US Falls to Ghana in World Cup Action
Normally I do not post much sport related news on this site, but I thought I would make an exception with this story. I don't post this because the U.S. team lost in the first round of the World Cup, but because of who they lost to, Ghana.
As you may know I have led three ministry teams to Ghana, West Africa during 2002, 2003 & 2004. During our time there it was obvious that soccer (or "football" as they call it) was a very big sport in Ghana. It seems everyone knew something about the sport or their favorite team. We even noticed billboard advertisements that featured players. So, it is a major part of their culture as NFL football is to ours in the US.
I spoke with Evangelist Raphael Adjei Kingbi (Evangelist Ralph) our Ghana Ministry Coordinator this morning on the telephone and he was very excited about Ghana's win. I told him that I seen news coverage of people dancing in the streets in the capital city of Accra. Ralph said that in Teshie, where he lives, the people filled the streets "yesternight" for four hours of "jubilation".
Ralph and I talked about how exciting it would be to see people become that excited about the Lord.
It's amazing how we will fill large stadiums to capacity for sporting events, but will not even fill small churches, much less large ones, on Sunday for worship.
It's amazing how we will shout about our favorite team's victory, but will not even tell our closest friends about the Victory Christ won at Calvary.
It's amazing how we will stand in line for hours to obtain tickets for our favorite sports team, but would not stand in line to enter a place of worship.
It's amazing how we will hold season tickets for our favorite sports team so we never miss a game, but we will miss opportunities to worship our Lord.
It's amazing how we will learn, even memorize, every bit of information we can about our favorite sports team, but we do not know much at all about what the Bible really says.
It's amazing how we will sit through double-overtime to watch our team win or lose, but do not like it if the preacher goes "over time" in a worship service.
It's amazing how we can clear our schedules so that we can watch our favorite game on TV, but will not clear our schedule to watch a worship service on TV or to attend a revival meeting.
It's amazing how we will wear clothing adorned with the logos of our favorite sports team, but would not want anyone to recognize us as a Christian.
It's amazing how some people will even fight for their favorite team, but we are afraid to confront those that do not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the world.
During one of our trips we passed the football stadium in Accra and Ralph and I wondered aloud, if you held a Christian meeting there, would you fill it to capacity?
