23 AUG 08: THE LORD OR THE RINGS

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

The final weekend of the Beijing Olympics has arrived. Based on what I've read and heard, some people will be glad to see it end. Like the bosses whose employees have been losing sleep watching late-night events, or being distracted all morning.

TODAY'S BLOG OLYMPIC MOMENT: Have the Olympics come up at the church you attend? I've attended a few churches over the years where they treated with disdain, and even some criticism. They go beyond the church sign I saw during the 1996 games in Atlanta, which quoted an old hymn: "I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold."

I lived in metro Atlanta as the 1996 games approached, and attended a church which met less than one mile from the Olympic Stadium site (now Turner Field). The pastor openly said he wanted to be as far from that site as possible when the Olympics arrived. It was almost like he knew Eric Rudolph was planning a bombing....

When July 1996 came, the pastor had his wish - and we had services a 20-minute drive west of downtown, where not even MARTA buses could reach us. Yet this happened as the church denomination was starting to emphasize evangelism and outreach. It disappointed me, as an opportunity was squandered - as if we dropped the baton like a U.S. relay team.

During the 2000 Sydney Games, I visited a congregation in Montgomery where another pastor clearly was uninspired by the Olympics. He called it a tribute to "the gods of sports and money." As far as I know, he never has made the same comment about college football season....

Then about a year ago, I heard a minister in Columbus suggest the Olympic Games actually are unbiblical. He quoted Galatians 4, and said people at that time were allowing themselves to be enslaved to Olympic years. I have yet to find a Bible commentary or online ministry which agrees with that interpretation of "years." But perhaps we should be thankful that the modern Olympics only last about 17 days.

What's behind all this Olympic nay-saying? The Montgomery minister explained the games are all about the "human spirit," which falls far short of the Spirit of God. He's right about that - yet the human spirit has accomplished a few good things. Imagine how overweight some of us would be, if not for diet soda....

Yet if you look and listen closely during the Olympics, you can find moments when that higher Spirit comes through. How well I remember Laura Wilkinson's first words on NBC after winning the 2000 diving gold medal with a fractured foot - when she gave Jesus the glory for it. I'm still waiting for a Wiccan gold medal winner, who gives glory to Mother Nature.

I spent a couple of Sundays inside Atlanta's downtown "Olympic ring" in 1996, and discovered it was quite a street fair. You could find anything from pin traders to soapbox preachers. Admittedly, the pin traders seemed more popular - and certainly were not shouted down, as long as they had business licenses....

Yet a number of ministries used those Olympic games as an opportunity to witness to the crowd. In fact, I have a "1996 Olympic copy" of the Contemporary English Version of the Bible - as a downtown Atlanta church gave them away to visitors. Of course, I doubt many tourists from China or Iran dared to wander in....

My point of these reflections is this: believers can sit on the sidelines and grumble about the Olympics and all the attention they get. Or they can go into the action and "be a light." Maybe people will pay attention to your light. Maybe they won't. But if you keep your light turned off and stashed far away, will God consider that a gold-medal performance?

SCHEDULED SUNDAY: A blog reader has an Olympic moment to offer....

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