A Southern Girls Love....

So, if you haven't read about me, or figured it out, I am so Southern it hurts. I was born and raised in Texas and my family tree was rooted in Texas early in the family and it has never moved. With the love of the South comes a couple things:
1. Family is the center of our focus: staying with grandparents and constantly seeing extended family is no big deal
2. Faith is also linked in the center: Going to church on a Sunday is rarely questioned
3. If a women says bless your heart, well let's just say it isn't always good.
4. We pride ourselves on working hard and caring for numbers 1 and 2
and finally....
5. Football can be classified as a religion: Friday Night Lights, Saturday Football Fever, and Pro Sundays are always on. High school, college, and pro- they are all amazing and they are always on in a Texans home.

So where am I going with this? I recently went on a journey to find different forms of study out in the world (hence the starting of this blog), but in my journey I got caught up in a book store. I walked around the rows of books, skimming the titles, and occasionally picking up a book to read the description. I had skimmed though the religious fiction, history, fiction, non-fiction, etc; but then I caught myself in the Sports section, a section I usually bypass. But out of the corner of my eye I saw a book entitled: God and Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC. 

I was quickly taken aback and intrigued. You see not only was this about God and Football but it also included the SEC (Southeastern Conference) which is now the home of my Texas A&M Aggies!! I was drawn to pick up the book and this was the description (well according to Amazon, I wasn't going to write it out in a bookstore):

In 2008 over six million people attended an SEC football game. They spent thousands on season tickets, donated millions to athletic departments, and for three months a year ordered their entire lives around the schedule of their favorite team. As a Christian, Gibbs knows he cannot serve two masters, but at times his faith is overwhelmed by his fanaticism. He is not alone. Gibbs and his six million friends do not live in a spiritually void land where such borderline idol worship would normally be accepted. They live in the American South, where according to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 84 percent identify themselves as Christians. This apparent contradiction that Gibbs sees in his own life, and in millions of others', has led him to journey to each of the twelve schools to spend time with rabid Christian fans of various ages and denominations. Through his journey, he learns how others are able to balance their passion for their team with their devotion to God.

I then continued to read what others had to say about the book. It was interesting to see that what Gibbs did was take the time to talk to fans about how they fit Church and the religion that is football in the south into one cohesive lifestyle. He discussed traditions and different things each school in the SEC did on game day. Of course you have the tailgating, but you also have things such as midnight yell (A&M), War Eagle (Auburn), and the traditions of LSU and Alabama. Gibbs causes us to ponder how the two worlds of football and church collide.

But I see it differently. What if we learn how to make the two worlds better by using characteristics of each? Gibbs brings this point up on his own too. Sit and think for a moment, what if churches acted like a big tailgating party for Jesus? What if we as Christians devoted our lives to Christ the way that many Southern football fans devote their lives to the game? How awesome would it be to have a conversation about Christ the same way that men gather in little country towns Friday mornings to discuss the big game that night? But also think about how our Christian beliefs do flood into our world of Football.

Last football season, one man took the Football/Christianity world by storm. If you don't know who I am talking about, you live under a rock. Just kidding. I am, though, talking about Tim Tebow. Because of this one man, we now have terms like Tebowing, all because he stopped and gave thanks to God when he did well. For one whole football season, Tebow became a household name, no matter what team you supported. But the awesome thing about that is the fact that because of the actions of Tim Tebow, the whole country began to see Christ in a new life. College campuses exploded with discussions on the subject the actions that Tim Tebow showed. Christians began to step up saying that what this man was doing was showing his faith to a wider audience, and that it was okay. Of course some people became upset, but it got me thinking, why? Go into a locker room before a game and I bet that there will be praying going on, the only thing that changed with Tebow is that he took it to the field, you see he wasn't scared to show his faith. So why should we? We should love to stop and pray no matter who is looking, because it isn't for them, it is for us and our relationship with God. Look at the beginning of the video below, those boys love football, and guess what in that first minute or so of the video they are holding hands and praying. Reading comments about this video on youtube was even more moving. Many men were stating how they miss the game and would give anything to jump back in, shouldn't we still have that love and devotion to God and the church, always ready to jump back in and continue playing the game.

Want another example of the two in relationship with one another. So watch Facing the Giants. A movie about a high school football coach, who ends up turning him and his team to God, and see what happens.

Still don't believe me that the two go great together. Read these lyrics: 

Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life
End over end neither left nor to right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.

Make me, oh make me, Lord more than I am
Make me a piece in your master game plan
Free from the earthly tempestion below
I’ve got the will, Lord if you’ve got the toe.

Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life
End over end neither left nor to right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.

Take all the brothers who’ve gone on before
And all of the sisters who’ve knocked on your door
All the departed dear loved ones of mine
Stick’em up front in the offensive line.

So next time you sit in church or are watching the big game on tv, think about what can be learned from the two. Better yet think of how you can combine the two. Add the enthusiastic tendencies from football to your live in the church. Be ready to be the football for Jesus and let him use you to score that winning touchdown. 

Enjoy the game that is life, just don't forget to support your Coach and trust in his decisions. After all, chances are he has been playing the game longer then you have. 

And in my final message......after lasts nights wonderful game, GO COWBOYS!