Suffolk Presbyterian Church

I just read a NYT article about a new trend in white evangelical churches in America. Now, these churches are known for keeping up with pop culture, and this trend is no exception. These churches are promoting mixed martial arts. The premise is that men, ages 18-34, think church is too feminine. If we add a little blood and gore, some upper cuts and jabs, and a few TKO’s men will want to come back. And in some places, it’s working.

But I wonder, what exactly are these men learning about the Gospel? See, the ‘pastors’ of these martial arts churches are teaching men that Jesus was a fighter, that Jesus never ‘tapped out.’ Well, in some sense that’s true, but if you went to read that article, which I suggest you do before going much further here, you’ll see that these men who claim to represent Jesus while in the ring, regularly break the bones, bloody the noses, and blacken the eyes of their opponents.

Last I looked, the gospel was about the salvation of human kind, not beating the crap out of them. There are better ways of interpreting the gospel for young men than turning into something it’s not. You can attract them with pay-per-view matches on big screen TVs in the sanctuary, but chances are, they won’t stay long. Many of these men grew up without fathers or other good male role models; they grew up knowing that the only one who would look out for them was them. Turning Jesus into a good role model is, I think, a good idea. But is a good role model one who beats up others? One who is a fighter, a warrior? Some think so. I’m not so sure it’s authentic to the Gospel, though.

I’m glad if they can get some of these men to learn about Jesus, but I am concerned that they’re not learning about the Jesus who’s in the gospels. Your thoughts?