The Prostitution of the Gospel Through Marketing

A while back I wrote a post called 5 Arguments Against the Use of Media and Marketing in Church (I followed up with a related post about hologram pastors here). Not surprisingly I received some pretty irate feedback from other pastors. But today Eric Seiberling posted a very even-handed response disagreeing with me that is worth reading if you’re interested in this subject. I really appreciate Eric’s thoughtful response. Having said that, Eric and I definitely disagree:

Marketing and media is just another tool.  It changes the dynamics of reach, immediacy and immersion of a message, but it does not change it. The message is the message.

If tools are neutral then he’s right. We can put the gospel on a postcard and all we have to worry about is being faithful to the message. But there are two problems with that. First, tools are not neutral; hammers, televisions, and guns are all engineered for purposes and with technology which prejudice their use. At the very least tools participate in the shaping of their subject in ways that are beyond the control (and sometimes beyond the awareness) of the operator. At worst they dominate to the point of becoming the message and even transforming the operator (yes, like a ring of power!). Personally, I think the degree to which that domination occurs depends on the amount of power the tool facilitates (for example, guns prejudice their own use and shape the character of their operators more powerfully than, say, hammers). There are few tools more powerful these days than media.

But there’s a second problem beyond the prejudice of tools. If you think the gospel is a propositional message meant to lead people to an action (like the sinners prayer) then any delivery system will do – indeed, the more powerful and compelling the “call to action” the better. But the gospel is not merely information to be conveyed, it is a person who must be both proclaimed and demonstrated. And because that person is not physically available to us, the means of proclamation becomes a demonstration of his reality. Hence, there’s simply no way to proclaim the gospel of Christ without personally, locally, and relationally demonstrating him. Marketing seeks to bypass that inefficiency, and in doing so eliminates the presence of Christ from the gospel. Do we really want to personify Christ in the same way that Madison Avenue personifies, say, Oprah Winfrey or Colonel Sanders?

Is it even possible to represent Christ with postcards, television commercials, and propaganda films without irreparable misrepresentation (Ceci n’est pas une Christ? – HT: Chris Nelson)? As far as I know, there is only one ikon that embodies the image of Christ on earth – the Church – and that ikon is so obviously flawed that dressing it up in marketing lipstick just makes her look, to the rest of the world, like a cheap prostitute.

Case in point: is this really an accurate embodiment of Christ?

Or this?

Or, my personal favorite:

Each of these are real examples of church marketing products (mass-mailer postcards) from one of the largest and most successful church marketing companies in the U.S. (yes, there’s profit in this). I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that these postcards distort Christ in ways that range from mildly perplexing to blatantly idolatrous. Especially in the last two, the medium really is the message, and the message is most definitely not the gospel. Moreover, this is not just about the intent of the user or designer (although that clearly is a factor); marketing inherently tends toward expressions of leisure, affluence, and power in the same way that hammers tend toward expressions of blunt force. Otherwise they just don’t work because of the prejudice of their technology and design.

I’ll admit there are many nuances to be explored in this topic, and I do think media can be used by churches in missional and educational ways. Perhaps I’ll explore some thoughts on that in the future, but in the meantime I think my friend Bill Kinnon says it best:

What we win them with, is what we win them to. Win them with entertainment, and you’ve created customers – who expect to be continually entertained.

Picking up our crosses and following Jesus is not particularly attractive. Buying into a worldview where the last are first, and the first are last doesn’t win us any earthly popularity awards – and seems antithetical to the North American Dream.

Death to self. Becoming weak and poor. Identifying with the marginalized. Relinquishing the American Dream. Try putting that on a postcard and see who shows up.

Technorati Tags: Church, Eric Seiberling, Gospel, Jesus Christ, marketing, Media

Been There, Done That

Today the Ikon folks met at Grape Day Park in Escondido to have a Thanksgiving meal with our friends who live in the Park. For the past six months Cory and Crissy Verner have spent every Saturday having coffee and donuts with these folks, making friendships and immersing themselves in the lives of people who are typically overlooked. Once a month a few of us join them, bring real food, get to know people, offer haircuts, etc. Today they wanted to share the holiday with their new friends in a meaningful way.

Several things surprised me about the gathering, but one thing didn’t.

I was surprised how many people turned out. There were probably over 100 folks there today, and at least 30 of them came to bring food for our friends in the park. Wow.

I was surprised at how peacefully the event unfolded. I’ve done a ton of feeding programs at churches and non-profit centers as a pastor, and it’s not uncommon for a large gathering like this to grow tense (or worse) with people cutting in line, jockeying for position and taking more than their share. There was none of that today. I think this is because our approach all along has been that we’re not feeding the homeless, we’re eating with our friends. Cory and Crissy embody this approach perfectly and did a great job of setting it up like a large family picnic. People chatted in line, piled their plates, and plopped onto blankets in small groups scattered around the area. Kids played football and stormed the playground. It was genuinely fun and restful.

