I think this pastor should be defrocked...

[RogerMartim]

...for making a mockery of our faith.

For some dedicated football fans, Sunday games tend to take precedent over basically everything else in life. And a pastor in Montana is no exception -- especially when kickoff interferes with church services.

This is Pastor Tim Christensen of Goldhill Lutheran Church in Montana. He was sked to lead the 11am service, the same time the 49ers and Panthers were scheduled to kick off on TV.

That's quite the dilemma. So he decided to speed things up a little, cutting his service down to only a minute.

'I was thinking we might have just a little bit of an abbreviated service,' he told the congregation. Then asks, 'Would you all like to be forgiven for your sins? OK, that's great, you are ... There's some bread and some wine up here on the table -- you feel free to help yourself if you'd like to.'

Though Christensen said he doesn't have any vested interest in the game, he proves otherwise false when he goes on to take off his robe displaying a bright red 49ers shirt.

Talk about setting your priorities!

GMA's Josh Elliot chimed in during morning coverage saying he wishes this is something his pastor would have done when he was young and growing up in LA. 'I would say, 'Mom, God wants me to watch this game,' a fight I never won.'

While this far-from typical Sunday morning is making the rounds and even getting some flack, turns out the hurried service is actually prank. The entire congregation knows Christensen is a big 49ers fan, and he held a full service afterwards.

[Donald_Kirchner]

Guess you sure fooled us!   

[swbohler]

Some things should not be made the object of jokes, sport, or spoofs.  Worship is just about at the top of that list.

[Harvey_Mozolak]

you cannot defrock him because he had no VESTED interest in the game   Harvey Mozolak

[Michael Slusser]

you cannot defrock him because he had no VESTED interest in the game   Harvey Mozolak

Give a pastor a weekend off and he switches from poetry to stand-up . . . . 

Peace,
Michael

[Brian Stoffregen]

There are congregations with a tradition of high, solemn church masses; and others with a tradition of low brow, informal, masses. Some will use: "The Lord be with you." "And also with you." (Or, "And with your spirit.") Others may say, "We're gonna pray now."


I wear black shoes, socks, pants, and clerical for worship. My colleague 14 miles away, wears sandals (sometimes socks,) khaki shorts, and a blue clerical. I play a bit of a jazz piano for worship. At the colleagues, they have more classical organ.


I've argued for years that before critique a worship service, one needs to establish the criteria that should be used for critiquing a liturgy. Is "I like it" a good criteria? Are the proper, traditional vestments a good criteria? Is the somberness or number of jokes good criteria?


By what reasons does one judge the stunt to be bad worship for that pastor in that congregation?

[Harvey_Mozolak]

see, Michael, the problem is --
it hasn't only been only one weekend
off but about 16 plus feasts, saints days and festivals.  Harvey

[Dan Fienen]

If he had done his one minute service and then left to go watch the game  that would have been totally improper.  That it was a joke (stunt) and the service continued afterwards makes a difference.  Personally I would find it a bit over the top but I guess you had to be there. 

Dan

[Harvey_Mozolak]

Clergy in Pittsburgh used to wear stoles and I think even chasubles in black and gold for Steeler Sundays ... I think that is frocking too much or too little... I couldn't do it if you offered a $1000 to missions for the misdeed but then I can be Pastor Prune.  Course I had ushers who took the offering wear Steeler ties and then there are the countless men who have worn stoles, I mean ties, that play Jingle Bells, on Christmas Eve and intentionally set them off while kneeling for HC... should they be excommunicated per diem at least?   Harvey

[Charles_Austin]

Unless the "he should be defrocked" at the head of this thread is a joke (and I fear it is not), we have here a sad example of how some of us are so tightly-wrapped and all-fired "serious" and defensive and maniacal about one thing or another that we call for thumb screws and the rack if we fear someone has tinkered with whatever we have declared untinkerable.
And we call out the guards without even going far enough into the alleged offense to see if it was indeed an offense.
Sad.

[pearson]

If he had done his one minute service and then left to go watch the game  that would have been totally improper.  That it was a joke (stunt) and the service continued afterwards makes a difference.  Personally I would find it a bit over the top but I guess you had to be there. 

Frankly, I think the man needs a good Butte-whipping.

Tom Pearson

[LutherMan]

It was very unnerving the way he did C&A and then offered wine and bread.  Very.  Poor.  Taste...

[Dan Fienen]

It was very unnerving the way he did C&A and then offered wine and bread.  Very.  Poor.  Taste...

Remember, he didn't actually just offer bread and wine,, they were offered later in the contxt of a full service.

Dan

[Jim Thacker]

At the risk of putting myself at the mercy of some on this forum I will confess that serving my first parish in Montana I would often wear my town softball uniform under my robe so I would at least have a chance of making a Sunday tournament game. I did not, however, cut the service short or leave anything out just to hurry things along. I don't think anyone, other than my wife, knew when I did this. I never thought this was much different than the hunters and fishermen in the congregation wearing their hunting and fishing outfits to worship. And another confession, the organist of the congregation I served in Northern Virginia was known to play "Hail to the Redskins" as a postlude on Super Bowl Sunday. That of course was many years ago... Both of these congregations were wonderful people of God being disciples together in the world. I believe they all realized divine worship was a special place to meet God who was the One who then sent them back into the world to be His witnesses, servants, and lights. I thought it a blessing when we didn't ignore what was happening in the world but connected it to our living out our faith in Jesus Christ. 

[dkeener]

One year when the final round of the Master's Golf Tournament fell on Easter Sunday (our church is about 15 minutes away from Augusta National), one of my parishioners gave me two Badges that he was unable to use that day.  I jokingly asked him if he was trying to get me to shorten my sermon.  I didn't - and still made it to the first tee by 1:30.