The Game Room Rev

Excerpt from "Profane Evangelism: Taking the Gospel into the Unholy Places" by Mark Van Houten (Pages 88-89)

Besides bars, game rooms are also good places for Christians to exhibit God's power. People still believe that God is an ogre who hates to see anyone having fun. Almost daily, young people ask me what business a minister has in a game room. The game room, I tell them, is where I feel particularly close to God.

Seriously, there are always a lot of children in the game room. We are all the children of God. When we learn these games, just as when we begin to learn about God, we fight them, and we fight God. But when we understand the game, and when we begin to understand God, we can stop fighting and start enjoying ourselves—start scoring big.

"But a lot of us are addicted to these machines. Do you think that's good?"

"No, but in this respect, these games are very similar to the God-game of life. God allows us the freedom to make mistakes. Besides getting addicted to games, we can also make the mistake of becoming obsessed with our own desires, rather than enjoying God's creation in honor of Him."

"I see, it's like living to eat rather than eating to live."

"Yes, almost an exact analogy."

"You know, a lot of kids who have seen you but never talked to you call you the 'Game Room Rev.' When you get a high score on one of these games, and you get to punch in your initials, you always put 'R.E.V.,' don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Is that how you got the nickname 'The Game Room Rev?'"

"Yeah, at least I think so."

"You're not offended by that?"

"Should I be? Well, I guess according to what you said, it's probably a great name—at least for me. You make God sound so, well, so real and fun."