explain or excuse the trends.  Instead, I'm a firm believer that if church is powerful and meaningful enough, if Jesus is present and lives are truly being changed every Sunday, then heck! even the Huskers will start showing up on Sunday!  Same thing for my messages:  if they really matter, are truly guided by the Spirit, and are relevant (among other things), people won't struggle to pay attention.  It'll be Hunger Games every Sunday!

But here's why I missed watching the game on TV this last Saturday:  I bought it.  I fell into it.  As the game got going, I felt the usual panic creep in that the Huskers might not win.  I'm a firm believer that the Huskers never win in the 1st half, but when the ball fell in the third quarter and gave more points to the Badgers, here's the thought that crept into my mind:  "I can't face the agony of watching them loose.  It'll completely take all of my fire and enthusiasm away from tomorrow's message!"

They say that Nebraska's economy spikes after a win, that there are fewer cases of domestic violence, and some even claim that a victory can produce rain.  Apparently, a win or loss can EVEN affect the quality of a preachers message...  Yeah, I bought it.  But now that I've written about it here, I'm taking it back to the store.  I don't want it.

Instead, I'll keep my old mentality:  when it comes to our faith and the way we serve our living God, NOTHING should stir us or shake us from doing what we do--Pastor OR parishioner!

More to come!

J <><