Will Someone Explain-- I Will Ask Questions

[Jermyn Davidson]

What is the logic behind SOME Apostolic Pastors who preach against the youth in their congregations taking part in the following extra-curricular school activities:

Organized school sports (basketball, baseball, field hockey, etc...);


Theatre Arts (plays, musicals, etc...);


Attending Junior and Senior Prom.



Respectfully,
JMD

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

What is the logic behind SOME Apostolic Pastors who preach against the youth in their congregations taking part in the following extra-curricular school activities:

Organized school sports (basketball, baseball, field hockey, etc...);


Theatre Arts (plays, musicals, etc...);


Attending Junior and Senior Prom.



Respectfully,
JMD

I was always told those things were worldly. Than I pointed out that our church participated in church softball leagues and that our school basketball team played other Christian schools. Then I was told it was because it unequally yokes believing youth with unbelieving youth in friendship and that these friendships will cause our youth to backslide.

[JoeBandy]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

What is the logic behind SOME Apostolic Pastors who preach against the youth in their congregations taking part in the following extra-curricular school activities:

Organized school sports (basketball, baseball, field hockey, etc...);


Theatre Arts (plays, musicals, etc...);


Attending Junior and Senior Prom.



Respectfully,
JMD

This has changes some in the church's I am familiar with. The main thing I heard was it takes time away from church activities and sometimes violates the dress code. The anti sports subject has always been one of my biggest questions. As a high schooler I attended a church school in the local UPC that was ACE curriculum. We did play flag football and softball against other are church schools. We also attended the state and national ACE conventions I have multiple state ribbons for track and a couple I won in Flagstaff,AR. During this time I was offered a paid tuition at a local large private school for football. My parents and pastor shot it down. I was blessed athletically. I feel if I had taken that opportunity I could have played college ball and had my education paid for.. My question back then was if God made me like this with all this athletic ability why could I not use it to better myself??

[TakingDominion]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

What is the logic behind SOME Apostolic Pastors who preach against the youth in their congregations taking part in the following extra-curricular school activities:

Organized school sports (basketball, baseball, field hockey, etc...);


Theatre Arts (plays, musicals, etc...);


Attending Junior and Senior Prom.



Respectfully,
JMD

JD,

Coming from the perspective of a long time youth pastor, every young person (and I mean every) that was in my youth group and involved in extracurricular school activities like sports, marching band, etc., every one of them has strayed from the church. That may sound like a broad statement, but it's a true one. The biggest problem I have with it, is that it starts taking away from church time almost immediately. They start missing midweek services for practice. They start skipping youth parties for football games. It takes their focus away from God, and desensitizes them to worldly things. Those same youth soon start sitting in the back of the church, playing on their phones instead of hearing the Word. They get closer to their worldly friends at school, than any of the kids at church.

Sports is nothing but 21st century idol worship.

We don't participate in church softball leagues or "Christian" basketball leagues.

I know it's a balancing act when you are raising kids, but I believe we are in this world, but we're not of this world. Prior to being a youth pastor, I didn't really understand why we weren't allowed to play sports. After seeing the effects of sports on many, many Apostolic young people, I have changed my beliefs on it.

These are my opinions. You all are certainly okay to have your own opinions on the matter.

[Scott Pitta]

We never attended the high school prom because "nothing comes off faster than a prom dress."

Some churches prohibit or frown on sports or drama due to schedule conflicts.

Not all churches have the same approach to sports and the arts.

But some do frown on the arts, especially drama, dance and theater.

I am rather biased. But I think it is more cultural than theological. But separating the two is not as easy as one might think.

[n david]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

What is the logic behind SOME Apostolic Pastors who preach against the youth in their congregations taking part in the following extra-curricular school activities:

Organized school sports (basketball, baseball, field hockey, etc...);


Theatre Arts (plays, musicals, etc...);


Attending Junior and Senior Prom.

Respectfully,
JMD

Sports - as TakingDominion said, it's 21st century idol worship. Most sports have immodest dress. It also takes time from family and church due to the practices and games.

Theatre Arts - Caution. Theatre tends to attract a certain group. I would not knowingly allow my child to spend that amount of time (rehearsals, performances, parties, etc) in that atmosphere.

Prom - Nope. Nope. Nope.

[Amanah]

If your kid is involved in church services, choir, youth meetings, ect, they are not going to have time for secular school sports and activities, and hopefully they are being home schooled, or attending a church school.

