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troubledontlast1 · 5 years ago

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nascargirl0616 · 9 years ago

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Church AND Sports

Recently, an article has come to my attention and I feel the need to respond, per say, to it.

DO NOT let someone make you feel bad because of a decision you make. The Bible says judge not, lest you be judged. It also says let he without sin through the first stone. Glass houses, y’all. Glass houses.

Since I was four years old I have played an organized team sport. I started with t-ball and basketball and went up to coach pitch, softball, travel softball, and AAU basketball. There, I said it. Travel ball. Travel ball tournaments that sometimes lasted all weekend. Yes, including Sunday.

Not only have I played sports basically all of my life, I have also attended church all of my life. Going to service has always been something that is important to me. I was saved at a young age and baptized a few years later. Since then, I have started my own ministry and am grateful and blessed to be a part of the Motor Racing Outreach Association. My relationship with Christ has only continued to grow.

When playing sports out of town, obviously I couldn’t go to my home service. Therefore, we did a lot of things to help with that. We had devotionals and prayer time in gyms, hotel rooms, or cars. The Lord says when two or more or gathered in his name, He is there as well. God was there. We weren’t in a normal worship building, but God was there. We were playing sports on weekends, but God was still there and better yet He still loved us. I am purposefully calling this event service instead of church. The building we go to every week is not the church. Four walls, a steeple, red hymnal books, and wooden pews is NOT a church. YOU are the church. YOU are the body. There is nothing holy about a building, but there is everything holy about you. And the beautiful thing about you being the church is that you can worship anywhere. You don’t have to go somewhere to worship or be in a certain environment to pray. God is with you always, you can do these things anywhere. “Church” can be anywhere.

As a part of MRO and the Association, the basis of this ministry is service on the road. For those of you who aren’t familiar with MRO, I will sum it up and encourage you to visit www.go2mro.com to find out more(or you can message me!). MRO is a ministry that follows not only the big 3 racing series, but also short, home track race tracks around the country. Almost all of these events happen on Saturday and Sunday. MRO is a hang-out type ministry that provides a spiritual and personal connection on and off the track. MRO provides chapel services for the drivers, employees, and others at the race track every weekend. Sometimes chapel is in a tent, sometimes in a garage. Sometimes it is completely in the middle of nowhere. Point being, it happens. Every week. This might not be the conventional way of doing things, but it is the best way to reach people who have no choice but to be away on the weekends. To tell you the truth, some people probably wouldn’t come to a traditional service. I personally know people who have said they wouldn’t have come to a church service or this or that reason, but every week they read the devotional taped on the tool box or attend chapel after the driver’s meeting. A type of gathering like this isn’t as intimidating and is oftentimes more welcoming in my experience. This isn’t a blanket term, but this is my opinion based on my own experiences.

I’ve personally been through a lot of “church hurt”. My world was rocked not once but twice when the church that had been my home was basically torn to shreds. I am not judging or placing blame anywhere, I am just stating the hurt that was felt by me and I’m sure by countless others. Furthermore, my heart was broken further when I made the decision to leave that church. The church that was my home for more than ten years. The church I was baptized in and played a significant role in. I always felt like home there, but the second I left, I could probably count on my hands the people that even mentioned anything. I know they don’t have to say anything, people don’t have to send you a message saying they miss you or checking up on you, I understand that. But when people you have been to church with for years seem to turn their back on you, that’s when it hurts. I love so many people at that church and it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life. But in order to grow spiritually and emotionally towards the Father, I felt it was the best choice I could’ve made at the time. That hurt only somewhat continued upon visiting other places. Do not get me wrong, everywhere we visited wasn’t a negative experience, but a lot of the time the feeling or being welcomed and wanted simply wasn’t there.

The fellowship of a group of people at a service is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. The gathering of people weekly for Christ is great. Some of my favorite memories are at the church or are through church activities. But also, other favorites are at ball fields or courts. Some of my biggest hurts have been felt at the church where members don’t make you feel welcome or wanted. Also, some of my biggest pain has been at sporting events, from losing to injuries, to simply being done wrong. There is a lot of great things and a lot of not so great things at the field and in the pew.

My overall point is this, getting spiritually fed and educated is important. Growing closer to your relationship with Christ is extremely important. However, there are so many ways to do this. A ball field can be your mission field. A basketball court can be the courts of the Father. People are reached in different ways. Therefore, I will continue to participate in sporting events on the weekends and I will continue to be in the Word and go to services(wherever or however they might be). If I am so blessed and my children are willing and ready, they will be given any opportunity they wish that is obtainable by myself and my husband. My children WILL know the importance of a relationship with Christ and they will learn about Him through my husband and I in hopes that one day, by their own free will, they will accept Christ into their lives and start in their journey of following Him.

Do not allow anyone to make you feel bad because you choose something over something else. Should you go to service and be fed spiritually? Absolutely! Should you be made to feel bad or inferior because you aren’t at a specific place of worship every week? No. Pray about it. Ask God what He wants you to do. Maybe God has put you at that field or court for a reason. Maybe you are there to reach someone who couldn’t be reached elsewhere. Maybe someone has been placed there to change your life.

You are not a bad parent if you are at a sporting event on the weekend. You are not a bad Christian if you miss church, especially if the point of you going to church is to say that you did or to see who isn’t there. God still loves you. God will always love you. There is nothing you can do to make God not love you or to love you less. Go out to your mission field, wherever that may be. Listen to God, see where He wants you. Grow in your relationship and spend time with your kids. Whether that might be at the field or at the service, be with your family. You sport should never become more important than your relationship with Christ and your family. If this occurs, take a step back and re-evaluate. Pray. Talk to God.

You were put on this Earth for a specific reason. There is no one else on Earth that can do what you were put on this Earth to do. Everything happens for a reason. God puts you in the place that you need to be exactly when you need to be there. YOU are the church. Let others see that in you no matter where they are. You never know whose life you might save or better yet who might help save yours.

Love and prayers!

-nascargirl0616

#churchandsports #missionfield #youarethechurch

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