Wrigley Field Without the Ivy

I sat in the bleachers at Wrigley Field several years ago and made the following observation: more people were there for the atmosphere than for the game.

Sure, they wore Zambrano jerseys and Cubbie hats and cheered when they heard the crack of the bat, but the ivy, the hot dogs, the camaraderie, and the 7th inning stretch were (for many) far more important than whether or not the white flag with the blue "W" flew over the park as they left. On the North Side of Chicago, fans come to a game for everything but baseball.

Fishing is much the same way I think. Few people fish for the fish. They fish for the experience. For the quiet. For the sunrise. For the stories. For the father-son bonding. But not for the fish.

There is a lot to be said for enjoying an experience...especially when your baseball team stinks or when the fish aren't biting. But what happens when we begin applying this principle to our faith? What happens when we begin making church about the band and small group about the brownies? What happens when the wall color becomes more important than the worship and the pastor's hairstyle becomes more important than the things God is trying to teach us through him?

Style and preference and feeling are each God-given parts of who we are, and I'm not suggesting that we ignore them when finding a place to serve or worship or gather. But it is those very things that can easily lead us into a consumer mentality when it comes to Jesus. They can quickly cause us to fall in love with the Christian culture rather than with Christ himself.

The tendency, if we're not careful, is to end up like a lot of Cubs' fans. We wear the right clothes, say the right things, and clap at the right times...yet care very little about the end result. We find joy in our gatherings rather than in the purpose behind those gatherings.

The problem isn't being attracted to a particular style or method. The problem is being more attracted to the atmosphere than to the game itself.