Church Attendance on Special Days

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mr. Curtis:
I know this thread might get moved, but I'm only interested in how Christians will answer, so.....


Does anybody plan to blow off church on the Superbowl Sunday evening service ?

Not me, I just don't dare ! I'll have to tape it if the Patriots are in it. ( HA! )<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes.

We're going to be in it for the first time in twenty years so I can't miss it.

Besides, we always have a big party for Super Bowl Sunday.

Mike

http://www.keylife.org

 

Nope, Ill be in church. I won't even watch the game on tape. Why you ask? Because its only football.

Now if we were talking Game 7 of the World Series and the Cardinals were in it, then I would have some heave duty praying to do.

Bill

 

I don't know if I will "blow off" church or not. .. . usually, we have it playing in the party room (the last few years).

 

As can be seen by the User name I picked, I am from WI and am a fan of the Packers. Thought I’d drop in an interesting account of what our church did in 1996 when the Packers went to the SuperBowl.

We moved our evening service time up so that we could meet as a group for more instruction and fellowship and also get together at each others homes to watch a game that almost 100% of us were interested in. The funny thing was the reaction and attack we received from other IFB churches in the State. A few months later I was visiting at a Baptist church attempting to get a deputation meeting when the Assistant Pastor came in and asked me what church I was from. When I was told him, he went into a tizzy about our church, and other like it, being compromisers for changing our meeting times for the SuperBowl. He was so rude and condemning about it that I told the other person to forget about scheduling a meeting.

If that judgmental assistant pastor knew the first thing about what a church is, he would have known that church is not a “TIME” but instead is the assembling of the believers. If a local group of believers wants to change their time or even location of coming together, so be it. Many of us had a great time in our early assembly for instruction and worship and our later assembly to fellowship watching a football game together.

Go Pack!

[ January 07, 2002: Message edited by: PackerBacker ]

 

I went call it blowing off, but yes, I will be watching the superbowl. That is if I can get the reception. I'm to broke for cable and the reception isn't great around here.

Pete

 

Can I pitch in here??

What concerns me is not that a church meets on Sunday night as opposed to another night. It does not concern me that a church group gathers to watch the Super Bowl.

What concerns me is that a church would move its regularly scheduled meeting in order to accomodate something as unimportant as a Super Bowl. I have always said that I will have church on Super Bowl sunday evening if no other Sunday evening just to make a statement that church does not capitulate to popular culture. Of course, I say that partly in jest ... but only partly. To me, the church meeting in spite of popular culture and its events makes a powerful statement about what we consider important. It is also interesting, just as a sidenote, that people will sit spell bound for 3 1/2 hours for a Super Bowl but get fidgety after 30 minutes of a service and threaten to find another church if the service lasts more than an hour and fifteen minutes. "After all, we have important stuff to do ... like get home and watch the football game."

Anyway, just some random thoughts on the subject.

 

I am surprised that no one has said both. Our church is going to have the big screen set up in the youth room so no one even has to leave after the game. I think it is a good opportunity to invite the lost and share in a little fun!

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by benz_ethix:
I am surprised that no one has said both. Our church is going to have the big screen set up in the youth room so no one even has to leave after the game. I think it is a good opportunity to invite the lost and share in a little fun!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

We did use to do this when I was a youth pastor. Always had a good youth attendance at the evening service, ordered pizza, played games, and watched the Super Bowl. We did it after the service and strongly encouraged the kids to come to church first and then the game. If our regulars came to the game without being at the service, I talked to them about it. It only happened a couple of times.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by benz_ethix:
I am surprised that no one has said both. Our church is going to have the big screen set up in the youth room so no one even has to leave after the game. I think it is a good opportunity to invite the lost and share in a little fun!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My church does both.

We have a rec room that has a big screen TV and every year there's a SuperBowl Party.

I'm not going this year. For the last couple of years, we've had our own SS party.

People get together every Sunday after church or before the PM service to watch the Eagles or Flyers.

My family has season tickets to both, so I usually only make the away games but we always have a good time.

Mike

http://www.keylife.org

 

We will probably have a youth party to watch the rest of the game after church. I don't know if I'll go to the party (I know I'll go to church) It all depends on school...

 

what you guys need to do is move out here to Micronesia. We are over the date line so the Super Bowl falls on Monday and we are spared the agonizing decision that befalls the rest of you.

Or you could just become Lions fans and not have to worry about it at all...

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Or you could just become Lions fans and not have to worry about it at all... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm a Cowboys fan...so I'm not - worried about it that is.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mr. Curtis:
It would bring in elements of the world, like the advertizements full of sexual images & beer commercials, wordly music performances....there is no way to eliminate those things coming onto the screen.

Fire away.... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not firing, I am agreeing! The reason we don't have tv (Well cable) is that very reason. I can try to regulate what we watch all day long, then some commercial comes on and wammo! Everything I have worked so hard to keep out of our lives is there in 2 minutes. I was thinking of giving in and getting cable again until I was at a friend's house and was watching the weather channel. Commercial time and what do we see, skin skin and more skin then any of my family wanted to see. It was the weather channel for crying out loud!!! Tell me I can just "turn the channel" if I don't like tv today! BAH

ANYWAY....back to the topic...

How does one justify bringing that into the church? The game may be innocent and all (Just don't read the players lips if something goes wrong), but the commercials, I can guarantee you, would not be something you would sit down with Jesus and watch! Do what you want in your house, but in God's? Is it really appropriate?

*jumps off her soap box*

But hey, thats just me!

~Lorelei