For the last few two weeks I have been reading The Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani. It has definitely made me think about the what the church has become. My review of the book will be up on Tuesday. But for now I want to touch on something that I can not stop thinking about. Throughout the book Jethani identifies the consumer driven mindset of Americans as the driving force behind the new style of church that has evolved around the United States similar to Willow Creek in the Chicago suburbs.
The idea is that churches are trying to compete with “the world” for the consumer’s time, money, etc. As a result, churches need to offer experiences, programs and services that meet the needs of its customers. In doing so churches often mimic the experiences guests receive in movie theaters, restaurants, concerts, etc. Jethani presents a pretty clear and articulate case.
So for a few weeks I have been thinking about how my own church might be trying to deliver experiences that compete with some of the other experiences that Las Vegas has to offer. Can you really compete with the Las Vegas strip? Nope. This was especially confirmed when Ashley and I went to KA a few nights ago (thanks to a friend for some free tickets). With its gigantic moving stage and thousands of working parts it would be hard to imagine a church even coming close to offering an experience similar to a Cirque De Soleil show.
But what if the opposite were true? What if the church was to set a tone and the world tried to mimic it? What would it look like? How would that be different? What could the world take from the church and offer as an experience?
Two clubs in Las Vegas may have already beaten me to this idea . . .
Okay I agree, I don’t think that these clubs are really stealing any ideas from the church other than the name and maybe a tag line.
But maybe that is my point.
Is the church paving the way for people to encounter a transformed life through the risen Christ?
or are we just mimicing the world around us?
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Totally.
I didn’t google anything, but are those actual “faith” experiences someone is trying or just shows?
Names for different club nights at a club at Hard Rock and The Venetian. Not really connected to faith experiences at all, just using the name to get what appears to be an opposite message out. . . I have not been to either club, can’t really speak to the experience at either.
I haven’t read Jethani’s book, but it sounds like he is writing about something that is quite obvious. Most western church goers are staunch consumers. Its what defines them. They think church is a service and they look for the one that pleases them the most.
Regardless of ones theology (when it comes to producing these “experience” driven churches) it can hardly be denied that there are a bunch of them out there.
Churches may not be trying to compete with stuff like KA but thats world class theater. And (if we are using Vegas as an example) think of it more as competing with a station casino. Is there an “appealing” environment for parents to drop their kids off? High powered music, great light show, dynamic video, popular eatery to stop and get drinks/snacks, and “names” that routinely headline the weekend?
Again, I haven’t read Jethani’s book but resources like Barna, unChristian, Jim and Casper go to Church, and The Reveal study point solidly to the reality that Church goers look no different than non-churchgoers when it comes to being hard core consumers.
I think the real question is and I would be interested to see how Jethani addresses it, what are the ramifications (good or bad?) And how do we address those ramifications.
It’s sad how often we try to be “like” the world and offer these great things instead of standing on our own and offering what we have….Jesus. When did He become less than what people need?