I wonder whether words we use in churches like "traditional" and "relevant" and "contemporary" and "emergent" and "accessible" and "upbeat" are really any different in purpose and power from words used on Madison Avenue like "hand-crafted" and "imported" and "value" and "new" and "limited-edition." I wonder if they tell the whole truth about us and whether they attract the kind of "customers" the whole truth would.Read the whole thing here.
Pastors lament the lack of volunteerism and tithing in their church. They don't understand why their people fight about silly things like music preferences or the color of carpet being installed in the new childrens building. And then I go to their web sites and see the story they told to sell their church (and their God) to people. Someone in their marketing department or behind the pulpit is telling the consumer (the member) that the church is a place to be comfortable, have fun and be served, to be cool (relevant) and trendy (cutting edge) and hear music (passionate worship). The consumer believes this story, grabs a seat and enjoys the show while the preschool department pays workers to watch kids since the church member/consumer won't.
Why would she, liar? Her actions are in line with the story you told her. Don't get angry now.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
A Word from Shaun Groves
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1 comment:
I think it's hard/incorrect to make so many generalizations like this and make a true assessment from it. It's really really difficult to make a true honest assessment of a church from it's website of all things. People who sit in the stands or are outside of the church often must be somehow brought in/invited to the whole concept that church can be worthwhile and relevant/meaningful to their lives (notice I don't say "comfortable/enjoy/entertained"). Within reason, I say if Madison Ave. can use marketing, again, within certian "reason" - why can't the church? (Why should the devil have all the good music?) Making something known, heard about, described, attractive/intriguing/appealing/challenging to want to attend, (by appealing I don't mean light or false teaching) - is not a crime or sin - if done truthfully. Why shouldn't we use every means available to present the message of Christ? We do that every day in hundreds of ways we don't even realize. (Internet, voice mail messages, newspaper, telephone, cell phone, video, etc.) Yet, because something is labeled as "marketing" it gets a bad rap. I'd rather have a church that everyone in town knows about via some sort of marketing/advertising, than one that NO ONE knows about. (Like the guy I met who's lived in Iowa City for four years, had never heard of Parkview, and yet, once I told him where PV is, he realized that he's driven by Parkview every day for 4 years and never knew what it was.)
- J
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