A TALE OF TWO HALFTIMES AND WHY I'M WATCHING NEITHER

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Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is the Superbowl, and you have two choices for the halftime show. You can watch the official program, featuring Bad Bunny, offensive to many Christians. Or you can watch the one put on by Turning Point, the organization founded by Charlie Kirk, hosted by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. 

Which am I watching? Uh, I already answered the question in my title. Neither one. 

But why?

Reasons not to watch Bad Bunny? Well, his performance might be offensive to Christians as a whole, but what else is new? After all, we're living in the post-wardrobe-malfunction era. And was picking Madonna as the headliner for Superbowl XLI in Indianapolis a serious attempt to avoid offending people? The reality is that NFL is part of the world (see Matthew 18:6-7; 1 John 2:15-17; 5:19), and the world is acting like you'd expect the world to act. And I have no interest in seeing the world acting like I'd expect the world to act. 

There are two reasons why Turning Point has an alternate half-time show. One is Bad Bunny's selection, the other is, to be honest, Charlie Kirk's death. If Kirk had not been assassinated, there wouldn't be an alternate half-time show. There may have been, as there has been in the past, a Christian program meant to be evangelistic to be shown at church SB parties (I believe it was Campus Crusade for Christ - aka CRU - who did that). But that usually was the local church's initiative with a motive not to compete with the world but to take an opportunity to share the Gospel. I'd be surprised if Kirk, had he still been here, would have put this on.

Which leads me to reasons not to watch the alternative. While the Gospel was preached loud and clear at Kirk's memorial service, is that the purpose of this half-time show? Or is it an organization giving the local church an opportunity to compete with the world? Christian singer and pastor Steve Camp is not at all thrilled, especially with the involvement of TBN (I nicknamed it the Twitty Broadcasting Network, partly because it teaches doctrines I consider a little off, and partly because it's where Conway Twiity's Twitty City used to be). This might be simply a Christian snack food, but will it draw the lost to the Savior or equip the saints for the work of the ministry? Or is it entertainment for a break from spiritual warfare?

So which of the above reasons is my motivation for watching neither? Well, how about none of the above?

I wasn't offended by the 2007 half-time show with Madonna because I wasn't watching Indy's beloved Colts coached by one of my heroes, Tony Dungy (who was born exactly 4 years before me). What was I doing instead? Working on the computer, and then calling it a night. I might have stayed up to see the final minutes and if the Colts won (they did), then to hear what Dungy would say when he had the mike. This year - and most years - I'll just treat the night as if it's nothing special, and wait till I get up to find out who won and then get back to my normal life.