If you want something different, you have to do something different. That’s how the Super Bowl of Preaching was born. (If you are wondering if we kicked a Bible last year, we didn’t. I’ll get to that shortly.)
Historically, Super Bowl Sunday has been the lowest-attended service for churches in America. This is true year after year after year. Unfortunately, a lot of people only have the mental capacity for one thing on Sundays, and football wins.
When we started The Super Bowl of Preaching, we never thought we were creating a massive party that would eventually create internet controversy. We were just having fun mixing two things together: God and football. I like football, and so did two friends of mine—one an NFL broadcaster and the other an assistant coach in the NFL. Sprinkle in some artsy types and we hit creative paydirt.
This event sprung out of a desire to try something different. Not to bolster church attendance, but just because it would be fun. Since it was a historically low attendance day, we didn’t have much to lose. It wasn’t like we were messing with Easter.
What do you know, it actually worked. What was going to be a one-and-done experience has turned into an annual tradition. It’s worked so well that we keep applying learning and building upon it year after year.
The Super Bowl of Preaching has since become our highest-attended weekend of the year. 30,000 people stream into our physical sites around Cincinnati and central Kentucky, and we host tens of thousands more via streaming.
It is a gameday atmosphere. We tailgate beforehand, handing out drinks and hotdogs. There are pep bands playing. Families and friends gather around fire pits and yard games. Once the event officially starts, people are treated to a preaching competition unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. There are hilarious commercials, a world-class halftime show, and in-between the laughs and smiles, the Gospel is presented in a language people can understand and apply to their everyday lives.
It’s an incredibly fun time built to introduce people to the love and hope of Jesus. But it is different… and different rubs some people the wrong way.
The Super Bowl of Preaching grew year over year, and as its reach expanded, so did the negativity from the stuck-in-the-mud stalwarts who want Sunday morning to always look the same. It reached a fever pitch last year.
We went viral, but not in the way anyone actually wants. A clip of one of our teaching pastors “kicking a Bible” hit the Internet, and was shared by fear-and-fury-mongers with questionable backgrounds, whipping their followers into a frenzy. The only problem is that we didn’t kick a Bible, and we’re not planning on kicking a Bible. I was shocked by the response.
Years ago, we found a Bible case made from football leather and put an old piece of styrofoam in it. Running with the football theme of the event, we used that case as a creative way to get everything started. A few years ago, one of our female pastors/teachers had the honor of kicking off with the leather-wrapped foam. It was no big deal to the tens of thousands of people who actually saw it.
This past year, conservative Christian websites, podcasts, and YouTube channels—with the ability to monetize sensational content—reached back into the archives to find this clip, using it to stoke hatred toward a woman who they don’t believe is qualified to be in leadership. They could have used a clip from any year from the last twenty as an example, but they cherry-picked a year when a woman “kicked off.” Soon, she wasn’t only getting dragged through the mud by people who have never even visited Ohio (let alone attended a service in person), she was receiving death threats. Let that sink in. Death threats.
A faithful servant of God for decades, a parent of four kids, and one of the smartest people on our team was threatened to be killed, in the name of Christ, for something she hadn’t even done. Wow.
To make it even worse, more “respected” faith-based podcasters and bloggers saw the algorithm-driven uproar on social media, and without ever calling us to ask what really happened or why we do this service, started criticizing our efforts to preach Jesus to people in a language they can relate to. Again, we did not receive a single message asking for comment or perspective. I guess the opportunity to get eyeballs can be more enticing than seeking the truth.
I want to be incredibly clear: at Crossroads Church, we have the highest regard for scripture. We teach it every weekend. We push our people to read it daily, either on their own or corporately, through the Crossroads app. We study it, digest it, and then we act on it. That’s why the Super Bowl of Preaching was born in the first place.
Scripture tells us that we should do all that we can to reach people with the hope of Jesus (here and here are just a few examples). At Crossroads, we say we will do anything short of sin to let our friends and neighbors know that God loves them, has a plan for them, and can be trusted. Even make a fool of ourselves on a stage to get people laughing and break down some walls. Even put thousands of hours into planning, creating, and running a world-class event. And yes, even endure online fallout and death threats.
The negative response last year was overwhelming and awful. We did everything necessary to protect our pastor, and we took a long look at the online vitriol. We examined our own hearts and motivations. And we made the decision to do it all again this year. Because introducing people to Jesus—and not placating the Pharisees in the grandstands—is why the church exists.
The response from last year shouldn’t have taken us by surprise. Throughout history, even the history of the church, the “new thing” has always been misunderstood and maligned.
In the early church, Paul had to constantly push back against the old guard that demanded all new followers of Jesus be circumcised and eat kosher. The freedom of Christ was a new thing that made people uncomfortable.
When Gutenberg started printing Bibles for commoners, there was an uproar about who should be able to own, read, and interpret the scriptures. The Church felt a loss of control, and they fought back.
When George Whitfield kickstarted the first Great Awakening, he was derided for everything from holding meetings outside, to the dynamic way he spoke, to the clothes he wore, and for using advertising.
We could go on and on with examples from Christian history. I’ll never forget what one of my conservative seminary professors said, quoting a giant of the faith who had weathered criticism, “I think God likes how I do evangelism better than how you don’t.”
The reality is that nothing changes if nothing changes—and when you start changing, those most comfortable with the old way will raise their voice the loudest.
We are doing the Super Bowl of Preaching again, and making it better than ever, because it works. It’s one of the things God used to help us to baptize over 2,000 people each year the last few years. Tens of thousands of people walking out of a church building with a smile on their face, and inspiration to push their life forward spiritually, is worth the toll we will inevitably face again.
The worst part about all of this is that the loudest voices come from people, and websites, that claim to be Christian. Yet, instead of encouraging us to keep spreading hope, instead of praying for us, instead of cheering us on (even if The Super Bowl of Preaching isn’t their cup of tea), they want to put us down. It is disappointing and disheartening, especially when Jesus calls his followers siblings and teaches that it will be our love for each other that sets us apart.
So we press on, knowing that…
In over two decades of doing the Super Bowl of Preaching, we very rarely (if ever) hear complaints from people who actually attend the event. This was especially true of the online response last year. It was apparent that many of the most ardent haters hadn’t even bothered to watch the service before sharing their opinions.
Algorithms work. The Internet isn’t passive, and it’s especially good at outrage. In a country full of divided, angry, and lonely people, it’s too easy for online “influencers” to whip followers into a frenzy that keeps them coming back—a move that makes their advertisers very happy. We are offering a different way, and it will be misunderstood, but…
Tens of thousands of people will hear about a God who loves them over Super Bowl of Preaching weekend. If the personal price we pay is steep, we have made peace with that.
Jim Rayburn, the founder of Young Life, said, “It is a sin to bore a kid with the gospel.” We think that’s also true for adults. The best story deserves the best storytelling, and one Sunday a year, at least for us, that includes mixing football jerseys and laugh-out-loud moments, with Biblical truth and impactful worship.
Our methods aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. That is fine. God’s kingdom has room enough for all of us. This year, how about we act like it?