So I’m a bit late… Michael Spencer has written the mother of all church growth rants.
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- November 2003
- October 2003
- September 2003
- August 2003
- July 2003
- June 2003
- May 2003
- April 2003
- March 2003
- February 2003
- January 2003
- December 2002
- November 2002
- October 2002
- September 2002
- August 2002
- July 2002
- June 2002
- May 2002
- April 2002
- March 2002
Categories
Meta
I must be living in a different dimension, because while I don’t doubt his experiences, the stuff he was railing against sounded completely foreign to me. And I’ve been a member of and a minister in so-called “seeker churches” for over ten years.
I’ve long since given up taking these sorts of rants personally, mainly because I realize I don’t need to. They don’t speak to anything I’ve ever experienced in the type of movement that’s being derided. I don’t like Joel Osteen much either. I prefer meat-and-potatoes theology to watered-down pablum.
I don’t get it, but I’m willing to believe there are actually folks out there who have said all the things Michael says they’ve said to him. It’s hard to believe he’s actually quoting real people who really said those things (He’s not really reaching people if he’s not showing movie clips? Someone actually said that? He didn’t just make that up as illustrative of the sentiment he’s receiving?), but I’m not going to call him a liar.
In the end, I trust mature believers to worship and reach the lost and “do church” according to the Bible and their Spirit-informed conscience. I hope and pray that they can trust me to do the same.
You’d have to take up your doubts with Mr. Spencer. I just linked to it, I didn’t write it.
I know that I have personally had a local pastor stand in my living room and explain to me how much he wanted a “big” church (1,000+, which is big for this county) and was sort of toning things down in order to achieve that. His theory was that you first get the numbers, then add the depth.
I’m not sure how else I could classify a church that refuses to put a cross in the sanctuary because you know, that might not meet people where they are, as anything other than consumeristic.
That was an incredible post! He’s so right on. Thanks for sharing with us.
Well, I can’t argue against anyone’s experience. (Neither, I would hope, can they argue mine.)
I have problems with Saddleback, as well, and I think it is a mistake to lump they and Willow Creek and Osteen’s church all together. I would go into the differences between Warren and Hybels, but I don’t think it would matter to anyone here (or there).
I guess the best way to compare my annoyance with these sort of rants would be to appeal to your annoyance when someone lumps all fundamentalists together in one big rant. You know, because you’re just exactly like those legalistic, KJV-Only racist folks.
Thanks for the comments. I’ve written a little bit about all this on my blog, and I’m thinking about it more because the elders at our church (of which I am one) are meeting in a couple of weeks to discuss postmodernism and what our approach to dealing with it should be.
Had to chuckle everytime I read your ContrarianManifesto for the church growth…. l am amazed at Bill Graham, Robert Schuller, Rick Warren and their Wider Grace teachings.. How dare they put that stuff out over theair? Also those Mega Church Pastors who are in Chicago, Cincinnati, LA and all the rest holding church for the unsaved instead of the Christian folks….not that we don’t welcome them in church, we do, but not to take the place of the Christian……Let’s hope someone with spiritual gusto stops them…….I am 86 and have been a christian for 74 of those years and take very seriously what is going on