The preacher has a sports addiction

“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31).

The way to tell you are keeping your love for sports in balance is that when your team wins, you do not become obnoxious and when it loses, you do not sink into great depression.

The number one way pastors know they’re keeping loyalty for their team in check is church members have no idea which is their favorite.

And the way you tell your love for your team has gotten way out of line is–pick one or more–a) your constant reference to it in conversation, b) your repeated reference to the game or the team in sermons, c) the displays on your office wall, d) the “stuff” in your home, e) the bumper stickers and other identifying items on your car, and f) the way you bob up or down emotionally depending on what your team did yesterday.

Pity the church whose pastor is in bondage to his love for a football team.

Everything in his office or home or car is all about that college or that professional team.  His t-shirts and bumper stickers proclaim his great loyalty.  He looks for ways to bring in references to yesterday’s game (which his team won, of course, otherwise he would not mention it) in his sermons.  He invites athletes from that school for testimonies or to work with his youth.

He says it’s all in fun. And it is, to him, I suppose.

But not to two groups in his church: a) Those who do not care for sports at all and b) supporters of the other teams.  Oh, and possibly one other group: Those of us who love sports but do not want a constant diet of it from the pulpit.

Watch it, preacher.

Many of my friends who will read this are going to be offended because they will think I’m talking about them.

I am indeed.

Recently, a church where I was guest-preaching held a special day that featured a picnic on the church lawn, with everyone wearing t-shirts of their favorite team.  The associate minister had invited me to wear a Saints’ shirt.

I completely forgot about that and arrived at the church wearing a black blazer, tan slacks, blue dress shirt and maroon tie.  The only concession I made to the emphasis of the day was I loosened the tie.

I told the minister the truth, that I had forgotten about the t-shirt thing. What I did not say is that I wouldn’t have worn a Saints shirt even if I’d remembered it.  (And I own several.)

Such costumes are out of place in the pulpit.  They’re fine for the membership, just not the pulpit.

Dr. Cecil Randall pastored the great First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, during the Paul “Bear” Bryant days of championships.  That’s as “ground zero” as it’s possible to get when it comes to sports devotion and football addiction.

And yet, no one ever heard Pastor Randall mention the Crimson Tide from the pulpit.  The congregation received no inkling of their pastor’s devotion to that team.  Dr. Randall explained, “In a congregation our size, there are people from all over. Some cheer for the other teams.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is above all of this.”

Did I have a problem with the church encouraging everyone to wear their teams’ shirts?  Not at all.  Only with the preacher (that would be me) wearing one.

Bear in mind that on these pages, my concern is almost entirely for pastors and other key leadership.

I care very little what the members wear to church. But the ministers must work to be non-partisan, in both appearance and in sermons.  (This is true in politics also, but that’s an article for another time.)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, Auburn and Alabama alike.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for Democrats and Republicans and Libertarians alike. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for the rich and the poor, the winners and the losers, the bosses and the employees, for union-members and scabs.

“Whosoever will, let him come.”

I’ve known pastors who serve a local sports team as chaplain.  They have an entrance and acceptance into the lives of these young athletes and can influence many for Christ.  Corey Olivier, a Baptist preacher employed by the Louisiana Baptist Convention as campus ministry director at Tulane University and supervisor of all the Baptist campus ministries in the New Orleans area, serves as chaplain for the Tulane Green Wave. As I write this, last night Corey had me address the team and coaches at their Friday night “dinner before the big game.” (They take on East Carolina in the Superdome later today.)  I loved doing this, sketched 40 or 50 of them, spoke for 15 minutes, and had a great time with some terrific people.  Afterwards, Corey did an indepth Bible study for members of the team who wished to participate. Some 20-25 responded.

Our church’s student minister, Scooter Kellum, used to be chaplain for the Livingston (Alabama) University’s football team.

It’s a great opportunity.

But you don’t bring it into the pulpit with you.

The Lord’s preacher must not become identified with one team since he represents the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of all teams, if you will.

The Lord’s church must not become a pep rally for the home team.

Pastors (and by this we mean all ministers) must bring their sports addictions and team devotion under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, just as they urge their people to do with every facet of life.

A minister who serves in a state of great sports rivalries calls me one of his mentors.  One day, a few years back, I walked into his church office and was taken aback by the large display of paraphernalia for his college football team.  Wall coverings, lamps, plaques, banners, figurines, you name it.

I said, “My friend, do you think this is wise?”

He laughed and assured me that no one minds it, that they tease him about it.

I said, “What would you do if a fan of the other team (I named their rival) came into your office to be saved and got distracted by all this?”

Whatever he said, I don’t recall.

Earlier this year, when he was away and I filled in for him, I discreetly inquired of a member of his staff about the display in his office.

“It’s still there,” he laughed. “Hasn’t changed a thing.”

Well, that does show one very positive thing about him, something I greatly admire: He doesn’t take everything I say as law or do something just because “Joe said to.”

No one should ever do that.

