Double~take | lectures & sermons

Some go to church and think about fishing;
Others go fishing and think about God. (Tony Blake)

Which is more important, church or fishing?

A father asked his first son to work in the vineyard.
He said “Yes!” but then walked away.
A father asked his second son to work in the vineyard.
He said “No!” but then went and did it.

(Matt. 21:28-31 paraphrase mine)

Which of these two did his fathers’ will?

H

ow often does anyone talk about the sermon after church? I can’t remember the last time it happened. We talk about our week, and generally catch up. When it comes to learning from lectures, I think university beats church hands down.

Just like church, the main focus of uni is going to lectures. The difference is, you talk about university lectures. There’s a group of you, who listen intently to the guy lecturing, share notes and meet to revise, or work on assignments. What is lectured on has real significance to your life as a uni student.

Or maybe that’s just me. I loved school. The ones who stay longer are the ones that really want to be there – everyone else has dropped out. There are a million ways of getting a job/ learning a trade other than going to university, and most people prefer the other, more hands-on and “relevant”, ways.

So if I’m weird in loving school, why am I not alone in the church building on Sunday?

Does anyone other than the preacher, or small group leader ever talk about God? Or is everyone too worried that their ideas are wrong and they’ll look stupid? Obviously (?) church is more important than uni. And people have hung around far longer than second or third year. So why aren’t people as intent on church, as final year university students are intent on uni? What, is school going to get me further in life than church?

Double~take appears every Saturday on theRubicon. Find past Double~take posts and a bio of Stephanie Hung here.

2 Comments to Double~take | lectures & sermons

1. Two thoughts! One it could be that people know there is no point in talking about God because everyone in the meeting already knows him.

   Alternatively, they could genuinely be interested in the other peoples’ lives and the care they have for each other takes precedence over talking about the sermon!
Graeme Smith on January 12th, 2008

2. I think this is a fair complaint, and one I’ve had myself. It’s more than just talking about the sermon, though - I don’t understand why we aren’t talking more about Jesus in our daily conversation. Why don’t we naturally testify to each other of his goodness and faithfulness? Why don’t we talk to each other about our spiritual journey? Sometimes we do, of course, but it usually seems to be at moments that were designated for that purpose, or only with our very closest friends. When I’m hanging out with friends who are believers and I start just talking about Christ or if I ask how their walk is going, etc., people seem to look startled. Sometimes they even change the subject. I wish it wasn’t this way. What am I supposed to do, only talk about God when I have my uniform on? (ha ha)
Amy Reardon on January 19th, 2008

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