Church Calendar vs. The World’s Calendar

Yesterday at church I found myself in an interesting debate over showing the Superbowl at church.  The year before I came to Crestview, they tried having a lunch after the regular morning activities followed by the evening service.  This freed up the rest of the evening for everyone to enjoy the game while still technically having Sunday School, morning worship, and evening worship.  Last year we showed the game in our multipurpose room with a guest speaker at halftime.  We had a very good attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy the food and fellowship.  (I mean, who doesn't like to eat and watch football?) 

It was brought up yesterday that several did not like the church adjusting it's schedule for a football game.  This really got me thinking about the current state of the church.  I will admit that my views have changed over almost seven years of being a full-time youth pastor.  In my first church, high school football was king.  Our town would change Halloween if it was on a Friday night.  You just did not plan events during football games.  When I first started out, I really didn't like this idea and could not believe the church had to first check with a football calendar before making its plans.  Growing up we really just did our own thing at church and did not pay much attention to the world's calendar.  I believe this has severely changed since I was a teenager.  This was once again made evident to me also on Sunday.  At the end of our service I talked to one of our seniors who had a banquet from 6:00pm until 9:00pm last Wednesday night.  Church hours are no longer sacred. 

I have never liked trying to compete with the world, but I did learn that there are some battles you cannot win and therefore should not fight.  I had to learn to work around certain small town priorities without compromising the integrity of the church.  However, I am in a much different setting now and these rules no longer apply.  The truth is we do have quite a few people in our church that could care less about watching football and would much rather have church. 

One of the points I brought up involved having a our regular evening service during the Superbowl and nobody showing up but the staff.  I have been there a few times and I can definitely understand changing one service to meet the needs of a wider audience.  I personally enjoy watching the game but I probably enjoy even more getting to spend casual time with my church family laughing and having a good time.  We need to build in quality fellowship time for people to get to know one another.  Even in a smaller to middle size church, not everyone knows everyone else. 

So, I sat there during the sermon with all of these thoughts racing through my head.  I see both sides of the argument and my first response was, fine we won't change anything this year.  I surrendered my life to be used by God through the local church in any fashion necessary.  If that means I have to make certain sacrifices, then so be it.  Maybe it is time the church once again took a stand against allowing the world to dictate how we operate?  Maybe we need to focus our attention back on Christ for our direction, purpose, and strategies instead of trying to play catch-up with the world?  Most churches will never have the resources to compete with the quality and quantity of media the world has to offer.  The same is true when it comes to entertainment and options that just keep you busy.  The world will line up at your door with a million different options of activities you can become involved in and many of them are for a noble cause.  However, nothing will ever compare to the cause of Christ because that alone is what life is about. 

How do you handle the world's calendar infiltrating every part of your church calendar?  What can we do in such a chaotic culture that always seems to be on the go? 

Oklahoma State Fair 2009

We almost didn’t make it to the fair this year, but I’m glad we finally did. I had not been in several years and Theresa had never been to a fair here in Oklahoma. The girls were awesome the entire day and it was tons of fun.

Mom and dad came with us and I really think they enjoyed seeing the girls experience so many things for the first time. Emily kept wanting to ride a ride, but we were not too sure how she would do. Right before we left we let her ride one ride and she did great. She didn’t look too sure about everything when they first started, but by the time they were done she was having a great time. By next year I’m sure she will be ready for more.

I always love the food and this year we had some really good stuff. Who knew pizza on a stick could taste so good? I also got to see a few friends from high school and college that I had not seen in several years. If we didn’t have to spend some much for the whole experience it would have been perfect, but perfection is pretty hard to obtain. Here are some pictures from our day. Hope you enjoy!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

The Government Can

How true this is!  

Youth Minister Rap

I wonder how many youth pastors today actually have these qualities?

Social Media Revolution

How will the church respond to this?  How can we use social media to further God's Kingdom?  These questions are still spinning through my mind these last few days.

Great Game

Had a great time with my sister at the OU vs. Tulsa game.  I'm very glad that she got the tickets and I was able to go with her.  Turned out to be a beautiful day for football and you can't beat a score of 45-0!  Here are a couple of quick pics from my iPhone of how close we were to the field.  Definitely the best seats I have ever had at Owen Field.  I think I could get used to this.  

OU Versus Tulsa

Gets to cheer on my Sooners from section 1, row 9, seat 1. Boomer Sooner!

Rrrrrrr

You have probably heard me say just how much the girls love to play dress up.  For some reason, Emily just loves being a pirate and last Christmas she asked Santa Claus for a pirate costume.  There were many times when that was all she would say that she really wanted for Christmas.  Now that Callie is getting older, they can both be pirates.  I just love watching them play together and really appreciate their child-like innocence.  When do we as a adults become so scared to play?  To dress up and have a good time?  They definitely inspire me to not lose the ability to just have fun and not worry about what others might think.

So, go grab a costume and have some fun!   Ahoy matey!

Checking out the light blogging service Posterous.

Sad News

For those of you who haven’t heard, Theresa and I found out last Thursday that we actually lost our baby. This has not been an easy few days and I would hope that none of you ever have to endure this. Even though we have learned that the number of women who miscarriage is quite high, it still doesn’t make things any easier.

We are so thankful for our loving family and friends along with a great church who have really supportive. Thank you all for your prayers and calls. I have heard several similar stories that really make me want to cry. I know that God has a plan for us and for every other unborn baby, but it still doesn’t take away the pain. Just like Emily’s favorite song, “Blessed Be Your Name,” we must bless God in the good as much as during the bad. May He alone be glorified!