I’ve been wrong before and may be wrong here.

But I don’t think so.

My pastor is a Texas Rangers baseball fan.  No one in this part of the world has any trouble with that for the simple reason that New Orleans has no major league baseball club. A few root for the Astros, some for the Atlanta Braves, and a smattering of other teams. If anyone is a diehard, I’ve seen no evidence of it.

Football is another matter altogether. Around here it’s the New Orleans Saints.  And the LSU Tigers.

I will add that after living here since 1990, if anyone worships either of these teams and lives and dies by their season, I’ve not met them.  It’s actually safe to root for other teams, as far as I can tell, without anyone minding or teasing you too much.

That said, I still stand by this statement:  One of the greatest compliments we can give a pastor who loves sports is not knowing which is his favorite team.  There is a pastor who has learned to keep his team sports loyalties in check and subjugated to the more important cause: the Kingdom of God.

8 thoughts on “The preacher has a sports addiction

  1. I completely agree with what you are saying here. This is something that when I see it has caused me to struggle. I recently visited a church where the pastor wore a cap with the team logo on it throughout the service. As good as the message and music was at that service the cap served as a distraction for me. It was not about the team he chose to support, it was more about that I just kept coming back to is this message about the Gospel or is it about the game. I personally do not keep team memorabilia in my office or in my home for that matter it just is not me. I do not mind if someone has a passion for the game or a team, but I agree keep it off the pulpit.
    Thanks for the great read this morning

  2. Great article as always. Keep up the good work. I confess that I am a Texas Aggie(win or lose). I am proud of it. All our folks know it. They give me a hard time when they lose, but I keep it out of the pulpit. I agree with your article.

  3. Thanks for the reminder, Joe. As a Saints fan living in Georgia, I enjoy some good-natured banter with the Falcons fans on Facebook and around the church, but I don’t talk about it in the pulpit or wear Saints stuff on Sunday. I think I have a Saints coffee mub in the office, but that’s it. I do have lots of Saints stuff in my home, as well as Saints caps and shirts which I often wear during the week, so your article is a good reminder for me not to take it too far. I think one of the best things a pastor can do, if his fellow members do know what team he follows, is for that pastor to graciously praise the other team when they beat his team. It shows what is really important and sets a good example.

  4. My beloved late father was a deacon at our big SBC church in the 1970’s. He was also a big Georgia Bulldog. My father, who was one of the world’s greatest positive people, was chastised in public by Dr. _ _ _ _ in public. “George you care more about the Bulldogs than ____YadaYadaYada and more religious pious rhetoric.”
    Dr. _ _ _ _ ran off with a choir member and broke up and crippled two families and a church. My reasoning-Preacher get a hobby. Dr. _ _ _ _ found the wrong one.

  5. I see this article is a couple years old, but I’m commenting anyway. This is the only article I’ve found on the web that comes remotely close to acknowledging a problem with sports in the pulpit. I don’t understand why pastors don’t seem to know or understand about this. But, there are many families who have been damaged or destroyed because of being drawn into the culture of pro sports, or sports-watching addiction. For some, eliminating things that have to do with that culture is the best thing for them in order to have a strong marriage and a strong walk with the Lord. There are families who are fighting for Godliness within their homes, and listening to a pastor talk sports/entertainment, changing the service time because of sports…well, it just isn’t very helpful. In fact, it encourages and promotes sports-watching, because, after all, everyone, even the pastor does it. That’s fine if the pastor wants to watch sports, but I would say most people he preaches to are struggling to read their Bibles and pray on a regular basis….Most men are struggling to lead their families in prayer time and devotions and a close walk with the Lord. Promoting entertainment from the pulpit does no service to the average church-goer. But it can be a disservice. And some of those families that are being damaged…don’t even know it yet.

  6. I forgot to say, thank you for the article, Pastor McKeever. I just realized that you used to pastor a church my family once attended (after you had left). We left that church….partly because there was too much entertainment talk from the pulpit…
    spotlight on the guitar soloist didn’t exactly seem like seeking to glorify God alone either….

  7. HELP!! My pastor is totally obsessed to the nth degree with the 49ers…He says he “identifies as a 49er”…actually puts invites to football parties at a local bar and grill for a football party…(this is an A.G. pastor)…wears a Nike 49er Jersey everytime they play and says that when he wears the jersey they win….he stopped in the middle of a message, voice two octaves higher and giddy and said “8-0 There is a God”! then continues with message…the next day the 49ers lost….he said when he woke up the at next morning he thought he was going to puke…..during the last message of the year he said that he was going to “wrap the message up quick as he didn’t press play on the DVR and the 49ers were playing…he said, right in front of a full church, that he should have got a guest speaker….then asked if anyone in the church would like to speak….I walked out….pretty much don’t care if I ever go back to church, especially that one! I want to write him a letter and express how I feel but since most of the church wears their favorite jerseys each sunday I guess I am an outcast and outnumbered in why I see this as wrong on so many levels….

Leave a Reply to Heather Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.