COMPETITION

I worked evaluating and training churches for 19 years. I read a friends blog this morning and it triggered thoughts from an old article I wrote several years ago.

As part of my work I was sent to some of the biggest church training seminaries in the country. I attended a personal conflicts course (twice actually) in which the leader had deducted from Scripture nearly every conceivable problem and created various number of steps to fix, heal, cure each issues. There was another in the Midwest that had a very professional, even Broadway style feel to music and theater bits. The audience watched and maybe even stood up and cheered at the end of the show. Yet another had multiple campus (their word, not mine) all pastored by the same guy (sorry, preacher).

I looked at the health and wealth churches, exclusion churches, liberal churches, traditional churches, evangelical churches, conservative churches, Catholic churches and many more. Frankly I didn’t enter one growing, emerging, developing, renewal church that didn’t have something about it that I liked. But let me tell you about what I hated, yes hated about them all. You see the ones I was sent to or chose to visit were training centers. People gathered from all over the country to see what made these churches work so they could take that home and replicate that success in their church.

I was appalled. Not at the success of the churches — more power to them. But I was appalled at all the people who took copious notes and went home and attempted to replicate what they saw and heard as though it were Gods new plan for the church.

One of the first places I saw where was happening was in a Southern California church that became a haven for the Christian hippy movement. They launched the careers of a number of recording artists. I don’t know that any other church succeeded that way. This movement changed the way church attendees dressed. Suits and dresses were out, jeans and shorts were in. Organs were out. Keyboards, drums and guitars were in. The “steps” man was filling enormous coliseums everywhere. He was adored and emulated and created a whole separate movement that brought dissension into many churches. The division was over education. The people were not saying they were of God, but of Paul, Barnabus, or Apollo (he was the cute one).

When I would visit these returning pastors with their glowing reports I had one question, “What had God asked you to do.” That wasn’t the question many wanted to hear. They launched into their replicated ministries and many even joined new associations like the Association for Steps, The Association of Folk Music, and The Association of Professional churches (they bought theater lights, installed curtains) and set up competition with Starbucks in their lobbies.

The most beautiful church had a large parking lot and you could drive in and listen to the sermon on your radio. They were also on TV, so I could not understand why anyone would throw on clothes when you could sit at home in your underwear.

None of these things bothered me if God told them to do it. But far too many were copying others success without grasping full obedience. They loved the success. I listened, as people no longer cared about theology, but the quality of the nursery. Do they have an excellent youth pastor or a large youth group? What about the music? Is it contemporary? Does it have an Organ? What about drums? Will the speaker tickle my fancy? Does the preacher wear a suit, a robe or preach in jeans?

I read a very funny script in the 70’s about a shop were people picked the kind religion they wanted. They could get exactly what they liked including a God to their liking. They could get rid of the hypocrites and crying babies if they wanted. They could order food around tables while enjoying the “worship team of their choice and style.” It is happening.

Maybe churches have always been competitive, but I watched leaders jump on the latest hot thing while attempting to draw in more people than the next church. All would deny that numbers were important, but denominational leadership came from large churches. They served on the committees, they traveled the world, and they win the elections. Large was successful. If a church only had 50 it was due for redevelopment (making it bigger). The largest churches of all denominations look more like one another than their organizational stripe. They down play the distinctives that have marked them as different to have more appeal to the masses. New buildings and a large campus says come here. We have what it takes. Mind you, unless you are one the leaders in the church, that pastor will never be your pastor. He will not officiate at your wedding or your funeral. He will not visit you in the hospital or at your home. He will smile shake your hand and never know anything about you. He is the corporate leader. He is the president, the CEO, the big man. You may be proud of him, love him, and invite others to hear him. His church may be the best thing since sliced bread. But there may be another dozen churches in the area as good or better and when he leaves you will “try them out.” Church is rarely a commitment; it is a fast food restaurant and the flavor of the day.

I don’t blame the people. I blame us — the leaders. Many have no idea what God wants them to do. I wore out on the competition. I worked in the bigger is better churches. I was at the top of my game. But I envied the smaller and middle-sized churches where the pastor was the Sheppard of the flock. He knew them and they knew him. The biggies don’t know if you are there or not. You can hide. That is another reason we like them. We can get out taste of church medicine when we want, fish when we want, sleep in when want. We are anonymous.

I know this was a change from what I normally write, but it was on my heart.