The church has become obsessed with “business models”. In fact, many churches are now putting on business seminars with prominent business leaders who used to be church leaders and vice versa. Business concepts are being applied to the church in hiring, firing, budgeting, Pastors of Operations, growth strategies, etc. etc. etc. Of course, marketing is a huge — if not essential — component of that.
The reason the gauntlet makes me uncomfortable is the same reason the mandatory, greet-the-people-around-you (covered very well at the Stuff Christians Like blog) during the church service always seems so awkward. The design is to make people feel welcome, but to me there is a big difference between welcoming people and making them feel welcome.
I don’t claim to be an expert on the modern emerging church movement, nor do I have the time or energy to break down the little I do know. That’s what wikipedia and google are for. But what the emerging movement is doing is asking questions about how the church can move forward in the 21st century. To move forward, the movement is looking backward, and it is attempting to address the church’s shortcomings. That process is never pretty.
I say all this about Christian music because it appears that the same thing is happening in the burgeoning Christian film industry. They’re trying to keep up and rip-off instead of bring something new to the table. And worse still, here at the birth of the industry, they aren’t even pulling it off. It’s like a street hustler trying to tell us the watch is a Rolex when we can see the gold paint flaking off. At least there was some real talent at the inception of the Christian music industry. Keith Green and Second Chapter of Acts could get it done. The Christian film industry doesn’t have it.
“Just give it to someone who needs it more”, which can be translated, “I don’t need help”. We are so afraid of not being able to take care of ourselves that we can’t receive a blessing. We don’t need any help, we can take care of it ourselves. Give it to someone who doesn’t have it together as well as we do. We can take care of ourselves.
The inevitable question is why am I just now getting into “Lost”, when the entire country figured it out years ago? “You’re not watching Lost??” they would ask me. I always wanted to catch someone with a mouth full of water when I told them, so I could get that stereotypical, hilarious liquid-spit, as if my life were a screwball comedy. The truth is that at the time “Lost” began, I was in a short-lived men’s Bible study, and I knew I couldn’t just jump in the middle of a show like that.
Culture is obsessed with fads. We are obsessed with being a part of the “in” thing, even though in five years it will be forgotten, filthy towels on the garage floor. It is a habit we adopt sometime around middle school, when we become aware of our worth, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to keep up, to wear the right plumage no matter how ridiculous it may seem. And all the while, Innocence stands in the corner shouting, “the emperor has no clothes!”
It is no different in the Christian community.
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Matthew and Lizi The Meaning of It All "Soulful vocals and heartfelt songwriting"  |
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Andy Melvin The Human Engine Waits "Catchy and exquisite, energetic and mellow" |
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Peter Nevland Just My Mouth "Laugh, and then cry. Smile big" |
