Kicking around ideas on church vs. sports

The Christian Chronicle asked readers, ?Are youth sports hurting church attendance, and does this concern you??

It is a parent?s responsibility to set the example for their children. We are great justifiers when it comes to prioritizing. I can?t see Jesus missing an opportunity to enter the temple ? to play sports. Still, it is not my place to condemn or judge what another parent decides is acceptable for their children. Only God knows the heart.

Janice Tharp Garrison | Skiatook, Okla.

I regularly see teens and preteens running to change into their soccer clothes in the restroom during the Sunday morning assembly and rushing out with their parents to get to a game before the morning service ends. Other times, various families are missing because they were taking their kids to soccer games or tournaments.

Bonnie Miller | Vancouver, Wash.

My children don?t really start sports until next year, but I grew up with and continue to see many folks missing worship and Bible study for sports.

How can regularly missing church events for sports events not communicate to children that sports are of greater value?

Josh Watson | Edmond, Okla.

What?s the big deal about kids missing irrelevant Bible classes and boring worship assemblies that they and their parents are not getting anything out of anyway? Isn?t this another example of measuring success by how many people show up?

Mark Hodges | Long Beach, Miss.

I don?t think sports is the problem. I think a lack of dedication/commitment to the church is the problem. We show what our priorities are by our attendance.

Johnathan Dobbs | Aztec, N.M.

Sports and other activities can be a great way to be the light of Christ, but many Christians seem to just approach it as general family time or extreme competition time. Church attendance isn?t the biggest deal to me personally, but if people are already pretty unfocused spiritually, regularly missing the assembly sure doesn?t help.

Joshua Tucker | Richland, Wash..

I?ve run into plenty of members who weren?t at the morning service whom I see later on in the day at a restaurant or at the store, with their children dressed in soccer outfits. Out here I think soccer is the biggest Sunday offender, but I?ve also seen it with track and field, golf and cross country.

Josh Jeffrey | Hillsboro, Ore.

OPINION

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Source: http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2160032~Kicking_around_ideas_on_church_vs._sports

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