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Crossroads Church
Crossroads Church.png
Crossroads Church
Church News

'Church should be fun': Pastor kicks Bible off stage

by Lydia Davies

Crossroads Church in Ohio, with a congregation of 34,000,  has made headlines with their "Super Bowl Sunday sermon", which included kicking a Bible off the stage.

In the sermon, the church pastors incorporated American football-themed elements into their service, including a symbolic punt of a Bible.

In a lively spectacle reminiscent of a football game, Senior Pastor Brian Tome and Pastor Alli Patterson, dressed in football tops, engaged in a "pregame" coin toss.

After Tome won the flip, the 'referee' asked, "Would you like to kick or receive the Bible?"

"I will receive," Tome replied.

Patterson then took a few steps back as another pastor squared up the Bible, which had a football-style book cover, before kicking it off the stage and into the crowd.

Patterson then high-fived her colleague in celebration.

The scene, complete with play-by-play commentary, a referee, and staged tackles over the Bible, drew a mix of reactions.

While some found it entertaining, others expressed concern over using such symbolism in a sacred context.

User 'Timaha77' wrote on X:  "Isn't it Sad that Muslims are more offended that the Bible is kicked off stage than Christians. Just goes to show our respect and love for 'true' Christians"

However, Andy Reider, the community pastor for Crossroads, gave a disclaimer before the video of the service. He said: "No matter what you believe, you're going to laugh".

Reid also acknowledged the question many viewers of the service likely had about the service. One of the reasons, said Reider, was because "we believe that church can and should be fun".

"You're going to experience hilarious commercials filled with middle school humour, really great music and some good old-fashioned smack talk," he added. "But secondly, we believe that there are spiritual truths and realities that can be drawn out from sports and that's what each of our teachers are going to be doing today."

As reactions to this latest event continue to unfold, it underscores the ongoing conversation within religious communities about the balance between tradition and innovation in worship practices.

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