Also, hopefully there are outlets for kids to use their talents in church musicals, plays, ect.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

What is the logic behind SOME Apostolic Pastors who preach against the youth in their congregations taking part in the following extra-curricular school activities:

Organized school sports (basketball, baseball, field hockey, etc...);


Theatre Arts (plays, musicals, etc...);


Attending Junior and Senior Prom.



Respectfully,
JMD

JD - as someone who did all of the above, (except attending Prom), I believe I can speak from personal experience.
I played a lot of sports growing up. Baseball, Basketball, Football and Track.
I was good, so it was fun. Winning was fun.
There are some good things I learned from sports, such as teamwork, leadership and hard work (equals results).
However, when I got into HS that all changed.
Due to the negative influences sports had at that time, I almost lost my way and I still live with the scars from those times.
Now, I still love sports. I fight that fight every day. It has grown easier as I have become disgusted with every sport that has now officially endorsed unrighteousness and basically painted Bible-believing Christians as illiterate, uneducated bigots.
When I see my old baseball coach, he always tells me that I could have made it in MLB. And he knew what he was talking about. Three other boys from that neighborhood did make it. One of them killed himself after a stellar career. However, he could not shake the drug addiction the career brought. The others suffer from the usual multiple marriages and addiction issues. Another boy from the hood made it in the NFL. Now he is battling cancer, probably brought on by the roids he took.
One thing that I am very Godly proud of is that my two boys (who were athletically gifted, also) do not have the love for sports that I do. They love to play basketball, but to them, it is not life or death.
But, I did not let them play organized sports growing up.
It comes down to this question, regarding sports for me.

Have you ever seen someone who said playing sports helped their walk with God?

Nope.
That is the bottom line for me.

Now to other school activities.
Musicals, plays, band, etc... - I cannot speak to these as well as I did to Sports.
Maybe someone else can.
As to Prom.
I had enough sense to listen to my pastor on this, as least.
I never went.
But, I have friends who still have to deal with the issues that started at the after Prom parties.

[aegsm76]

Just one more thing here.
I was listening to Victor Jackson at NAYC, today (replay on youtube).
He said, if I can paraphrase, spiritual greatness comes from sacrifice.
This brought to mind that one day when I was having a pity party about what I could have been in the sports world, God spoke to me.
He told me to go look at how much I could have made in that world.
So, I did.
He then asked me how much I have made with my career.
Well, guess what.
I have made more than I could have made, IF I had "made it".

Wow!
Feel like shouting!!!

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by n david

Sports - as TakingDominion said, it's 21st century idol worship. Most sports have immodest dress. It also takes time from family and church due to the practices and games.

Theatre Arts - Caution. Theatre tends to attract a certain group. I would not knowingly allow my child to spend that amount of time (rehearsals, performances, parties, etc) in that atmosphere.

Prom - Nope. Nope. Nope.

Thanks for being tactful.


Honestly, the students involved in plays and musicals (at least when I was involved in it throughout HS) tend to have very liberal ideas and ways of thinking. By far, I was the most conservative of my peers and never found any of the worldly "junk" associated with my drama friends to be attractive at all.

Not. One. Thing. Was. Attractive. At. All. Other. Than. The. Art. Itself.

I spell that out because you guys are well aware with my past struggles, but honestly, I was too concerned with trying to be a light for my peers at that point of my life to ever engage in that particularly blatant sin.

I will say one area my friends from Chorus, Chamber Choir and Drama influenced me was in my music tastes. I never stopped loving Gospel and Christian music, but I did develop a liking for Green Day, Savage Garden and other "Alternative Rock" groups that were HUGE in the mid 90's.

Besides that, at that point of my life, I was a pretty strong Christian for a teenager who attended a church without ANY other saved peers.

I didn't have church friends. Our church was small and in the ghetto and the souls drawn to my Dad's ministry were not in my age group.


I remember attending Homecoming with a date my Freshman year. Sophomore year, nope. Junior year, yes, with a date. Junior Prom, yes, with a date-- a Christian girl, non-Apostolic and the entire evening was fun and WHOLESOME in every way.

My Senior year, I helped organize the Homecoming dance, but stepped into the dance hall and left because I felt out of place and a little sad without a date. I purposed to not attend Prom because it was going to interfere with a multi-church service within the denomination we were apart of and I honestly didn't want God to think I was putting Prom before Him. If it had been a regular service, I probably would have went to my Senior Prom.