Craig Groeschel: “It Shouldn’t Matter, But…”

Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, is in the middle of a series of posts where he is discussing things in church ministry that shouldn’t matter, but unfortunately do. He suggests, then, that they should, in a sense, matter to us if we are to reach the lost. (He points out, though, that these things don’t matter in some places in our country and in many other parts of the world.)

He begins with these three disclaimers:

1. Our goal is always to communicate Jesus and point people to Him.
2. Our goal is never to become worldly to reach people.
3. Occasionally we must adapt our ways to communicate Jesus in the world. (The message doesn’t change, but the method has to change.)

In the first post he talks about how environment, things like the quality, style, comfort, and up-to-dateness of a church building and the use of modern technology, shouldn’t matter.

In churches, environment shouldn’t matter. We shouldn’t care. But some people do. . . .

No, I don’t think a good environment will change anyone’s life. No, I don’t think it is necessary for a church to be successful. But I do think people are being conditioned to expect quality. As churches, we should do our best with what we have to create spiritually welcoming atmospheres.

In the second post he addresses the issue of dress—whether a pastor dresses cool, professional, like a slob, or like a pimp.

As pastors, our goal is never to be “cool.” But we can discredit ourselves with some people before we even start talking simply by the way we look. Or we can gain some credibility when someone thinks, “Well at least he/she looks normal.”

In the third post he deals with entertainment and says, “In the church world, entertainment shouldn’t even be a consideration. God’s Word and His presence should be enough.” But our culture and people’s infatuation with entertainment has changed things.

I’ll be honest, I don’t like to think about how to gain and keep people’s attention with humor, suspense, stories, video etc. But a wise communicator and leader understands that in today’s world, even though entertainment shouldn’t matter, when it comes to getting and keeping someone’s attention to hear about Jesus, it often does.

What do you think? Is he on target? Or should churches just stick with what does matter—living and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ—and trust God to bridge the gap by His Spirit?

Here are the three posts:

• It Shouldn’t Matter, But… (Part 1)
• It Shouldn’t Matter, But… (Part 2)
• It Shouldn’t Matter, But… (Part 3)

Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .