The church has figured out what
the folks at Starbucks, Diesel, Apple and countless other companies
have known for a long time. Marketing works! By using the same
techniques as other successful companies, the church can draw thousands
into its doors each Sunday by doing one basic thing: marketing.
So,
like any good business trying to grow, the church turns to the
tried-and-true Godin-esque techinques. The church creates tribes and
purple cows and has billboards and postcards and websites. Once someone
shows up at church, a "brand experience" is created through new
buildings with coffee shops and IMAG screens and catchy sermon series
and house bands. Consumption. Branding. Marketing. This is the language
of the culture and the church has adopted this language so it can
attract people to their services.
But for Christians, the
language of culture, if not stewarded well, can subvert selfless
living. Inherent in the popculture that is infiltrating church
methodology are characteristics antithetical to a life that seeks to
emulate Christ. Pop culture (music, movies, television, fashion, etc.)
celebrates fame, power, money, greed, and excess. When these begin to
seep into our gatherings it is difficult to keep the gospel in its pure
form. As church reformer Philip Jacob Spener says, “Where the Word of
God is neglected, real and true religion collapses."
[i]
When
we as individuals are swayed too much by the culture, the greater
church culture can suffer. The corporate church expression, then, is a
reflection of its leadership and what they value.
So what are we
saying when our gatherings mirror popular culture? We, in essence, are
promoting a way of living that is counter to what the Christian’s life,
and the church's methods, should look like.
