The NYT recently ran an article titled "Flock is now a Fight Team in some Ministries." The thrust of the article is to highlight the growing number of Christian ministries and churches that are jumping on the MMA (some call it Ultimate Fighting, thats actually a brand) bandwagon in order to draw in young men who would otherwise be turned off with the stereotype of a weak Christ.
Those of you who know me, you know that I am a MMA fanatic. You can check out my MMA thoughts on one of my other blogs HERE. You guys also know that I love the Gospel. I feel that makes me uniquely qualified to give my own opinion on this article and the idea it reports on.
Let me keep it brief since its late, I'm tired, this isn't that complicated...
1) There is a place for Christians to enjoy the pleasures of this world, provided that they aren't things specifically censured in Scripture, and that we do so responsibly. I believe that recreation falls into this category. TV, Movies, video games...we can have fun with such things as long as they don't become our idols. Sports is another entry in that category. We can watch and participate in all different kinds of sports, doing so with maturity and discernment.
2) Just because MMA is seen by many as "a human cockfight" doesn't exclude it from sports that a believer can enjoy. Most people know little about MMA. They don't understand the extreme mental strategy involved, the top-notch conditioning of its top athletes, nor do they know that its safer than boxing. At the core of MMA is a warrior ethos of respect. Not all the fighters abide by this code, but it is central to the sport and I don't think that MMA can be set aside as one single sport that Christians should steer clear of. In my opinion, MMA can't be thrown out as a viable sport for entertainment unless we are willing to throw out all contact sports.
3) Its a real shame that so many people see Jesus as weak. He certainly wasn't. He wasn't a cocky jerk either. I see Christ as symbolizing strength in meekness That is, he wasn't a pansy in a robe, nor was he some overly macho redneck guy - but rather, he was a quietly strong and powerfully reserved man. He held all the power of the universe in his fingertips and he chose to lay it aside and die to save his wretched and disobedient creation. Thats the kind of strength that isn't seen in the feminized characterizations of Jesus AND the kind of love that is missing from MMA loving, gun-toting Jesus icons.
4) Using anything, including MMA, to try and lure men into the faith will fail. It will produce shallow belief and men who "fall-away" once the gimmick fades. True conversion comes when we preach the true gospel message to men, the message that an all-powerful God laid himself low (not laid others low) in order to come into this world and die (an act of meekness that conquered all evil). That same Christ was raised unto the right hand of the Father and he beckons us to die to ourselves (a war of spiritual self-flagellation, not triumph over others) that we might come to see and savor his grace and his mercy (a truth that will cause the hardest man to weep in wonder and joy).
5) MMA has a place in the world for Christians. We can watch it, train in it, enjoy it. It should never be our idol however. Jesus wasn't an MMA fighter. He is more than that and less than that. He is more powerful than Fedor could ever dream of and he is less macho than Chuck Liddell tries to be. The power in Christ comes from his choice to put aside all his fighting power and be slain. Jesus did tapout. He did so on purpose and God used that perfect obedience to facilitate the conquest over sin and death that followed. Jesus was resurrected and he will come again some day in power - until then however, we would be best suited to keep ourselves away marketing Christian MMA and alternatively focused on spreading the gospel in word and deed.
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