What church can learn from sports

This past Sunday I had off. As a pastor, this is rare. I had considered what I would do on Sunday — mostly debating where I would be worshiping. But then a field hockey tournament was in the works for one of my daughters. It happened to be on Sunday morning. And so I decided to take her to the tournament. I would get to see her play and I needed a rest from the routine for a Sunday.

I didn’t expect to have a religious experience at a field hockey tournament, but that’s one way to describe it.

Let me set the stage for you. It was rainy, windy, and not warm at all. We left at 7:30am to make the one hour trip down to the tournament. My daughter would be playing in four 25 minute games throughout the morning.

Given these circumstances, I was wishing that I had been in worship.

But then we arrived at the event. And I saw the multitudes there. They were dressed in a variety of outfits — some in jeans and boots and winter coats. Some in shorts and rain ponchos. All with umbrellas. Parents as far as the eye could see — hundreds of people. They were all there, waiting, watching, cheering. And getting wet.

As I looked around, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that here were hundreds of people who went out of their way to get up early, drive a good distance, stand in the rain and wind, and be there for multiple hours. All without complaint. There was swag to buy — on top of the fee we all paid to have our daughters play in the tournament.