Families and Church Growth at Wal-Mart
There are three, nay, four groups or people that are conspiring to rule the world: Starbucks, Oprah, Coca-Cola, and Wal-Mart.
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Aha! You are spot-on. American Evangelicalism is to Christ-following as Michael Vick is to pet care (both appear shiny and slick on the outside, but inside there is a rotting, a horrid evil). How could I make such a crass statement? Christ never equated His church with marketing, families or anything other than Himself. Christ’s church is His bride (Rev 19:7, 21:9) and we so often forget that fact. Do you invite people to come see your bride by passing out goodies or holding some gimmick in the hope that they will catch of glimpse of her somehow? No!, when you are first married, you tell all of your friends and everyone else you see “Come see my new wife!”
I assert that modern, programmatic, American “church” sickens Jesus and causes Him to desire to “Spit” us out of his mouth the way we might spit out a rotten tomato we have accidentally bitten into. Scripture tell us to “Be Holy” (1 Pet 1:16) and to live our lives in such a way so that our “good works” (Created in us by the Holy Spirit)(Eph 2:10) cause unbelievers to “Glorify God” (Matthew 5:16). This is how pagans like me are/were attracted to Christ and His church.
What does this look like? Does this mean we program tons of “Good works” for the local community to see? Do we send out press releases and notify everyone that another “good work” is coming? I think the ultimate example of what the Lord was talking about as recorded by Matthew, was His work on the cross. If we remember, when Jesus hung upon the cross, sacrificing Himself for my vile stenchiness (is that a word?) His Holiness, and love and care and demeanor caused the Roman Centurion in charge of murdering him to cry out “Surely this was the Son of God”.(Matt 27:54). In other words, Christ’s suffering and the way He carried Himself caused a pagan to glorify God.
This doesn’t sound like fun, I know, but God never promised anyone fun. Can we actually live lives like this, sacrificing everything for Christ? No. But the Holy Spirit who lives in me can. So, when I am shooting Pastor Matt with my airsoft gun (BTW, we play often at Rio Bend – if you are interested in joining email me!) or when I am at Wal-Mart or Chik Fil-A or when I am standing in front of a classroom of severely messed-up High Schoolers, my demeanor, life and sacrifice can be an attractive draw for the unbeliever to glorify God, giving me a chance to say something like, “We worship God out at the Cinemark in Rosenberg on Sunday morning, why not stop by and join us?” Or by Erin stopping by our neighborhood and hugging all the moms because their kids were blood-sucking vampires today. Or by any one of you and the sacrificial service you give to your neighbors, friends and unknowns as you go about your daily lives. I don’t do this nearly as much as I should, but this, I believe is how God’s Holy Word teaches us to be a part of church growth.
I wouldn’t want to be the Pastor of a modern megachurch standing on the platform of modern Evangelical marketing when the King of the Universe returns in His flaming glory to mete out Holy judgment on mankind. Imagine looking at the dirt (because you and I will) before Jesus and having to explain why instead of leading your congregation in holiness, prayer, loving outreach and sacrifice, you never taught about His Holiness, hawked your latest crappy book to a captive audience told everyone to have sex every day for a week and plastered images of your new mega playground on billboards throughout your city. (I wonder why I never get invited to church growth conferences?)
As we give thanks this week, let’s include our Pastors – none of whom fit this mold and all of whom are examples for us of Christ’s service, sacrifice and love (which, by the way is why more people are coming to the sanctuary – Hint)
Thanks for the input Jeff. I hope we all think this hard about our walk and witness. Let’s make sure we do something about it all, and not just complain and retreat….
Get well!
Our church is not “the” answer but trying to be an answer to the typical consumerism in the philosophy of most churches. Jeff we are on the same page. In general the church in the west sucks and is at best anemic in it’s impact. But my feeling that way doesn’t change anything unless I become…become the difference. So, join us in being the answer by refuting futile western church theology and philosophy by living it and believing that The Sanctuary Fellowship is attempting to be one of the answers God has resurrected into our Ft. Bend culture. Let’s join forces and commune together on changing things. We may not change everyone but we can go to our graves believing we were convicted and convincing in the way we preached and lived. I hate the way many churches “do church” but I need to love the church like Jesus did. We love your heart and the way God has constructed your mind. You are brilliant. Continue to let that brilliance shine so the next generation behind us can “get it” even more than we do! Let’s go together on the gospel and transformissional life that follows true gospel living! Jeff, You are the bomb bro!! Joe, great blog entry!!!
Anemic because they are in it for “their” church and not THE CHURCH. Growing their numbers has somehow become infinitely more important than being used by God to grow His Kingdom. We need to be in serious prayer for local churches because they do have the potential to reach many.