The Joy of Sox
Just reading a fascinating interview with Harvard psychiatrist, Eric Leskowitz, who is producing The Joy of Sox: Weird Science and the Power of Attention.
The interviewees describe watching the Red Sox at Fenway Park as a religious experience:
I've seen more people having religious experiences than in any church I've ever been to in my life. I think everyone says a little prayer before we come in.
The documentary interviews a variety of physicists, physicians, and spiritual authorities with questions like: is Fenway Park a sacred place? Can fans' prayers affect the outcome of a game? Can sports help us grow spiritually?
On one level, this gets my sanctified competitive streak riled up. If people consider a baseball game at Fenway Park more spiritual than a church service we've got some serious issues! But the sad truth is that people in our culture look to movies and concerts and reality TV and sports for their transcendent experiences. We are more religious about our favorite American Idol or our favorite team than we are about church.
I'm not pointing the finger because the enemy is us.
I subscribe to Michangelo's school of thought: criticize by creating! We need to make better movies, better music, and better experiences.
As I read the article on the joy of sox I couldn't help but think about the lessons we as a church could learn from sports. Here are some random thoughts on the sport of church.
For starters, pastors need to think of themselves as spiritual coaches. I think we need to teach spiritual disciplines in the same way as physical disciples. Didn't Paul liken spiritual growth to a boxing match and a marathon? What if we practiced the spiritual disciplines with the same intensity and intentionality? And what about developing a game plan? Too many churches are playing a prevent defense instead of a two-minute offense. What if the church started praying like die-hard fans before the big game? What if we worshipped with the same level of fanaticism? And I can't resist this one. What if churches with really long services instituted a half-time? Just a thought.
I'm still not sure where cheerleaders, kosher hot dogs, or jerseys come into play, but there has to be something we can learn from those things.
Random thoughts.
The interviewees describe watching the Red Sox at Fenway Park as a religious experience:
I've seen more people having religious experiences than in any church I've ever been to in my life. I think everyone says a little prayer before we come in.
The documentary interviews a variety of physicists, physicians, and spiritual authorities with questions like: is Fenway Park a sacred place? Can fans' prayers affect the outcome of a game? Can sports help us grow spiritually?
On one level, this gets my sanctified competitive streak riled up. If people consider a baseball game at Fenway Park more spiritual than a church service we've got some serious issues! But the sad truth is that people in our culture look to movies and concerts and reality TV and sports for their transcendent experiences. We are more religious about our favorite American Idol or our favorite team than we are about church.
I'm not pointing the finger because the enemy is us.
I subscribe to Michangelo's school of thought: criticize by creating! We need to make better movies, better music, and better experiences.
As I read the article on the joy of sox I couldn't help but think about the lessons we as a church could learn from sports. Here are some random thoughts on the sport of church.
For starters, pastors need to think of themselves as spiritual coaches. I think we need to teach spiritual disciplines in the same way as physical disciples. Didn't Paul liken spiritual growth to a boxing match and a marathon? What if we practiced the spiritual disciplines with the same intensity and intentionality? And what about developing a game plan? Too many churches are playing a prevent defense instead of a two-minute offense. What if the church started praying like die-hard fans before the big game? What if we worshipped with the same level of fanaticism? And I can't resist this one. What if churches with really long services instituted a half-time? Just a thought.
I'm still not sure where cheerleaders, kosher hot dogs, or jerseys come into play, but there has to be something we can learn from those things.
Random thoughts.
1 Comments:
The joy of sox is a great illustrative truth. This weekend the hydroplanes come to our town and to stand, watch, and cheer madly as our hometown-owned boat takes the lead on the last corner, heading for the finish line and to hear the roar of the crowd is what we are challenged to accomplish on Sunday mornings as we turn that corner into worship. Hollywood filmed a movie about it called Madison. It gets me fired up every time.
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