At a recent conference on Evangelism, a panel of Church Planters was asked to identify their greatest obstacle in starting a new church. Was it finding a place to meet? Was it raising funds for expenses? Was it communicating with the families in the surrounding communities?

In fact it was none of these things, said the panel. So then, what was their greatest obstacle?

“Soccer” the panel unanimously agreed.

In their response, these Church Planters gave voice to what many of us recognize intuitively: the increasing marginalization of the Church in American culture. Where once the Church stood at the center of
the local community, in recent years it has been more and more pushed off to the edges.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like soccer just fine. My children have participated in this and other activities, and so did I as a kid. But whereas these were mostly after-school functions in the days of my youth, they
have now crowded into every nook and cranny of the week.

In recent years, even Sunday mornings are not exempt. In fact, a lot of leagues schedule Sunday morning games and tournaments without even giving the slightest thought that some of their families might want to spend that time in Christian worship, fellowship and Sunday School. As kids themselves, these officials might have admired Eric Liddell’s refusal to run an Olympic race on Sunday in the 1981 movie “Chariots of Fire.” But such ideas now appear quite quaint to them—or so it seems

Adults themselves face a similar struggle. Seeking ever greater productivity, employers are exacting more and more pounds of flesh from their subordinates. Keeping the Lord’s Day in this 24/7 dog-eat-dog
climate seems an anachronism.

But let me not beat-up too much on sports and businesses, for even the “religious” world is not immune.

I used to attend the annual American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Conference, which attracts tens of thousands of religious scholars every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Egregiously, the conference planners invariably scheduled seminars throughout Sunday, beginning at 7:00 am!

I always skipped these and went to worship at a nearby church (except for the year it was held at Disney World, and, because there are no churches in the “Magic Kingdom,” I stayed in my hotel room and said Morning Prayer). Still, the organizers seemed oblivious to the notion that a group of religious scholars (including a high percentage of ordained clergy) might want to actually practice their religion on Sunday morning!

Well, I’ve gone on long enough. My point is that we are living in an increasingly secularized and pluralistic society that no longer routinely tips its hat to Christianity.

That makes our task as Christians harder. Because we value Christian worship, study and mission—not only for ourselves, but especially for our children—we must choose wisely when selecting vocations and avocations. More than that, we may need to pull an Eric Liddell from time to time, to awaken coaches, officials and bosses to the fact that our faith is central to our lives. Yes, we live in a pluralistic society. But let’s help society recognize that Christianity is part of that plurality!

We have spent too much time arguing over whether the Ten Commandments belong on courtroom walls and not enough on applying those commandments to our lives. Nowadays, among the least applied of those commandments is the one dealing with the Sabbath. That Sabbath (or the Lord’s Day, for Christians) was given for a reason: not only do we need the rest, but we especially need the time to commune with our God and with each other, as members of the Body of Christ. When that doesn’t happen, the center begins to crumble, and our worlds start to fall apart.

That said, I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday morning!

Faithfully,

Donald D. Binder+

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