most churches in the united states would benefit from a pruning. much of our energy and many of our resources are being used to sustain practices, convictions, institutions and narratives that do not necessarily lead to the bearing of good fruit. we have heard hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of sermons and Bible lessons, read countless books, attended numerous seminars. although there is nothing wrong with such activities, occasionally we forget that participating in them does not necessarily make us fruitful. we may simply be like the wild, unpruned tree that continues to grow, but in a completely undisciplined fashion and with little prospect for bearing fruit. or to switch metaphors, a person who simply attends regional agricultural conferences and sits in the barn week after week studying farming magazines would not likely be mistaken for a farmer…learning a little about farming and actually bringing good fruit to harvest may require radically different practices.
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life on the vine, philip kenneson
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peace.
listen to this quote from philip kenneson’s book life on the vine:
“establishing and sustaining wholeness in all one’s relationships is no easy thing. to be in right relationship with God and one’s fellow creatures one must consistently do what is right, what God desires, what God requires. this is why scripture again and again connects peace with righteousness.”
i’ve been reading a lot on composting and gardening this week so this quote really grabbed me. peace is only peace when it’s in the context of the world around us. if i can only remain at peace inside myself, but am unable to coexist peacefully with the people and world around me, i’m not actually at peace. and the reality that righteousness and peace are tied together - blows my mind! imagine if instead of focusing on our self-righteousness we could spend that energy cultivating peace in our lives!
what do you think about this reality that as followers of Jesus we’re called to peace? and not just with God and ourselves, but with others and the natural world around us? do some word association in your mind: when i mention conservation, carbon footprint, eco-friendly does your mind jump instantly to the american church? mine doesn’t. we’ve all heard the rhetoric that the american church says one thing and does the opposite - at what point does the church take notice and change its ways?
christians are not exempt from thinking and acting as if their commitment to Christ is simply one more consumer choice. they often cast themselves, whether knowingly or not, in the role of a consumer, expecting churches to woo them with programs and services that appeal to their particular interests. in response many churches have self-consciously incorporated marketing strategies into their ways of being the church, pitching their programs and services to prospective seekers who are well-versed in such habits of thinking. by blatantly appealing to self-interest, such tactics - no matter how well meaning - neither demonstrate our love for these seekers nor cultivate the habits of thought and action that would nourish christian love.
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philip d. kenneson, life on the vine
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church promotion
it’s holy week; i can tell by the pile of ads inviting me to church this weekend. i wonder what kind of mixed message the church sends out when we do this.
we say: “God is real. he created the universe and makes all things new. he can count the hairs on your head and loves you so much he sent Jesus to die for you. we trust God completely with our lives and our church” and then we spend thousands of dollars begging you to come to our church for one hour a year, completely undermining the message that God is real, in control, and that we trust him to be in control.
QUESTION: if God is real and Jesus too, isn’t praying to him about the easter crowds what we should spend our time on? or just inviting the people we know in our lives to join us on what is supposed to be our biggest party of the year? God claims to be almighty, in control and busy working in the world to draw people to himself. what does it say about our faith in him and our belief in his power and authority when we spend so much money on ads?
but chad - what about the church and it’s call to “make disciples?” glad you asked, because certainly we are invited to be a part of God’s work in the world in revealing his love to the masses. my short answer is that your ads might make disciples, but that means by default that you aren’t.
and Jesus looked at the crowd of people, was filled with compassion and said: “see the people as market share, see them as a faceless mob, don’t get to know them until they show up on a sunday. bother them with facebook ads. overwhelm them with junk mail until you wear them down. then they’ll come to church for one hour a year. this will look incredibly hypocritical since your church proclaims to trust me completely, but i’m grateful because in all actuality i’m not capable of reaching them with my message of love and grace…”
in Jesus’ actual teachings he cried out that the fields of people were ripe with harvest, that the workers were few and that we as his followers should pray to the “Lord of the Harvest.” see the progression there? recognize the need in people’s lives, get involved in their lives and then pray to God. funny how that’s the complete opposite of spending $20,000 in a week on advertising to the faceless masses of people (my wife got a flyer from a church that called us neighbor even though our house is 30 MILES from their doors). show me a church that’s praying about people and quietly going about God’s work in the world and i’ll show you a church with the kind of spiritual maturity and depth that really IS inviting and makes me want to attend more than just one hour a year.
QUESTION: if the whole point of your marketing is to help people find God, why are you blocking our view of his mountains with your billboards and tearing down his forests to make your junk mailers? this is essentially the same point as above: God’s marketing is and always has been better than your church’s.
* (i know many of you will read this and discount it as chad just being shitty. those of you who really know me though know that i’m a born marketer. i love advertising and for years i would have thought ad campaigns could solve anything. i don’t feel that way anymore and find it a tragic waste of money when churches do. i would suggest that this is me growing.)
this is my church that i love and am proud to be a part of. anyone who wants to come is welcome. we meet at 6:45 pm on sunday nights.
