Spectator or Participant?

There are two major ways that involvement in sports takes place. One way is to actually participate in the sport. Someone, involved practices for the sport and then actually ‘put on the gear’ and participate. They go out and get sweaty and dirty and sore. They are fully engaged in the game.

The other way is as a ‘spectator.’ Instead of actually practicing, gearing up, and getting sweaty, dirty and sore they watch from the sidelines while others play the sport. In every arena of sports down through history there have always been more spectators than there have been participants.

It seems to me that in the modern American church both of these types of involvement happen. It never has been the plan of God that there would be two types of people in the church – participants and spectators - but both types exist.

There are those who are actually living their faith. They practice the spiritual exercises and disciplines and are regularly ‘putting on the gear’ and going out and get sweaty, dirty and sore. Their faith is alive, growing and healthy. They pray, give, study, read, meditate, serve, love, worship and so on.

There are others who aren’t really living out their faith but instead they watch others who are participating in the life of faith. Sure they show up. Sure they cheer. Sure they know the plays, know the rules, know the players and what the game is supposed to look like but they don’t actually ‘gear up’ and participate.

The interesting thing about sports is it is a whole lot easier to be an ‘arm chair quarterback’ when living a spectator life then it is when living a participant life. Participants understand enough about what it takes to play the game, understand that there are countless obstacles and have had bad days and even bad seasons that all temper them and keeps their ‘arm chair quarterbacking’ to a minimum.

Here’s the simple question: Are you a participant or a spectator?