I cringed as I read Walt Mueller's article "Turf Worship." We are easily willing to address the intersection between sex or music and faith...but talking about sport and faith? Eventually I hesitantly agreed that "talking about the intersection of faith and sport with your kids is not an option. It is a necessity." Below are several excerpts from the article...it's okay to cringe - I did.
The sports landscape has shifted dramatically..."It used to be that kids hurried home from school, changed into their play clothes and went outside to wear holes in their knees through, well, play! Now [they] experience sports that are organized for them complete with regular practices, fancy uniforms, skill clinics, expensive equipment, summer camps, the best playing fields and arenas, coaches, paid officiating, aggressive game schedules, out-of-state-travel, weekend tournaments, and, perhaps worst of all, screaming and yelling fans. The price they pay for all this 'priviledge' may be some of the very things that make childhood what it is...And, all the running around cuts deeply into time together as a family."
With the shifting landscape comes increasing pressures. Not sure? Pick up a copy of Friday Night Lights. And, "the pressure's even greater when parents live vicariously..."
And how has the church reacted to sport? "A Christian friend who's a college basketball coach recently told me about taking his team to play at a Christian college. On the ride back to campus...his players - none of them Christians - asked a question prompted by the behavior of the host team's players and fans: 'Are all Christians hypocrites?' " It seems we would often rather avoid the connection between faith and sport altogether.
So what can we do? "Our mistakes in the past have been to either embrace the prevalent cultural attitudes without thought or question as to how those relate to our faith, or - to a lesser degree - to react against those realities with a pendulum swing that demonizes and ultimately dismisses sport as apparatus on the devil's playground...Our goal should not be to eliminate sport, but to cleanse sport of darkness and depravity wherever it exists."
"The play we organize and facilitate should emphasize competition marked by grace, rather than cut-throat war...we should be able to embrace each other as everyone says, 'Now that was fun!' "
"As with all of life, we must view all things in light of eternity. And, we must realize that if our priorities are right, any sting or joy that exists after the game will quickly disappear."
"Disciple kids into integrating their faith into their play...[sports] are arenas in which to encourage [teens] to play to the glory of God."
"The North American idol of sport needs to crumble. No, sport doesn't need to be abolished. We shouldn't forsake watching and cheering for our favorite teams. What we must do is realize that the 'created thing' cannot take the place of the Creator in our lives. Teach your kids through your words and your example that there is a huge difference between the idolatrous error of 'worshipping the god of sport,' and the right response of 'worshipping God through our involvement in sport.' "
In the end..."We've forgotten that all sports are games. Games are meant to be played. Play is meant to be fun." I cringed once again as I quoted Mueller's article, but we must begin to integrate faith and play - whether it be sports, dance, music or even drama. Abandoning sports is not the answer...but taking a look at the place that sports has taken in our lives and in the lives of our teens is critical.
Walt Mueller is the President of CPYU (Center for Parent/Youth Understanding). Photo was taken by Johannes Frandsen.