I was surprised we didn’t get a ticket. The Verners have been progressively harassed by the Park Police over the past few months because it’s illegal to feed the homeless there. We do it anyway because we think that’s stupid, immoral, and discriminatory – but we’ve always been discreet about it and it’s always been much smaller than this. Today a Park cop showed up, saw all the people sitting on blankets laughing and eating together and said, “This is a good thing. I’m not going to call it in.” Then he stayed and chatted for awhile. Wow again.

I was surprised how many different churches were involved. As I walked around meeting people I counted 6 different churches from a variety of traditions represented. This wasn’t intentional. As word organically spread over the past few weeks other churches jumped on board, officially and unofficially. It was inspiring and humbling to see.

I wasn’t surprised when someone expressed disappointment that we weren’t sharing the gospel. I’ve come to expect this from Christians. We’ve been telling ourselves for a couple hundred years now that the gospel is an intellectual formula about Jesus and heaven, so it comes as no surprise to me when people expect a speech about that formula.

I was proud of my wife Jenell who replied, “These people already know about that, they don’t need to hear it again from us. Actually, I think most of them have more faith than we do. What they need now is relationships.”

Exactly.

Every Saturday around the time Cory and Crissy go to the park another man shows up with his bible and preaches a message. Every week he says the same thing: “You’re sinners; you’re filthy and depraved; your addictions are keeping you from God and you’re going to Hell; turn to God and be saved.” This means saying the sinners prayer so they’ll go to heaven when they die – because that’s what’s really important. Additionally, the natural, yet deeply superstitious implication is that if they do so, some of their immediate problems might start going away too.

Now – never mind for the moment that I don’t think this is the gospel – Jenell and I have taken an informal poll, and as near as we can tell they’ve all been there and done that already…multiple times in most cases. In fact, in 15 years of ministry in 3 different States we’ve never met a homeless person that didn’t profess Christ. They’re so desperate they’ll pray anything if it means getting some relief for their hunger, their illness, their woundedness, and their hopelessness. You would too.

But it doesn’t help.

Praying a sinner’s prayer won’t fill your belly. It doesn’t fix mental illness, it won’t get you a job and it won’t dry your addictions. I don’t even think it will get you into heaven when you die (but that’s another blog post).

Here’s what does help: people. God, yes…but God through people. What helps us is deeply committed, compassionate people who are willing to get to know us, suffer with our dysfunctions, love us in spite of our shit, help us re-build our lives, and include us in the little things. As John says,

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)

That’s where God resides. That’s where we “see” him – in the vacuum of human need, which then fills to overflowing with life as the abundance of God flows from person to another. This is a significant implication of the incarnation of Christ, and every time we do it we’re literally “sharing” the gospel.

Sadly, not may Christians I’ve met have been there and done that. It’s way too hard, too messy, and too frightening. But that is where salvation lies, for both the giver and the receiver. In my recent series on the Kingdom and Economy I quoted Bryant Myers, and he’s worth quoting here again:

“Poverty is a result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable.”

There’s an indispensable place for proclaiming the audaciously disruptive news of Christ’s Kingship, but for those who’ve already heard, our urgent task is to demonstrate the gospel as a life of deeply just and harmonious relationships that manifest redeeming love between people.

Technorati Tags: 1 John, Bryant Myers, Gospel, Grape Day Park, homeless, Ikon Community, Jesus Christ, poor, poverty, Salvation, Thanksgiving

Church Told to Stop Feeding Hispanics

In an astonishing decision, a local zoning hearing has determined that a Phoenix church can no longer serve a weekly pancake breakfast to Hispanics.

Retired Arizona Supreme Court justice Bobb Crockeran, serving as a hearing officer, ruled Monday that feeding the Hispanics at a place of worship can be banned by city ordinance. The decision affects all Phoenix churches with underlying residential zoning.

Over the summer, city officials maintained that the church violated Phoenix zoning code by feeding the Hispanics on its property, a use that can only occur in commercial or industrial zones. City officials said the decision is effective immediately.

The church argued that it is within it’s constitutional rights to serve people’s needs on its property according to its religious beliefs. But the Crockeran disagreed:

In a 19-page opinion, Crockeran said the city can restrict where Hispanics can be fed and that zoning regulations apply to everyone equally. Additionally, he said that trumping land-use regulations is not a constitutional right.

The controversy over the weekly pancake worship service arose last spring after neighbors complained about an increase of Hispanics sleeping and loitering in alleys, incidents of burglary, aggressive panhandling, vandalism, public intoxication, prostitution and public urination. Parents of preschool students on the church campus complained that their children encountered Hispanics in school hallways.

North-central Phoenix resident Stephen Tozier said he’s pleased with Crockeran’s decision.

