Skip to main content

Losing for Jesus?

An interesting piece about a competitive "Christian football" team in the UK that has lost every single match it has played so far this season. Not sure what actually what makes a football team "Christian". At the time the story broke, it had conceded 120 goals in just 16 matches. The manager says his team is losing because of the club's Christian principles. Amory Green Rovers FC manager Marc Hodsdon told the Express :
We are absolutely shocking to be fair. We could well be Britain's worst football team — but we are certainly the nicest…Last Wednesday, we lost 15-1 in our local derby yet we walked off the pitch being the happier team.…We have had a lot of praise from the league for our sporting attitude. We have never had any sending off and we never abuse the ref. Our attitude is always spot on.
The manager is certainly to be commended for prioritising participation ahead of winning at all costs. There is a sense in which the winner takes all mentality of sports robs us of the very fun that sports are meant to convey. I was particularly warmed by how they try and allow others on the fringe of competitive sports due to their health to take part.

However, it seems to me that the team is lacking an important Christian ethic of professionalism. There are some people who think that  we are not meant to be professional in our work. There is nothing Christian about a team that is so poorly organised that it cannot win a single match. It brings disgrace to God because God wants us to perform at our level best, It does not sound like this team is actually doing that.

I do also wonder whether the "incompetent but nice Christian" image it is portraying ultimately gives the wrong impression about the Lord Jesus. The world already thinks Jesus was simply a nice man. It's attitude is that Jesus is a nice man who gives us warm religious fuzzies while we turn to the “experts” (whoever they are), the seriously qualified people, for the challenges of real life.

When we read the Bible we see a very different Jesus. Jesus Christ is the shrewdest man who ever lived. No one ever outthought him. No one ever surprised him or cornered him in debate. He was always out ahead of the pack, both his friends and his enemies. And he was able to do this because he was fully empowered by God the Spirit. The world needs to see us fully empowered by Spirit and that will certainly lead to taking our "secular jobs" seriously.

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2015
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she ...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

Mistakes in Ministry

This painful experience, along with my subsequent years in pastoral ministry, taught me never to assume every member of my church understands these foundational truths in the same way. A shared statement of faith, though extremely helpful, is not a guarantee that your entire congregation will always agree on doctrine, the ordinances, or church membership. Perhaps this assumption proved to be my biggest mistake. The words we use may not be received or understood as we intend them to be. Therefore, when our members ask questions, we must patiently answer them and slow down if necessary. When doctrine appears to lead to division, hold fast to the truth, but also resist the urge to see congregants as your “adversaries.” God loves them in Jesus and so must you.    JERI CHOI   (Source: 9 Marks )
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

A Parody of Faith

There's a fascinating scene in Man of Steel when the man who would be superman, Clark Kent, turns up at a local church seeking answers. He is sitting in alone when local pastor Father Leone asks what is troubling him. Here is where we pick up the conversation : Father Leone : What's on your mind? Clark Kent : I don't know where to start. Father Leone : Wherever you want. Clark Kent : That ship that appeared last night, I'm the one they're looking for. Father Leone : [swallows nervously] Do you know... why they want you? Clark Ken t: No, but this General Zod... even if I surrender, there's no guarantee he'll keep his word. But if there's a chance I can save Earth by turning myself in, shouldn't I take it? Father Leone : What does your gut tell you? Clark Ken t: Zod can't be trusted. The problem is, I'm not sure the people of Earth can be either. [walks away] Father Leone : Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith fi...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →