What are We Selling?
I recently read an ad for a church in a newspaper. Here are some disturbing numbers from the ad:
14 - number of first person pronouns (we, us)
16 - number of second person pronouns (you, yourself)
3 - number of times the word ‘worship’ was used (never with a subject or object)
0 - number of references to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible
0 - number of references to sin (unless you count the remark about being ‘not perfect,’ which is apparently, ‘nothing to be ashamed of.’)
1 - number of times it was insinuated that other churches’ music is boring and messages irrelevant
If you get what you emphasize, this ad will inevitably produce a consumer-driven congregation. One should expect no less when so much emphasis is placed on the individual. Thirty times the author or the reader was addressed in this ad for the church; not once was Christ ever mentioned. This is remarkable when one considers that it was Christ who died for the church (Ephesians 5:25), who established and builds the church (Matthew 16:18), who is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23), who walks among the churches (Revelation 1:13-18), and that the church itself is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).
This ad is also inherently deceptive. In the first line of the ad the reader is told that although they are imperfect, it’s ‘nothing to be ashamed of.’ First of all, we are imperfect because we sin, and that is certainly something of which we are to be ashamed. But our sins are more than imperfections – they are an offense against a holy, righteous God. If we aren’t mortified by our sinfulness, we don’t understand the Gospel at all. Herein lies the deception. How do you call people to repentance when you have already told them that their sin isn’t that bad and it shouldn’t bring them shame? How can they view their sins as offensive to God after you’ve labeled them inoffensive? How can the Gospel be good news when there really is no bad news? Downplaying sin is never acceptable, and when we do it to attract a crowd, we must either preach another gospel or repent of our deceit and ask forgiveness; otherwise, we fail to maintain our integrity as a church.
Additionally, this ad insinuates that the messages (sermons) in other churches are an irrelevant waste of time. If by irrelevant the author of the ad is describing moralistic lessons with fun stories and clever illustrations designed to make the hearer feel good about himself, all weakly supported by one ill-suited, out of context proof-text, then I concur. But since the author is seeking to reach those disenchanted with regular church (or the unchurched), more likely he is referring to sermons more expository in nature, that involve thought, that challenge the intellect, that require the opening of the Bible, that are Scripture-driven, that explore the depths of Scripture by viewing individual passages in light of the whole, and that are longer than twenty minutes**. We must remember that no matter how a person feels about a particular sermon, if the Word of God is being rightly preached, it is never irrelevant. The Word of God is relevant, always relevant, and is to be proclaimed without compromise.
Finally, the author of the ad implies that the music at other churches is boring. This is problematic for several reasons. To begin with, music is quite possibly the most subjective element in the church (or for that matter, the culture). Again we see the appeal to the unchurched, to those who’ve had it with their parents’ church. Church music is out of date; it’s antiquated; no one talks that way anymore; people today won’t listen to it. But this line of discussion really misses the larger problem: Music does not equal worship.
Corporate worship (which is what this ad is inviting people to attend) involves so much more than just music. It involves hearing and responding to the Word, observing the ordinances (sacraments), singing of praises to God (not singing songs about singing songs), prayer, liturgies, giving, and so much more. Corporate worship can certainly be evangelistic, but that is not its primary purpose. The primary purpose of corporate worship is for the body of Christ to glorify Almighty God, and is most effective when focused on the objective truths of Scripture rather than on the subjective emotions of the worshipers. When someone finds the music in a corporate worship service boring, they have really missed the whole point; they have made the corporate worship service about themselves. This is what should be expected when we lead people to believe that church is all about them.
That is exactly what this ad communicates.
Lest you think that I am being too harsh, that I am speaking out of line or out of ignorance, let me confess to you that not long ago I would have run such an ad for our church with no reservations. I listened to the influential Christian leaders who claimed that our churches would never grow without effective marketing. I worked at finding new ways to disguise ‘church words’ so as not to scare away unbelievers. I believed that we needed to do whatever it took to get people into the doors of our church.
Then someone called me on the carpet.
Through the book Ashamed of the Gospel by John F. MacArthur, Jr., God confronted me with one simple question: Did I believe the Gospel is the power of God for salvation? I began to see that by ‘removing stumbling blocks,’ I had inadvertently removed the biggest stumbling block – the Gospel itself. No one could reject what I was presenting, because I had manipulated it as to remove all offense. But the Bible tells us that’s exactly what the Gospel is:
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:20-25
…the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. Galatians 5:11b
We do a great disservice to the potential believer when we soften the message of the Gospel to make it palatable in today’s culture. We do a great disservice to the church when the worship of God is compromised with the entertainment of men. And we call our God a liar when we conclude that the Gospel itself is inadequate to do what He said it would do.
May the Church for which Christ died honor Him in all things.
-----------------------
**”Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true of false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
14 - number of first person pronouns (we, us)
16 - number of second person pronouns (you, yourself)
3 - number of times the word ‘worship’ was used (never with a subject or object)
0 - number of references to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible
0 - number of references to sin (unless you count the remark about being ‘not perfect,’ which is apparently, ‘nothing to be ashamed of.’)
1 - number of times it was insinuated that other churches’ music is boring and messages irrelevant
If you get what you emphasize, this ad will inevitably produce a consumer-driven congregation. One should expect no less when so much emphasis is placed on the individual. Thirty times the author or the reader was addressed in this ad for the church; not once was Christ ever mentioned. This is remarkable when one considers that it was Christ who died for the church (Ephesians 5:25), who established and builds the church (Matthew 16:18), who is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23), who walks among the churches (Revelation 1:13-18), and that the church itself is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).
This ad is also inherently deceptive. In the first line of the ad the reader is told that although they are imperfect, it’s ‘nothing to be ashamed of.’ First of all, we are imperfect because we sin, and that is certainly something of which we are to be ashamed. But our sins are more than imperfections – they are an offense against a holy, righteous God. If we aren’t mortified by our sinfulness, we don’t understand the Gospel at all. Herein lies the deception. How do you call people to repentance when you have already told them that their sin isn’t that bad and it shouldn’t bring them shame? How can they view their sins as offensive to God after you’ve labeled them inoffensive? How can the Gospel be good news when there really is no bad news? Downplaying sin is never acceptable, and when we do it to attract a crowd, we must either preach another gospel or repent of our deceit and ask forgiveness; otherwise, we fail to maintain our integrity as a church.
Additionally, this ad insinuates that the messages (sermons) in other churches are an irrelevant waste of time. If by irrelevant the author of the ad is describing moralistic lessons with fun stories and clever illustrations designed to make the hearer feel good about himself, all weakly supported by one ill-suited, out of context proof-text, then I concur. But since the author is seeking to reach those disenchanted with regular church (or the unchurched), more likely he is referring to sermons more expository in nature, that involve thought, that challenge the intellect, that require the opening of the Bible, that are Scripture-driven, that explore the depths of Scripture by viewing individual passages in light of the whole, and that are longer than twenty minutes**. We must remember that no matter how a person feels about a particular sermon, if the Word of God is being rightly preached, it is never irrelevant. The Word of God is relevant, always relevant, and is to be proclaimed without compromise.
Finally, the author of the ad implies that the music at other churches is boring. This is problematic for several reasons. To begin with, music is quite possibly the most subjective element in the church (or for that matter, the culture). Again we see the appeal to the unchurched, to those who’ve had it with their parents’ church. Church music is out of date; it’s antiquated; no one talks that way anymore; people today won’t listen to it. But this line of discussion really misses the larger problem: Music does not equal worship.
Corporate worship (which is what this ad is inviting people to attend) involves so much more than just music. It involves hearing and responding to the Word, observing the ordinances (sacraments), singing of praises to God (not singing songs about singing songs), prayer, liturgies, giving, and so much more. Corporate worship can certainly be evangelistic, but that is not its primary purpose. The primary purpose of corporate worship is for the body of Christ to glorify Almighty God, and is most effective when focused on the objective truths of Scripture rather than on the subjective emotions of the worshipers. When someone finds the music in a corporate worship service boring, they have really missed the whole point; they have made the corporate worship service about themselves. This is what should be expected when we lead people to believe that church is all about them.
That is exactly what this ad communicates.
Lest you think that I am being too harsh, that I am speaking out of line or out of ignorance, let me confess to you that not long ago I would have run such an ad for our church with no reservations. I listened to the influential Christian leaders who claimed that our churches would never grow without effective marketing. I worked at finding new ways to disguise ‘church words’ so as not to scare away unbelievers. I believed that we needed to do whatever it took to get people into the doors of our church.
Then someone called me on the carpet.
Through the book Ashamed of the Gospel by John F. MacArthur, Jr., God confronted me with one simple question: Did I believe the Gospel is the power of God for salvation? I began to see that by ‘removing stumbling blocks,’ I had inadvertently removed the biggest stumbling block – the Gospel itself. No one could reject what I was presenting, because I had manipulated it as to remove all offense. But the Bible tells us that’s exactly what the Gospel is:
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:20-25
…the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. Galatians 5:11b
We do a great disservice to the potential believer when we soften the message of the Gospel to make it palatable in today’s culture. We do a great disservice to the church when the worship of God is compromised with the entertainment of men. And we call our God a liar when we conclude that the Gospel itself is inadequate to do what He said it would do.
May the Church for which Christ died honor Him in all things.
-----------------------
**”Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true of false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