“This decision is more about protecting a residential area than anything else,” he said. “The nice part is the church can support the Hispanics elsewhere [...] but we can’t move the residential neighborhood.”

Peter Barres, a Phoenix neighborhood activist who spoke at last month’s zoning-adjustment hearing, said churches must be mindful that zoning rules and restrictions apply to everyone.

“It’s not a Hispanic issue, per se, it’s the fact that you need to have some control, and that’s what the zoning ordinance provides,” he said. “It’s not a problem with Hispanic people in wealthy neighborhoods. That would be a matter of prejudice. This issue would be setting churches up to avoid zoning ordinances.”

Oops, there must be something wrong with my keyboard! Everywhere it says “Hispanics” it’s supposed to say “poor and homeless.” My bad (okay, I changed the names too). The whole news story is here.

Actually, the issues are exactly the same.

These are the very same fear-based arguments that have always been made to rationalize the prejudicial dehumanization of hated groups of people, be they of a different color, a different nationality, or a different socio-economic group. Whether it was mid-century Jim Crow laws, modern immigration vitriol, anti-gay hatred, or intolerance of the poor, marginalized and hated people are always unjustly characterized as disgusting criminals and the laws that promote discrimination are always whitewashed in the benign language of “community concern.” Notice, too, how a local ordinance that actually promotes the dehumanization of an entire group of people is characterized as as protecting equality.

The dehumanization of any person never produces equality, never truly protects anyone, and is never in the best interests of a community. It’s time to stop treating certain people like a sub-species. This is what the gospel is for.

Technorati Tags: charity, Equality, Gospel, homeless, mission, News, poor, poverty

The Arrogant Bastard Church

Ever since I wrote The Mega-Freeloader Church I’ve been thinking about a blog series that examines different cultural phenomena in the West as a way of re-imagining certain aspects of church ecclesiology. When I saw David Fitch’s post today – A Warning List For Those Who Would Join the Missional Church – I knew I needed to start my series with this:

Introducing “The Arrogant Bastard Church.”

No, I’m not talking about Mars Hill (either of them). For those of you who love beer you may know that I’m talking about some of the best beer known to man – and, happily, it’s practically made in my own backyard at fabulous place called Stone Brewery. Have a gander at the prose on the back label of a bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale: Continue reading…

Technorati Tags: Arrogant Bastard Ale, beer, Church, David Fitch, ecclesiology, Gospel, Jesus Christ, missio dei, missional

Honk if You're Going to Hell

As I was driving with my daughter this morning I noticed the following bumper sticker on the car in front of me:

“Eternal hell awaits those who question God’s unconditional love.”

Naturally, the letters were stylized in a fiery font meant to convey the literal flames of Hell and the excruciating (no pun intended) torment that would surely accompany such a punishment. When I first read it a flood of questions invaded my mind: “What makes the driver think that bumper sticker is a valid expression of the gospel?” and “Does the driver really believe this is an effective means of conveying the gospel or is it just that their personal sense of spiritual validity is derived from presenting an acutely polarizing brand of religion?” and “Is it even possible in a post-Christian culture to present God’s justice (including His judgment) in a way that won’t be understood against the historical backdrop of horribly twisted theology and practice?“  But all these questions were quickly crowded out by a sudden realization: Continue reading…

Technorati Tags: bumper stickers, Culture, Gospel, Hell, judgment, justice

Sociopaths Need Jesus Too

Technorati Tags: Atonement, Forgiveness, Gospel, guilt, Micahel Spencer, Penal Substitution, Sartre, Scot McNight, sin

Dear Preacher

Dear Preacher,

I really do hate this part of my job, but I suppose someone must do it. You’re definitely going to want to sit down for this; it seems I’m the bearer of bad news.

I’m afraid we’ve decided not to “pick up your option” this year, so to speak. That is, we’re letting you go.

Now don’t get me wrong, we think you’ve done a marvelous job (that joke you told last Sunday was brilliant! “Coffee break’s over…” Ha! That line gets me every time! You know, you have a real knack for making people laugh?). Still, sadly, your artistry just doesn’t seem to be necessary anymore.

After intensive biblical review we’ve discovered that your particular set of skills is actually best suited for proclaiming the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection to people who otherwise don’t already know about it.

Well, surely you see the problem. That just isn’t news to folks around here anymore (which I suppose explains why you’ve had to work so hard at making your speeches so wonderfully entertaining of late. In the absence of real news, entertainment is the next logical choice for keeping people’s attention). Worse still, the latest demographic information tells us that emerging generations aren’t drawn by preaching, and the best theologians are telling us that entertainment has no place on Sunday morning.

