Bowl Belt Church Super Bowl Party Sidelines Booze, Profanity
The Dallas cheerleader’s belly button, bare midriff and dazzling smile beamed into Spokane’s Living Word Christian Center.
“That’s temptation,” mumbled Ron Fisher, one of several church members who gathered Sunday for the big game.
While the Super Bowl and religion don’t necessarily have anything in common, many churches across the country are combining the two events. In the South, where such parties are common, preachers turn halftime into a mini-revival.
Living Word started its football lovers’ party about five years ago, said the head pastor, the Rev. Jim Parker.
Former Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry was marketing a video that featured professional football players talking about their Christian beliefs. The video was meant to be shown during halftime.
It never arrived. But the party survived and is now a popular Living Word event.
At Sunday’s event, members of the South Hill church divided into two camps on either side of four TVs.
Proving that the Bible can be used to argue just about any point, Parker started the game with five scriptural reasons why God is a Cowboys fan.
Church member Chris Chambers countered with an equal number of passages establishing that Jesus likes the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Don’t take anything we do today too seriously,” Parker cautioned. “It’s all in the name of fun.”
Playing host to such parties is one way Christians can enjoy secular events like the Super Bowl.
“We surround ourselves with family for events like this and this is my family,” said Chambers. “I don’t like the atmosphere alcohol creates. And there is a lot of alcohol at most Super Bowl parties.”
At a glance, the party didn’t look much different from the typical raucous celebration that took place in many homes and bars. Except for the occasional scriptural reference and the lack of obscenities, it wasn’t.
“There’s still a chance - you can convert,” Fisher shouted at the Cowboys’ side of the room during the opening kickoff.
After the Steelers lost the toss, he said: “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”
When the pizza came, the volume was turned off while Parker said a short prayer. While their heads were bowed, Dallas scored a field goal.
For Mike Schaffels, the party was an event where he felt comfortable letting his daughter roam freely with her friends.
“We’re not stodgy. We’re just being ourselves,” he said.
“We can have good clean fun and fellowship. Nobody’s drinking beer or screaming profanities. I don’t worry about a bad example being set for the kids. If anything, we are showing them that Christians can have fun, too.”
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