1st Church of Musky Fishing

I attended church today at the Milwaukee Musky Fishing Sports Show. I went in support of my neighbor, Kevin Moore, a guide who gave a talk on 'Fishing High Pressured Water.' What stood out in my mind were the similarities between a local evangelical church and what I found at the Musky Show. The demographics were homogeneous -to each context -in both the church and the Musky Show, the comparable dress code (jeans, and 2 day old stubble, and a fishing cap vs. business casual found in most churches), both took an offering ($10 entrance fee at the door vs. voluntary giving as part of the service), the unique inside vocabulary (I listened to my neighbor's 45 minute presentation, and understood about 1/2 of it vs. a similar employment of an inside 'religious' vocabulary used in church), and repeated references to what I call, 'local heroes' (I met the man who holds the world record for largest Musky vs. the 'local heroes' w/n the church of Rob Bell, Mark Driscoll and Andy Stanley).

And as is the case for many... I didn't feel like I fit in. Unfamiliar with the dress code, vocabulary, the local heroes, or the demographic of the show... Maybe the Evangelical Church can learn from the 1st Church of Musky!