Just finished watching the Super Bowl with some friends from church. I must say that I couldn't be any happier with the results from the game. I grew up in Ohio as an avid Cleveland Browns fan, so naturally the Steelers have always been the arch nemesis to the Browns, and have continually spanked them in the AFC north division. So for me and many other Browns fans we have become Packer fans for at least one night.

I must say that I am not biased toward the Steelers so much that I don't respect certain personnel on the team. For instance, I have the up most respect for Mike Tomlin (the head coach) and how he has put his stamp on the organization. He is a genuine classy guy, whom wins or looses with the up most humility and dignity. I did find out that later after the game he greeted players as they returned to the locker room, and thanked them for the hard play during the course of the season. Classy.

As a pastor, especially one in a small town it is hard to make friends. People often look at you with dis-trust, or tend to be uncomfortable in your presence (It may be that I am just weird looking). Regardless, it is a good feeling to have when you are invited over to someone's home to just hang out and just watch the game. That fellowship outside the church walls is something that I have noticed is missing in many ecumenical situations. We tend to set aside a certain hour each Sunday to meet with people whom we probably really aren't interested in, but do so anyway out of a sense of guilt, or tradition. Traditionally that has not always been the case in the function of the healthy church. Those whom have experienced this have seen something of a divine interaction between God, and human beings. The reason for that is; that in a healthy church Christ is the center of attention, not the individual.

When our focus is shifted we become more interested not only supremely in God (which is the source of the later), but we also become interested in the lives of others. It is a sign of church maturity to see the body of Christ truly engaging the lives of their brothers, and sisters in Christ.