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Sunday…
Thanks to an excellent message from our pastor this Sunday, I am reminded that Sunday isn’t really “game day” for the church. Sure, we put a lot of effort into the worship event. We practice music until every bridge can be crossed smoothly and transition navigated without painful pause. We hone messages ’til they match the very best of our capacity and pray for the transformation such words are hopeful to bring. But Sunday isn’t “game day.”
Monday is.
Monday launches worshipers out of their tabernacles and into the marketplace. Monday offers thousands of opportunities to live out the truth we celebrated just a day before. Monday is where the church’s sandals hit the sidewalk and the greater things Jesus said we would do become a possibility.
Now I hope you understand that I’m not leaving Tuesday longingly peeking through the fence. Wednesday is a day of action too. In fact, each of the six days between Sundays wind the game clock and call for every Christian to strap on his helmet. This is the real world of Christianity, where love for God and one another is intended to blossom.
My pastor talked of Sunday as though it was halftime–a brief break between the week that was and the one that will be. He said it was a chance to recalibrate, band-aid up where needed, and get ready for the critical second half. For football fans like me, the metaphor melted comfortably into my psyche.
I’ve always viewed Sunday as practice for Monday–practice serving, practice worshiping, practice giving myself to values intended to shape my week. Regardless of your preferred analogy, the point is that you can’t afford to confuse practice with game day or halftime with actual moments on the field.
If you know football, you know there are some players that are heroes in the weight room. They look like great players in the locker room, but fail to translate their workout to the field. I’m sure there are more than a few such Christians too–those who are massive on Sunday, but can’t seem to run a basic play on Monday. As a pastor, I have to wonder if that’s the guy I’m creating when I treat Sunday like “game day.”
I suppose I’m writing today with more of a question than a comment. How would Sunday look if it really was halftime or practice for a week of impact? What would we do differently if the final prayer wasn’t final at all? How would we view serving in the church if it wasn’t an end, but rather a means to developing gifts and values that were focused on Monday?
Truth is…if Sunday is “game day” then we are teaching people to exercise their Christianity one day a week and in ways that never touch their real world (drop mic here).