Now, I want to assure you that we’ve looked high and low to find a suitable place for you. We immediately thought the classes and small groups would be the best fit, but it turns out those are already full of teachers, and, to be perfectly frank, they say you talk too much and don’t leave room for dialogue (just between you and me, though, I think they don’t want to compete with your charisma). In fact, truth be told, we’ve decided the best thing to do with Sunday mornings is plug in a good, strong teacher with an ESV Bible to “feed the sheep,” so-to-speak, along with a stiff shot of ancient liturgy (I don’t mind telling you we’re quite excited about that one!).

Next we thought of outreach ministries, but everyone there says preaching scares folks off and sends a message of “manipulation.” After all, those good people are busy feeding the poor and they did just buy that big red banner that says, “No strings attached!” So, I suppose they do have a point about mixed-messages and all. I guess you could say that, as a vintage, preaching just doesn’t pair well with the soup they serve! (Sorry for the pun, I suppose I should leave the humor to you!) However, they did ask me to invite you to come and say a prayer before the meal. Well now, that’s something, isn’t it?

Of course parking lot ministries won’t do; you don’t lead a rock band (do you?); you don’t know how to edit video or run a multi-media team; and you’re far too overqualified to maintain the facility…and, well, that pretty much covers everything we do here at The Great Western Church.

I truly am sorry – but you know, you can’t appreciate how hard this has been on me! This is all been rather awkward. I’ve tortured myself to find an alternative place for you, but I just can’t think of a suitable job in a post-Christian culture for someone who’s gifted, trained, and compelled to be a herald for the gospel.

Ah well, chalk it up to changing “market forces” I suppose. Enclosed you’ll find your severance check. Best of luck to you and all our prayers as well.

Sincerely,

The Committee on Ecclesiology

Technorati Tags: Church, consumer church, Gospel, Preaching

Birds, the Bible, and broken down cars

Update #1: Jenell (no, not my wife Jenell surprisingly), has posted a brilliant and hilarious response to John Piper’s latest strange rant about the Lutheran and bad weather. Trust me, read it.

Update #2: Greg Boyd has the unforgivable audacity to weigh in on the discussion of John Piper’s recent post with scientific understanding and common sense. Scandalous!

Update #3: Today (8/22) John Piper clarifies his intentions about the tornado blog post. I have tremendous respect for Piper’s life and work, but frankly I’m having a hard time swallowing his explanation. His entire original post was written to single out the ECLA and their particular sin. How can he credibly claim that he was making a general point?

Update #4: Michael Spencer (aka the Internet Monk) weighs in with his thoughts on the whole topic. His post is excellent…but then, I would think so because I agree. : )

_____

Daryll Dash began his blog series on the topic of God’s sovereignty and evil today, and he does a great job of modeling a humble, reasonable, and irenic tone. In other words, he’s everything I’m not.

The whole post is worth reading here, but the main scriptural points he makes are:

• God controls the events of the natural world, including the weather (Psalm 65:9-11; Psalm 135:6-7; Psalm 147:15-18; Jeremiah 5:22; Nahum 1:3; Acts 14:17). God governs the events of nature.
• God sometimes favors one group over another through natural events (Genesis 41:32; Exodus 9:13-26; Amos 4:7).
• According to Jesus, this divine control extends over even the smallest details (Matthew 5:45; Matthew 6:26-30; Luke 12:4-7).
• Jesus, as God, calmed the sea at his command (Matthew 8:23-27).

Let me begin by addressing the passages themselves:

Continue reading…

Technorati Tags: Arminianism, Bill Kinnon, Calvinism, creation, Darryl Dash, Gospel, nature, sovereignty

How Eddie Gibbs Ruined My Life

Picture me in the year 2002. A blissfully content 30-year-old youth pastor for a delightfully hip little church nestled in an upscale Rocky Mountain resort town. Skiing and snowboarding with affluent teenagers was my job. I highly recommend it.

What I don’t recommend is disturbing your ambitious ministry career with the highly upsetting claims of trouble-makers like Eddie Gibbs. IVP seemed insistent, in those days, on sending me books in the mail and on one of those fateful days of the young millennium they sent me a slyly unassuming book titled, Church Next.

I’m quite sure I was duped into reading it by the tastefully conservative cover art; its throng of crowds promising ministry prosperity to all who thumbed the pages. As if that weren’t enough, early on Mr. Gibbs sprinkled his prose with references to “post-modernism,” an intoxicating topic for young Gen-X pastors longing to make their own profound ecclesiological mark in an Evangelicalism largely dominated by ex Jesus movement hippies who still waxed wild-eyed from time to time about the “Christian communes” and counter-cultural radicalisms of their own youth.

Continue reading…

Technorati Tags: Church, clergy, consumer church, discipleship, Eddie Gibbs, gifts, Gospel, marketing, mission, twoshirts.org

The Re-emergence of Suffering as a Virtue, Part 3

Technorati Tags: art, Culture, Film, gifts, Gospel, missio dei, mission