"You're a Church Person"

Track and Field has begun again for another season.  (Be still my heart!  I get to spend two hours a day with 37 middle-schoolers who are amazing, funny, happy, moody, want to be noticed, don't want to be noticed, eager to please, don't care if they please, coming into their own, figuring out who they are- you get the idea, you've met them before.)  

On our team, Liz (my fellow coach) and I have just a couple of rules that we strictly enforce.  One of them is about respect.  The kids know that they have to use their words respectfully, that we won't tolerate cursing, swearing or name-calling.  The penalty for such a slip whether it was a slip or a blatant infraction is that the athlete has to run a mile.  That's extra, over and above the rest of the workout.  So, every year it happens a couple of times- a bad word comes sailing out of an adolescent mouth (usually from a boy if you can imagine that).  And without fanfare I calmly say, "You owe me a mile."  The perpetrator hangs his head and sets off in that familiar counter clockwise direction to do his four laps.  That's the end of it. It's really not a big deal but it does make them think about their words, at least for a few minutes.

As we got started this year, a not so nice word entered my ears and I realized that I had not explained the rule to the newcomers.  So the team sat down to hear about this important tenet of our time together.  As I was explaining, one of the young men that was on the team last year said to me and the others, "That's because you're a church person."  I guess he thought that since I was a pastor that I had a real aversion to foul language.  People do that to me all the time.  They say a bad word and then quickly realize that they are in the presence of a pastor and so for some reason they think they cannot be themselves.  It happened one year when I played in a co-ed volleyball league.  The team captain would shush the other players when they would curse over a bad play, "SHHH, she's a pastor!"  I have to admit it was a bit annoying. . . pastors are just people.  Everyone who knows me knows that I'm just a person like every other person you know.  I think at the root of it they are trying to be respectful to me but what about the other people that they come in contact with?  Is it only considered disrespectful to pastors to speak like that?  Is anyone impressed when we go off and spit out a string of expletives?  Probably not.  Or maybe they don't even care and just think, "Ah a human being with feelings."

For me this is more about "being a church person" than it is about potentially offensive language.  I've heard all of the words before and they don't really faze me, I've even said them myself from time to time though I don't make a habit of it.  The reality is we are not perfect.  The reality is that we slip up from time to time no matter how hard we try.  The reality is there is GRACE for all of us- forgiveness, a new beginning, a second chance (and third and fourth etc.)  Yes, I am church person but I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination!  Again, you who know me know that I speak the truth about this!!  But I try to be faithful representative of Christ. Operative word:  TRY!  I think we should try, even if we fail- no, knowing that we will fail!

Our gospel lesson for today, Ash Wednesday, is one that we have perhaps taken too literally.  "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them. . ." (Matthew 6:1)  Do we only hear the first part of that and discount the second part?  Beware of practicing your piety before others. . . so we fail to practice our piety, our faith, our discipleship in front of others because they just might see us?  You are a church person.  Shouldn't our actions in the world reflect something of our faith?  Shouldn't our lives exhibit the fruits of the Spirit wherever we go (to the best of our ability anyway): patience, peace, joy, gentleness, kindness, love, self-control?  Or should we hide our light under a basket?  Of course not- we have nothing to be ashamed of for the gospel frees us and Jesus rescues us from sin, death and the devil and forgives us when we mess up.  Thanks be to God for that!!

As a coach though, I have a responsibility to teach- not only hurdles, high jump, sprints, baton exchanges, etc.  But to teach teamwork, responsibility, sportsmanship and more.  The reason I have the rule about words on my team is because I want to teach respect and self-control.  I think it's important.  I think it's missing in many quarters of our social lives.  Maybe it is because I'm a "church person" though I know people who are not church persons who act respectful, kind, encouraging etc.  What I do know is that church people are expected to act a certain way.  We don't always live up to it though which can put a black mark on the name of Christ.  But we're trying, we really are!! That young man's comment is important though.  He is saying that there ought to be something about us that can be seen by others if we call ourselves church people.  I agree, and so what I said to the young man on my team was, "You are a church person too."  (Because I know that he is, and he really does act like it too.)

The world is watching us "church people."  We are under a microscope.  Don't be frightened by that, that's just the way it is.  Don't be burdened by others' opinion of you just do the other thing that I tell my team, "Do your best, that's all we ask of you."  We live the way we live (or at least we TRY to)- in obedience, faith, love, generosity- BECAUSE Christ has done something life changing for us.  Our words and actions just might show someone something about what it means to be a "church person." That would be great if it did!!   Everywhere we go we are a living witness to God's love for us and all humanity.  We may never get it completely right but we can rest assured that we are loved and that God knows that each one of us is a work in progress.  Amen.

Image credit:  fumchurst.org