I used to be an avid WoW-player. I think I've mentioned that before. Something that didn't often come up while I was playing was my chosen profession. It's not that I was trying to hide the fact that I'm a pastor. It just never really came up.
One time it did, though. I think it was on a Saturday. I had a few hours to kill before a funeral, so I logged on and decided to run a dungeon with a pick-up group. We did pretty well as a team, so well that one of our members suggested that we find a different dungeon and do it again. I had to beg off, explaining that I had to go officiate at that funeral.
That killed the conversation for a moment or two, but then the guy who made the suggestion we keep going thanked me for my help and offered his condolences to the family.
I suspect if I passed those on, it might have raised some eyebrows. "Hey, some random guy on an MMORPG who I just met this morning is sorry for your loss."
There's one other story I could tell, but it'd take too long. Suffice to say, for about a year, WoW was a great game to play for me. And my wife. She played too. Not as much as me, but she did. But after a while, we realized what a time sink it had become and decided to bow out.
Well, an article I read recently made me nostalgic. A fellow LCMS pastor was interviewed about his WoW experiences. He talks about the game's lore, its content, and does a great job explaining what our little corner of Christianity is all about.
I offer it to you for your consideration.
Man, I feel the itch to play some games. Maybe I better fire up Mass Effect 2 soon so I don't go back to WoW.
I really enjoyed reading the other pastor's interview about WoW and the Lutheran church. It helped me understand the Lutheran perspective in a way I didn't when I was a Lutheran. (I'm now Catholic. In the time after Lutheranism and before Catholicism, I was a Norse Pagan.)
ReplyDeleteBTW, the Missouri Synod is my Most Favorite Synod ever....
Hey John! I didn't know you were a Wow player. My husband (also a pastor) and I play as well. Its something we enjoy doing together and see it as an opportunity to reach people outside our own circle.
ReplyDeleteHi, John,
ReplyDeleteI followed the link to your blog in your email sig in the ACFW Speculative group. I love the name of your blog, and I enjoyed the story you link to here. I know nothing about WoW -- don't enjoy computer game of any sort myself, not for moral reasons but merely personal preference -- but found the post informative. Good stuff!