Sports, Spectators, and Stadium Chrisianity

I figured it'd be fun to write a critique of sports in light of my last post. I'll start by saying I love sports. Whether watching, playing, or talking about them, I enjoy them thouroughly; as do most people I know. Nonetheless I think that sports have come to occupy a ridiculous place in modern life. I think a case can be made that sports are unquestionably the greatest religion in America and Europe. This is ironic given the very nature of sports. To call something a sport, at least 50 years ago, literally meant it was something to not be taken seriously. Sport was something on the periphery of life, that was ultimately insignificant. . . . a far cry from something worth the trillions of dollars currently spent on it worldwide. This can also be seen in the way the word "game" has gone from meaning a leisurly competition involving an otherwise insignificant activity, to being the pinnacle of fullness: what is it that most children now days dream of being when they grow up?

Our priorities in the modern world have shifted so that now we are willing to award a baseball player the total gross national product of Haiti for hitting a ball with a stick and consistently knocking it 400+ feet in a general direction. Think about it: today people with little disposable income will often surpass tithing to purchase season tickets, memorabilia, or television sports packages to watch activities that don't matter.

Now if that doesn't apply to you, then stand back for a minute and ask how many concerts you go to, how many movies you view, and critique any form of poster that adorns your wall. "Spectatorism" goes far beyond sports, but sports still appear to me to be the most acute of pagan religions in America.

I think that sports/spectator events are actually setting the model which most "Modern" churches are now attempting to follow. Not too long ago I attended a church where the pastor criticized those who would not cheer for God. Now, I'm not opposed to someone doing that if that is what is in their heart to do, but this pastor was suggesting that everyone should cheer for God at the climax of the worship time, since after all, they would cheer at the climax of a football game. I see his point, but still feel it to be largely misguided. Would he emplore us to do the wave for God too. How about serving large quantities of beer for communion (that would solve the lack of enthusiasm and undoubtedly result in exponential church growth). This also a church that plans intends to grow to be at least 30,000 members in the next ten years, having a "sanctuary" that will hold that many. I wonder what box seats will go for there?

I think the people of this church are good people. I believe them to be brothers and sisters, and I learned quite a bit from the time that I spent with them. But, I think the form of their church is based on the prevailing American religion. That being spectator events. Worship is a concert. The preaching turns into theatrics, where in the end the audience is encouraged to "play their role" in the spectacle: cheering, coming forward in tears, asking for prayers, getting baptized. Ultimately it is an event where one walks away, able to say "I was there man!", but is still scarcely any different than the world around them.

Consider for a minute: which religion is winning? People will drop $60 or more to go to a concert. Hundreds of dollars for good seats at a sporting even. The collection plate at church goes by empty. They invest the total depth of emotion in watching there team win, but struggle to find emotion at weekly worship in their local congregation. NFL players encite considerable help to the United Way, and Katrina relief, but often pastors struggle to get their congregations to display a true spirit of charity.

Some of this is due to resistant hearts, but only some. I think more of it is due to the fact that spectator church is a syncretized church. It is adopting the practices that stem from a consumer/capitalist worldview. I think the tension between the demands and claims of the gospel and the methods and models of spectator religion is one so great that it is ultimately unbearable to any who are enlightened to it. This is why the back door in mega-churches is so huge. People come in, hear the promises and challenges of Jesus, and get little more than a weekly concert. The discrepancy is absurd, making Christianity absurd. Seriously, why stay?

I don't think God is displeased if we gather to cheer for him, but I emphatically doubt that he is satisfied with that either. The core of the gospel is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is not stadium-friendly. If we need pep-rallies for the Kingdom, great. Let's do it. But, I have been to more Jesus-rallies than I can count, and the Kingdom results have been negligable. Pop-Christianity is failing us, and it's time to move on.

I admit that I am often one who dances between the two realities. I love UT. This past season I followed them religiously. That might not be totally wrong, but it's definitely a bit skewed from the Christian worldview that I do believe to be more accurate concerning the way things are and the way I should live. I have no intention to stop watching sports, but I do hope that they return to the place of insignificance the very word "sport" implies.

As for spectator Christianity, my ties to it are rapidly breaking. I no longer have the patience for it I once did, because I find it largely at odds with the gospel and its ability to fulfill my divine need is proving to be very much bankrupt. I realize my need for words of life that come from Jesus himself, and I'm questioning how much time he actually spends in "church" as I have understood it for too long.