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:
Our goal is always to communicate Jesus and point people to Him.
Our goal is never to become worldly to reach people.
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?
GodMen targets men who are disinterested in traditional church services, where only four out of ten attenders are men. The problem is that most churches do not allow men to be men. They are too feminine, too sissy. The Christian Post has the story.
A new men’s movement is burgeoning into the Christian scene, picking up men bored in the pews and toughening them up with the other side of Jesus’ image—the table-tipping side.
“Men are a punchline in America,” said comedian Brad Stine, founder of GodMen, on ABC News. “Anything that’s masculine is considered misogynistic, suspect, trying to be oppressive. We’re none of those things.”
GodMen brings hundreds of Christian men together to do “guy stuff,” things they normally would not do in the churches. They watch professional sports screw-ups and witness a man bend a metal wrench with his bare hands. But the integral part of the movement is the raw talks, including discussions on pornography addiction.
“The biggest thing we’re trying to give them is absolute authenticity and honesty,” said Stine, who has hosted two conferences so far in Franklin, Tenn. “You get to be real and raw. We’re flawed, we’re messed up, we’re not perfect . . . we are on a journey but we screw up every single day.”
Christ’s Family Church of Hastings, Minnesota has decorated its bathroom with a racing theme in an attempt to attract men to Jesus. You can see pictures of the bathroom halfway down on this page. Here’s a snippet from their website:
Imagine . . . if you will, walking into a men’s room, where the first thing you see is a pair of chrome hubcaps on the wall. You look around and see a clock made of a rotor and brake pads. There is a huge 1989 Pennzoil sign mounted above a towel dispenser. As you step into the room you can’t help but notice a framed painting of a Renault Racer, a parking meter mounted on the wall, and a “No Parking” sign above the toilet. The wall tile is done in a black and white checked flag motif. Centered on the back wall is a picture of a Ziegler Cat Motorcycle. And the center piece of it all is a black, masterfully air brush painted partition wall, complete with flames that look so real you might get burned if you stand too close. Where do you suppose you are? The Old Brickyard at the Indianapolis 500? Nope! You have just entered the men’s room at Christ’s Family Church!
. . .
Our men’s room gives members a reason to invite people to church. That is what CFC is all about; reaching those who have become disenchanted with religion but are searching for a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Todd Friel expresses his concern regarding this kind of “evangelism.”
Somehow, a zoomy bathroom is supposed to save sinful souls. Even the local newspaper wrote an article titled, “Come for the Bathroom, Stay for the Service.” We have moved from John the Baptist proclaiming truth in the wilderness, to using a testosterone designed men’s room to lure people to a building. While there is nothing wrong with a nifty water closet, there is plenty wrong with using it to attract people to Jesus.
We implore people to come to the Savior, not come for the bathroom. We promote Jesus, not the amenities. Church is for Christians, not curiosity seekers. We win them to the Lord, not by being hip. Evangelism is to be done by church members, not the church bathroom.
Read the whole article at Christian Worldview Network.
“With scruffy posters, meaningless or naff slogans, and dated information, many of our churches are promoting the church as boring, hopelessly irrelevant, out of date and amateur.”
. . .
“Our audience are used to 21st century advertising—slick, professional, competent. They will hardly even glance at much of what we are offering. We need to chuck out the day-glo posters, meaningless jargon, hand-drawn lettering and naff jokes, and bring in professionally produced posters and witty lines.
“With churches facing declining attendance and struggling to make their message heard in an increasingly noisy world, it beggars belief that so many have a mend and make-do attitude to publicity,” says Creighton. “We have a life-changing message on offer, but we want to wrap it up in crass slogans.”
In the last couple of years the internet has spawned numerous virtual worlds or metaverses. Second Life (more at Wikipedia) is one of the most popular. Others include Active Worlds, There, Entropia Universe, Dotsoul Cyberpark, and Red Light Center. In a metaverse an individual creates an identity, chooses what he wants to look like, goes where he wants to go, does what he wants to do, and interacts with other virtual people in the ultimate social networking experience—all in a 3D environment similar to a video game. You can even pay real money to get virtual money that can be spent on virtual land and other virtual things. In the last 24 hours over $1.5 million in real money was spent on Second Life! That’s truly astounding!
These metaverses are rapidly growing communities of millions of people. I think it’s a sad testimony of human misery and discontentment. If your real life stinks, why not escape and make a better one—one without moral consequences. Unfortunately, the God-given desire for something better is misdirected. These metaverses will ultimately fail to satisfy man’s deepest longings and needs. Everything in the universe under the sun is emptiness apart from God, and that includes everything in the metaverse under the virtual sun as well.
What I find particularly interesting is the response of some Christians to this growing trend. LifeChurch.tv, the church of Craig Groeschel, which already has ten real campuses, has just planted a virtual campus in Second Life. Their hope is to be a positive influence and reach people for Christ.
We purchased an island (16 virtual acres of real estate) and have worked with both in-house and outside developers to develop the property. There are still several areas of the island that we have not developed, but we are opening the island for a “beta test” this week.
. . .
Also, on the island you will see an area dedicated to content from our friends at xxxchurch.com. I need to warn you that there is a huge problem on Second Life with porn and “virtual sex.” It is one of several reasons we are there, but it is also something that you need to be on guard about.
I commend creative ways to reach the lost, but I’m not so sure what I think of this. Are there not better ways to spend our time and money to reach people with the gospel? What are your thoughts?
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.)
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