It was not a conducive environment for a Christian. 350 human beings – mostly male, packed into the APEX hotel ready to enjoy a slap up meal, lots of drink and a couple of after dinner speakers. To my consternation I was sitting at the top table beside one of the after dinner speakers – a top sports commentator. The language was often choice, the speeches peppered with foul language and blasphemy. It was not pleasant. I did not want to be there. I did not enjoy many parts of it and indeed I left early. None of this was unexpected so why did I go? Why place myself in such an environment?
The answer is straightforward. I was there in my capacity as Club Chaplain for Dundee Football Club. It was a benefit dinner for Javier Artero, one of their players, whose career has been cut short by MS. It was a worthy cause and one I was more than happy to help with. The player is very likeable and I thought it was an excellent example of a Club helping one of its members.

Club Chaplain

But there was another aspect to my attendance. I was there on a mission. I was a soldier behind enemy lines. This was enemy territory. Here were 350 human beings who know nothing of the kingdom of God and who are held in captivity by the enemy of their souls. These men were not themselves the enemy. They are the ones who need to be liberated from the enemy. A thought that they would find laughable – much as the Pharisees laughed at the idea of Jesus setting them free – “Know the truth and the truth will make you free”. Most of these men would have no more thought of going to Church than they would of supporting Dundee United or going to crochet classes. The Church is the enemy, or worse, utterly irrelevant. They see no point in us. They do not know the Gospel. They do not see any need for the Church and the only time they speak the name of Jesus is when they use it as a curse. You could see a certain amount of confusion and embarrassment when yours truly was introduced as the Club Chaplain. Ironically many would have had the same questions as a lot of Christians. What is he doing here? Why is a minister involved with this? What do we need a Chaplain for?

Being a Chaplain in a secular environment is not easy. Being a Christian in such an environment is not easy – it demands a degree of maturity, understanding, sensitivity and resilience which takes time to develop. There is a temptation to cop out and to hide your light under a bushel, to try and blend in. The first time I was at one of these functions I blew it. I was more concerned about what they would think than I was with what God thinks. As a result I came across like the stereotypical wet blanket, wooly-jumper Anglican vicar. Not this time. Now when I am asked to say grace in such circumstances I pray to the God of Heaven and Earth. I pray specific prayers and I pray Nehemiah type ‘arrow’ prayers that He will hear and work in the lifes of those who hear them.

Contact, Connection and Communication

In this warfare behind enemy lines my aim is not to destroy those I am with – but rather to win them. To set the prisoners free – a task made all the more difficult when the people do not realize that they are imprisoned. This war is not one of force or psychological persuasion. It is a spiritual battle. And the tactics? Firstly I have to come into contact with people. What is the point of speaking to people about Jesus unless you are first speaking to people? Then you have to connect with people. I have a radical disconnect with the blasphemy, the drunkenness and the futile emptiness. But there is also so much to connect with – by virtue of the fact that we are all human, with all the hope, humour and hubris that that entails. There are always things that we have in common.

And then having made contact and having connected, it is time to communicate. What do we communicate? The Good News of Jesus Christ. How do we communicate it? Through word and deed, example and thoughtfulness, love and humility. It is never easy. We are often tempted to use the weapons of this world or to retreat into the bunker of supposedly bombproof churches. But we are followers of Jesus Christ and in that we have no option. What he did, we have to do. He left the comfort zone of his throne in glory. He came to earth and lived amongst blasphemers, idolaters and the great unwashed. He came to the drunken, abusive, ignorant, violent and sinful. And we, as his followers, have to do the same. Not to endorse the sins. Nor to condemn the sinners. But to seek and to save that which was lost. So we have to go. We have to get our hands dirty. We have to see and hear things that we would much rather avoid. And we have to take on the full armour of God to engage in this battle – lest we become contaminated and end up becoming prisoners ourselves – or lest we become judgmental, superior and aloof, somehow thinking that we are better than others. One of the most disturbing things about being in such an environment is to realize that this is what I am – this is the human world of which I am part. It makes me ashamed but it also fills me with a glorious hope – if God can bring me from darkness to light then there was no-one there in that room that he could not do so. And anyway who is to say whether even in that environment there were not those who had not bowed the knee to Baal?

Committment

In one way we can learn from the world. Here were a group of men who were prepared to give up their time and indeed to give up their money for their cause. At one level the Club are to be highly commended for the amount of effort they put into helping one of their own. (Thought – if the world can look after its own in such a way why is it that the Church so often shoots its wounded?).

What astounded me was the amount of money that people were prepared to spend on football paraphernalia. – Ronaldo's signed shirt went for £3,500 in the auction, Raul’s for £1,500. These were extraordinary sums of money to pay. Add to this that each of the men there paid £40 just for the privilege of being there. The thought occurred to me why can’t we have a room filled with men who are prepared to donate £3,500 for the cause of Christ? There are far more people go to Church than attend football matches. And in theory we would accept that Christianity is far more important than football. But in practice? The truth is that we have far too many people who claim to be ‘supporters’ (Christians) but do not know the meaning of that in reality. We have far too many part-time supporters. And we have far too many people who think that the definition of a Christian is someone who should be served, helped and provided for rather than someone who serves, helps and provides. For too many ‘Christians’, the Pauline notion of the believer as a soldier, an athlete and a hard working farmer is one that is totally alien. We do not put on the full armour of God because we do not see the need for it. If you never go behind enemy lines, if you never engage in battle, then why wear the gear? After all who needs armour when all that you intend to do is sunbathe round the pool? Is it not time that Christians got real about the spiritual battle we are meant to be involved in, stopped fighting in our trenches, started listening to our commander in chief, and actually went out to win the world for Jesus? If that is just meaningless psycho-spiritual rhetoric then we would be better off (and more honest) in the drunken sportsman’s dinners rather than blaspheming by playing at being Christians in our churches. Where are the soldiers who will fight the good fight and go behind enemy lines?

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