Super Bowl Thoughts

I enjoyed watching the Super Bowl at church yesterday with great people and great food. It helped that the game was close and competitive until the end. You could tell how the game was going by all the cheering and yelling during every big play. I didn’t really have a preference as to who won the game, so I was glad it was close. Here’s a couple of thoughts I had about watching the game.

  • I’ve seen a lot of comments on facebook and twitter today about Christina Aguilera messing up the words to the National Anthem. I was more surprised that she could actually sing. While it is disappointing that she forgot the words, I wouldn’t criticize her unless you have been in the position of singing to over 100 million people. She was gracious in saying she messed up, so let’s extend grace, not condemnation.
  • Jon Acuff had a great post about what to do during racy commercials during the Super Bowl. While it is frustrating that all commercials are not created to be family friendly, that is unfortunately the world we live in. People are going to watch this game whether at church or at home, so I want to provide an environment where we can talk about what we see while in Biblical community. I had a great time talking about life and football with many people that I didn’t really know that well. I firmly believe that the church is called to change culture, not condemn it. I’ve said it many times before, but we should be known for what we are for instead of what we are against.
  • I actually enjoyed the halftime show, but from comments on facebook and twitter, the feedback was really divided. It seems like the cutoff age was somewhere around 35 to 40 years old.  Those older thought it was the worst halftime show ever, while those younger thought it was great. Personally, I was just glad they had someone do the show that teenagers and college students actually knew. Usher and Slash were a fun surprise as well, and at least this time there were no wardrobe malfunctions.  For the last several years artists like  Tom Petty, the Who, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, and Paul McCartney all did the halftime show and I watched teenagers completely tune out. The artists were old enough to be my grandparents. As much as I liked their music in the 80’s, I don’t want an image of a 70 year old ex-rocker in leather pants burned into my memory.  As churches, this should really make you think. Are you holding on to the music of your childhood, or are you open to the music of the younger generation? If we are honest with ourselves, most contemporary praise and worship music is late 80’s/early 90’s slow rock. Most of my youth have never even heard of U2, so why is all of our youth praise music created to sound like them. If it makes you feel old, it should. Let’s build some generational bridges using music.

What are your thoughts about the game? Any favorite commercials? Leave a comment and let me know.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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