Let them play Basketball
How can we sing the LORD'S song In a foreign land? Psalm 137:4.
Baby Girl is playing basketball in a church league called Upward Bound. I really enjoy taking her to the practices, I love the parents I've met, and everyone (me, hubby, grandma, paw paw, nana, and grandpa) love her games. She's playing with Pre-K and Kindergartners. They forget to dribble alot and run the wrong way at times. Baby Girl and a few others on her team are actually pretty good for their size. They score 5+ baskets each game, hustle up and down the court, play great defense . . . I just love all of it!
Well almost all of it, I don't love that at halftime a member of the church gets up to "talk about the Lord" and offer everyone salvation tracks. GRRRrrrrr. I'm a believer and the brief sermons crawl all over me, I can't imagine how the nonbelievers feel.
This past game, this guy gets up and talks about "his best friend Jesus". Over 20 long minutes, he miraculously got in all the key Baptist points including; Jesus knocked on the door of his heart (as he knocks on the microphone for full effect), He gave his life to Christ, gave up smoking and drinking b/c you can't do that and be saved at the same time, more God is knocking, the protection from the hand of God will be taken away if you don't answer the door (a little fear factor), God is still knocking as he knocks harder on the microphone to try to recover the attention of his audience. Blah, blah, blah and then last but not least offers the sacred salvation track.
A few Sundays ago at my church, we talked about "How can we sing the Lord's Song in a foreign land?"
This church has no clue. They are no more reaching those people at the game than they are flying to the moon. They might as well be in a foreign land or another planet like Mars. It's not coming across real as they talk about their relationship with Jesus. Dad says that they are not doing it to reach the flock at the game but only for themselves. Them working out their religion, drives me crazy!
They would do so much better by having members of the church come to the games or even better yet practices to hang out and talk with us sinners about our kids, the basketball game, things going on in the community, anything but those damn tracks. After they make a connection, then they can pursue "the Lord's Song." You know, wine and dine first.
Maybe mingling with members is not even needed. Upward Bound has brought all sorts of people from the community to the church to watch their kids play basketball. The gym is always packed with proud parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts cheering on their kids. The league is a total success. I know all of us parents appreciate the work the church has put into this first year of Upward Bound. If I was in the market for a new church, I would definitely consider them for that reason alone. But they have to go off and ruin it with their religious halftime babble, sinner's prayer, and tracks.
My husband did not grow up in church and before me hasn't had much experience with church. He has mentioned that before we were married, he was approached at different times by churches trying to save him. One particular time, he was working in the yard putting up a fence. While driving fence posts into the ground and stringing barbwire in the heat of the summer sun, he had a few from a local church drive up dressed in old-fashioned suits and dresses wanting to "visit and share the Good News with him." If they really wanted to share some good news they would have offered to help him with the fence. HELLO!
Man, they make us all look bad. Are they total idiots? Learn how to "Sing the Song of the Lord in a foreign land!"
Baby Girl is playing basketball in a church league called Upward Bound. I really enjoy taking her to the practices, I love the parents I've met, and everyone (me, hubby, grandma, paw paw, nana, and grandpa) love her games. She's playing with Pre-K and Kindergartners. They forget to dribble alot and run the wrong way at times. Baby Girl and a few others on her team are actually pretty good for their size. They score 5+ baskets each game, hustle up and down the court, play great defense . . . I just love all of it!
Well almost all of it, I don't love that at halftime a member of the church gets up to "talk about the Lord" and offer everyone salvation tracks. GRRRrrrrr. I'm a believer and the brief sermons crawl all over me, I can't imagine how the nonbelievers feel.
This past game, this guy gets up and talks about "his best friend Jesus". Over 20 long minutes, he miraculously got in all the key Baptist points including; Jesus knocked on the door of his heart (as he knocks on the microphone for full effect), He gave his life to Christ, gave up smoking and drinking b/c you can't do that and be saved at the same time, more God is knocking, the protection from the hand of God will be taken away if you don't answer the door (a little fear factor), God is still knocking as he knocks harder on the microphone to try to recover the attention of his audience. Blah, blah, blah and then last but not least offers the sacred salvation track.
A few Sundays ago at my church, we talked about "How can we sing the Lord's Song in a foreign land?"
This church has no clue. They are no more reaching those people at the game than they are flying to the moon. They might as well be in a foreign land or another planet like Mars. It's not coming across real as they talk about their relationship with Jesus. Dad says that they are not doing it to reach the flock at the game but only for themselves. Them working out their religion, drives me crazy!
They would do so much better by having members of the church come to the games or even better yet practices to hang out and talk with us sinners about our kids, the basketball game, things going on in the community, anything but those damn tracks. After they make a connection, then they can pursue "the Lord's Song." You know, wine and dine first.
Maybe mingling with members is not even needed. Upward Bound has brought all sorts of people from the community to the church to watch their kids play basketball. The gym is always packed with proud parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts cheering on their kids. The league is a total success. I know all of us parents appreciate the work the church has put into this first year of Upward Bound. If I was in the market for a new church, I would definitely consider them for that reason alone. But they have to go off and ruin it with their religious halftime babble, sinner's prayer, and tracks.
My husband did not grow up in church and before me hasn't had much experience with church. He has mentioned that before we were married, he was approached at different times by churches trying to save him. One particular time, he was working in the yard putting up a fence. While driving fence posts into the ground and stringing barbwire in the heat of the summer sun, he had a few from a local church drive up dressed in old-fashioned suits and dresses wanting to "visit and share the Good News with him." If they really wanted to share some good news they would have offered to help him with the fence. HELLO!
Man, they make us all look bad. Are they total idiots? Learn how to "Sing the Song of the Lord in a foreign land!"
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