"Have fun": Discipleship and play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein

I recently watched a news video about a new video game, one designed to teach doctors to identify trauma in their patients. The doctors who played the game tended to make fewer mistakes in assessing patients than those who didn't play.

Games can be a useful form of teaching.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples - his students - to make disciples of the nations, baptising them and teaching them everything he commanded (Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus, our master teacher, has told us to teach others. Christians teach in a variety of ways, including speaking, writing and leading by example. But can our methods also include playing games?

To my knowledge Jesus didn't teach his disciples by challenging them to a round of dominoes, and when he sat down on the mountain it was to preach a sermon, not play chess. But in his ministry he used elements found in games. Jesus often taught through asking questions, prompting people to think and respond, as one does in a game. Once, when a law expert asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life, Jesus answered with two questions: "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" (Luke 10:26). Through such questions Jesus "put the ball in his court," as the saying goes.

Jesus also used hyperbole, exaggerating objects to make a point: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?" (Matt. 7:3-4). Like the prophets and psalmists before him, Jesus played well with words.

Jesus also told parables which evaded the defenses of his hearers, entertaining them and then inviting them to identify with characters, learn from characters' choices and ask themselves questions. Games can do the same thing.

Part of why games are powerful teachers is because they are fun and interesting, absorbing players in their worlds, calling forth active involvement. Perhaps the key ingredient is play.

How might we grow as disciples if we played more often? I don't mean incorporating Settlers of Catan matches as a regular part of worship services, but cultivating an attitude of risk-taking, exploration and fun.

Truly learning any form of art (such as music, as in the comic to the right) involves practice, observation and discipline - but it also requires play. When God created the world he said it was "good" - he delighted in it. When I read the stories of Jesus' resurrection, of his incarnation as the firstborn of the new creation, I sense joy in his expression, such as when he calls out "Mary!" or when he's standing on the beach cooking fish for breakfast, waiting for his disciples to recognize him.

Hand in hand with play is confidence, which literally means having faith and trust (con - 'with',  fidere - 'trust'). A confident jazz musician performs and improvises naturally and gracefully. I wonder if the more Christlike we become, the more playful we become too. Most of the Christians I look up to have a sense of humor and are light-hearted and joyful. As Paul writes to the Philippian church, "Rejoice always!" We're able to play when we trust the people we're playing with. It follows then that as we grow in deeper trust in God, we also become more playful, more relaxed.

But play is not neutral. The games we play shape us, for better or worse. The organisation Ultimate Spirit understands this. Based in Manchester, they seek to bring together as many people from diverse backgrounds as possible through teaching and playing the sport Ultimate Frisbee. They are enthusiastic about the game, but as one of the organisers explained to me, they also have a philosophical motive. Ultimate Frisbee is self-refereed at all levels, expecting and trusting in each player's honesty. By encouraging people to play a sport with such an ethos, they grow an atmosphere of equal, dispersed governance and responsibility. What looks like just another club turns out to be quite revolutionary.

Beyond games, we play when we watch films, read novels and listen to music, and all of these activities influence our discipleship, nourishing our faith or tripping us up. How does our leisure time, our Sabbath rest, affect our character? Do we regularly practise Sabbath rest?

And what kinds of games, stories, songs do we create, knowing that these can be used by God to influence, teach and inspire others towards God's kingdom and Christ?

I remember advice a pastor once gave me as I picked up my guitar, preparing to lead the congregation in worship: "Have fun." Yes, singing and strumming require focus and a reverent attitude towards God. But worship also involves basking in God's goodness and mercy to us in so many forms. For this all we can do is give thanks - responding to the One who gives, the One who loves us - with delight.