As a Red Sox fan I remember the first time I saw Johnny Damon in a Yankees uniform... something was just 'off' about it. Seriously? Pin stripes?
Mark Driscoll implies in his book 'Vintage Church' that many churches are dying today because they do not have the proper technology. Yes, technology. I just got an image in my head of Christ coming down to earth and saying, "My people, if only you ponied up the $2400 for the Sony Bravia SXRD projector as oppose to settling for Dell's M109 base model, THEN you would have really communicated the gospel..."
The sad part is... there is an element of truth to this. There are churches that will never get a visitor under the age of 50 because of the size, style, name, and archetecture of their building. On the other hand, a few miles down the rode is a new church that bought out a warehouse with a stylish new sign 'Epic Church.' Its obvious they have renovated the building and dropped a good deal of coin on that sign... and I can guarantee that they have had several new folks stroll on through the doors, mostly because "that sign is wicked nice."
And while I am not saying I believe this is right, I really think many people will stay at a church if it has a nice coffee shop, the pastor is attractive and well dressed (bonus points if he/she sits on a stool while preaching), there's a nice projector (see projector joke above), good lighting, and so on.
Allow me to predict some responses: "Jay, as the Church, we need to become relevant. We need to reach the culture where they are at. We need to be up to date on our technology if we are ultimatley going to be effective." And while I would agree with some of those statements to an extent, what are churches who don't have money (LOUD COUGH) supposed to do? The last time I read the book of Acts, Jesus did not give the disciples gift cards to Best Buy so that they could have effective ministries. Instead, it was the Holy Spirit that lead and guided the Early Church and it is the Holy Spirit that leads and guides us today. So, what do you think? Does God ever call a struggling low income church to drop $5000+ on a new (fill in the blank) so that we can become more contemporary?
I would love to hear some people's thoughts.
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I know someone who stopped going to their church because they spent an excess of money on building a new sanctuary. Isn't it Jesus who said "feed the hungry, clothe the naked"? I think that any church that spreads that message will get the types of people in it who should be there.
ReplyDeleteGreat questions Jason.
ReplyDeleteFirst, technology can never be a priority in itself. For it to be useful, it must serve us not us serve it.
One of our highest priorities is of course communicating God's Word and the Gospel. If technology can help us effectively do that, it is a useful tool. Microphones and speakers are also technology for the same purpose, even though we hardly even consider that tech anymore.
When we gather, one of our priorites is worship. Can we focus on God together more with a powerpoint then looking at a hymnal? Maybe.
The common thread is that technology CAN help serve our priorities, but up to date technology is not NECESSARY for anything that we do as the church.
Second, it seems anecdotally true that churches with the newest technology attract the most (particularly young people). These tend to also be the biggest churches. Whether they are seeing more kingdom growth or transfer growth probably varies church to church.
I am no critic of technology. For the most part, I like and use it. My fear (perhaps unfounded) is that too much focus on tech only adds to the consumerism that many Christians have carried over for our culture.
My guess is that Driscoll was referring more to churches that refuse to use technology than those who can't afford it.
jay, my wife and i helped plant a church in va beach. no projector, no building, no fulltime pastor, no music, no greeters, and sometimes no sermons. but we did gather together and worship, celebrate (party), pray, etc. i think you get the idea. did it have massive numeric growth? nope. it just wasn't the order of the day. however, families who were addicted to substances, involved in gangs, and worked in prostitution became a solid part of a body of believers, participating fully.
ReplyDeletei haven't read the book, so i can't say Driscoll is wrong. i can say that beautiful things do happen without much money:)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
ReplyDeleteEmily- I wonder if it is ever justified to spend an exuberant amount of money on a new building...
The church I am currently serving at has plans to build a new building and there are many people on both sides who air frustrations: "Imagine how much we could do to help others with the money that will be spent on the new building..." and then, "Imagine how much more we will be able to do for our children, youth, and families with the new building..." What do you think?
Dan- I agree with your idea that 'improved technology' is something that is not essential to the spreading of the gospel, but should only be considered if it could greatly contribute to the ministry of the church. But even that statement leaves room for a lot of grey as to what is a legitimate purchase. I know my flesh is good at justifying just about anything I want to do.
Brad- That's awesome. A great reminder that incarnational and relational ministry doesn't require power points and a beautiful building.
My church doesn't fit into the norm when it comes to these categories. During college, I became a member of Desperation Church in Liberty, and many of the things I love about it pertain to this list. It has a coffee bar, but it's all run by dedicated volunteers who enjoy doing it (i.e. it wasn't the pastor's idea in order to bring in the hip crowd). We have church in a warehouse...not because it's hip, but because it was the building God provided thirteen or fourteen years ago when the church was started (before it was cool to have church in a warehouse, I might add. haha). We don't spend money on things like stained glass windows or pretty carpeting or fancy billboards, and the pastor almost *never* brings up money at all, and yet all our needs as a church are taken care of by generous people who give from their hearts. I kind of think that when you trust God to take care of you and your church, and leave the growing of the Church as a whole to him, he will take care of it. All we can do is do our best to throw out the seed, and let him nurture and change people's hearts by the Spirit. :)
ReplyDeleteI do like Mark Driscoll's idea of delivering a timeless message in a timely manner, though. I feel like if we have access to technology and innovative methods, there isn't anything terribly wrong with using them to impact a new generation for Christ. (Luke 16:9 offers some insight here, too, I believe.)
-c