05/06/2026
FROM "THUS SAITH THE LORD" TO "DID YOU SEE ARSENAL'S LINEUP? Why Are Pastors Turning Pulpits into Platforms for Football Banter? - EVEN WEEKS AFTER OF THE FOOTBALL COMPETITION.
There is a generation of pastors who no longer tremble at the weight of the pulpit.
The altar that once carried fire has now become a place of jokes, football scores, and endless talk about clubs and leagues. We have moved from “Thus saith the Lord” to “Did you see Arsenal’s lineup?”
Let me ask for Christ's sake, because I don’t still understand it, didn’t we already see enough of Arsenal and football in the world? In stadiums, on screens, in conversations, in social media feeds, everywhere? So why does the pulpit now and still carrying it as a central theme, EVEN WEEKS AFTER OF THE FOOTBALL COMPETITION.
Why are we now witnessing services where Football discussions take significant time, Banter becomes part of ministry flow, even thanksgiving is redirected toward teams and sporting events, and the seriousness of the gospel feels reduced in comparison.
These are honest questions, not accusations, because the concern is not knowledge of football, it is the placement of weight and raises more concerns when our bishops are among those doing this.
When the altar begins to reflect what already dominates culture outside, we must ask: What then makes the church distinct? Bringing football analysis into church services is not automatically “a sin,” but shouldn’t be brought in the first place and the problem is when it replaces or competes with the purpose of the gathering because the church service has a defined assignment which is: Edification of the saints (Ephesians 4:11–12), Preaching of Christ and the gospel (1 Corinthians 2:2), Conviction, repentance, and spiritual growth (2 Timothy 4:2). So, the central focus is not neutral conversation, but spiritual formation.
Talking about football, Arsenal, or match analysis is not “doctrine” in itself, but the question is not whether it is doctrine, the question is what place it now occupies.
And this is where voices like Dr. Abel Damina often stand out in discussion, not as a comparison for personality, but as an example people point to when they speak about guarding the pulpit. Many observe that he consistently maintains a clear boundary: the altar is for Christ, not entertainment cycles, not comedy dominance, and not distractions that replace the burden of the message.
This raises another question: If some pastors can maintain that level of restraint and focus, why do others feel increasingly free to turn the same altar into a space of extended banter, cultural commentary, and even football celebration? We even hear extreme expressions like thanksgiving services for football teams, pulpit jokes centered on clubs and matches, and statements like a team is cursed, being said in spiritual tones.
So we must ask again sincerely, at what point did this become part of the assignment of the church? at what point did we move from preaching Christ to mixing Christ with commentary culture, football banter? at what point did the altar begin to carry what the world already has in abundance?
The danger is very subtle, It is not that football exists, It is that the weight of the gospel begins to share space with what has no eternal assignment., and when that happens consistently, something shifts: the seriousness of the Word reduces when gatherings feels like a regular and a secular entertainment/fun places, the hunger for depth weakens, the identity of the gathering becomes unclear, and the line between church and culture begins to blur.
So, the question remains open, and must be answered by those who stand on the pulpit: What exactly is the direction of the altar becoming?
