survey sez!
Reader's responses to The Big Question.
(If
you would like to submit a Big Question for other readers to answer, email
editor@ninetyandnine.com.)
The Question: Your pastor adjusts your Sunday night service time because of the Super
Bowl. Does this make him a progressive Christian, a steely realist, a worldly
accomodationist or something else? Why/Why not?
The Answer: “God
doesn't just show up at 6 p.m. Sunday and if you change the service time, well
you just miss Him. We all know He is everywhere at all times. I think it's fine
if a pastor wants to change around the church service times for different events
or for any other reason. My pastor in the last city I lived in switched from two
services to one afternoon service on Sundays just before I left. Some people got
all upset over it and I just didn't get the reasoning behind it. I, personally,
haven't found a Sunday itinerary in the Bible yet. Am I missing something here
or are people just too accustomed to their 'religious' routines?”
The Answer: “It might be an honest
reflection of his feelings, but I am still of the opinion that Christians do not
belong in the company of the world. At
the exorbitant ticket prices I've read about, does this mean the pastor is going
to be watching on television? I was
under the impression that was considered unwholesome, too.”
The Answer: “This pastor is, at the
least, a worldly accommodationist. His
values appear to be of a worldly nature. A
bad judgment call.”
The Answer: “I think it makes him a
little out of tune with God, personally. I, myself, love football, but when
offered to go to a friend’s house to watch it, in place of church, I turned
the offer down. We are putting
entertainment before God; we’re taking up His
time, to fulfill our wants. I would be extremely disappointed in my pastor if he
would have done that. Come to think of it¾I
don't even know if my pastor knew the
Super Bowl was going on. J”
The Answer: “It makes him an idiot.
Placing entertainment above the worship of God?”
The Answer: “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! This
question is hysterical! My pastor
says, 'Praise God, let's have a Holy-Ghost time and then head to Damon's to see
the last part of the game.’ ”
The Answer: “Being that I am not a
full-fledged football fan (unless it is the Titans), I would rather be involved
in a church service that may change someone's heart and not the temporary thrill
of whether my team won or (Oh No!) lost. I don't think the pastor should adjust the Sunday night
service for that reason.”
The Answer: “The Super Bowl should not
be more important than church or God. If a man or women would rather push God
aside by saying, ‘Sorry, but we’re going to watch this meaningless game full
of unrighteous commercials and half-dressed cheerleaders and a stadium full of
heathens who will jump, shout, scream, rant, and rave as somebody drops a ball. Is that okay, God?” Then
something tells me that that somebody most likely needs to get his or her
priorities checked. I believe this
is true whether the service is held before, during or after the game, because
God has asked us to be separate from the rest of the world, and how can we be
separate if we decide to pay attention to what some screaming, painted idiot is
doing while sitting in some bleachers? That
is not how God has asked us to be. If
we are to be separate, we should not care of the unnecessary things of this
world. At the same time what we
should really be doing is praying for those people who care more about the game
than God and also pray for the pastor that would do this rather than berate him,
even if it truly is wrong. I can’t honestly say that I am sorry if I have
offended anyone or hurt anyone by saying this, but how do think God feels about
this? He deserves His time that we
dedicate to Him, after what He has done for us.”
The Answer: “When
we make adjustments for a worldly pleasure, how can that be anything else but
conforming to the world? When we
call it by any other name, we are just fooling ourselves.”
The Answer: “I
don't know what it would make him...but it would definitely change my perception
of the man I thought he was. I
personally would not agree with changing a church service in light of a Super
Bowl...or anything else not having to do with God.
Now that isn't to say I have anything against watching sports, etc...but
when it gets in the way of living for God—one way or another—then I disagree
totally.”
The Answer: “Not a good thing.
This says that a sporting event is more important than church and the
things of God. The true sign if a
man is in church is if he is at church on Super Bowl Sunday.”
The Answer: “It would be quite
hypocritical to move a Sunday worship time for a television program when, at
least in the minister's manual, it says that saints are to refrain from watching
television or to participate in worldly sports and amusements.
On the other hand, most of our folks do have televisions now
(whether we want to admit it or not).
But to organize church events around television is clearly wrong. It shows that television has a hold on people that it shouldn't have.”
The
Answer: “This makes him a worldly accommodationist.
No one dismisses for the Superbowl except (another religion).”
The
Answer: “It would make him appreciated.
The Super Bowl is almost a National Holiday and could be used as good
time of fellowship with brothers. Or
how about a Super Bowl party to get your work friends to meet your church
friends?”
The
Answer: “I think that would be a little too much compromise.
Why should we shorten/adjust our services to accommodate worldly
entertainments? And where does that
put our priorities?”
The Answer: “Adjusting church for
worldly events is becoming more of an issue. I think it is a dangerous thing to
do because the message relayed is that sports, or other events, can take
priority over church from time-to-time. Where
would the lines be drawn—just the Super Bowl? The argument can be made that
said pastor is a progressive Christian knowing his congregation. Well, but to me, this needs to be thought through carefully because 15 years ago
this question would have been ridiculous to even ask. What will happen 15 years
from now if we change church times for certain events?
The big picture needs to be examined now.”
The Answer: "Ouch. I'm not sure I agree with it, especially after the Ravens
destroyed the Giants in a horrible game. It wasn't worth it. However, I think
this is part of the bigger question of how much are we a part of the world? It
also may matter on who the pastor has a five-spot riding on."
The Answer: “A realist, but yet a worldly accommodationist.
The fact of the matter is people do skip out on church just to watch the
Super Bowl. Yet our religion is
‘against’ television and organized sports, so by changing the time to
accommodate such a thing would be a double standard/a slap in our religion’s
face. So even though it is
practical in thought, it is contradicting in the end.”
The Answer: “I know that I will be
in a minority here, but I have seen several churches that take it one step
further and have Super Bowl parties in their fellowship hall. It gives the men (and ladies!) a chance to get together and
invite their neighbors. Neighbors that might not otherwise come, and they are
afforded the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Usually, this takes the form of a video either shown before the game or
at halftime that features athletes which they already admire sharing their
testimony. This is a powerful
outreach tool. Too often, we view
“outreach” as something that's done for two hours on Saturday morning (if it
isn't raining!) knocking on doors. Outreach
can be much more than that!
We should never pass up the opportunity to tell our friends and neighbors
about Christ. This is one way.”
The Answer: “In the whole scheme of
things—how important is the Super Bowl? It doesn't make any great impact on
our lives. Therefore, I would be greatly disappointed if my pastor considered
the SB an important event that would cause a schedule change.”
The Answer: “Depending on other
instances and actions, it would probably make him an ex-pastor, as I would tend
to go elsewhere.”
The
Answer: "The Super Bowl used to be a great event, but I think
recently enthusiasm and excitement for the game has died. If my pastor changed
our service schedule to accommodate it (he wouldn't!), I would think he had lost
his marbles. Who cares about the Super Bowl?"
The
Answer: “It’s easy to condemn such a pastor when you’ve
never been in a city that has a team playing in the Super Bowl. The craziness
affects even non-football fans. Plus, most see the Super Bowl as a national
holiday. When churches adjust their Sunday services for Independence Day weekend
– due to lower attendance and vacations – no one seems upset. What’s the
difference?
The
Answer: "My pastor is such a good one, and the Lord moves in such
a mighty way at church, that no one wants to miss to watch a bad Super Bowl
anyway. I think people adopt the ideals of their pastor, and if they are good,
then people won't think about missing church on that day."
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ã 2001, ninetyandnine.com
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