McChurched

The Mega-Church Movement has become a well oiled piece of machinery. The ecclesiological method’s this flavor of Church operates by are geared towards pleasing the consumer. The consumer has become the locus of authority, not Biblical Orthodoxy. Churches that have been impacted by such methodology have been McChurched. They have adopted an operating system that serves the stranger rather than the resident family members. Dr. John Seel, a professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary asked, “What if your household primarily met the needs of your neighbors not the people living there?” How would each member of the family grow holistically, if the home was primarily designed to meet the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social needs of strangers? The brand of church that has neglected the family of God to appease the consumer is the seeker sensitive brand of church. Al Speegle, Jr., a contributor to the Trinity Forum described the mission of the McChruched Churches, “A user-friendly church designed to meet the needs of today's people, and their lifestyles. Self-sacrifice, self-denying discipleship has been scientifically reduced down to a formula that has placed man at the center. If consumeristic ecclesiology is going to be combated, then the Mega-Church Movement Factor must be understood, sermon branding, church shopping and Drive-Thru Discipleship must be exposed and Biblical Orthodoxy must guide the ecclesiology of a church.
The Consumer-Driven McChurch
Argue With Success
The Mega-Church Movement infects all size churches by the trickle factor. The marketing genius of the mega church movement is undeniable. They pack the house just like sporting events. It is said, “You can’t argue with success!,” but Jack Miller, a column writer for business forum says, “You can argue with success!” The methodology the mega church movement uses to pack the house each Sunday has become the methodology of the local church. The trickle factor works like this. The mega-church pastor’s write books, host and speak at conferences, post blogs and pod casts, talk on TV and/or upload videos on Youtube with their so called ecclesiological method’s that are really marketing ploys to reach the masses. Local pastors, church leaders, professors and Bible College and seminary students then flock to their conferences, buy their books, subscribe to their blogs, receive their weekly email letters, and listen to their pod casts. Then methods, strategies and convictions of the Mega-Church Pastor become the methods, strategies and convictions of the local pastor, church leader, professor, and student.
Has the trickle factor affected you or your church?
Sermon Un-Branding
The pastor of a consumer driven, seeker sensitive church cannot preach sermon’s that people need to hear, but sermons that people want to hear. John Piper, the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota said sermon relevance means one of two things, “It might mean that a sermon is relevant if it feels to the listeners that it will make a significant difference in their lives. Or it might mean that a sermon is relevant if it will make a significant difference in their lives whether they feel it or not.” The latter kind of sermon relevance is anti-consumeristic, anti-seeker sensitive, but Biblically correct. The marketing analyst tendency of the pastor in today’s post-modern culture brands sermons so that the message strikes a cord with the consumer’s feelings, not a conviction that will challenge the consumer’s lifestyle.
Mark Batterson, the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C. states, “The greatest truths ought to be communicated in the most unforgettable ways,” in a church conference workshop he taught on, “Sermon Branding.” You cannot argue with that statement, but then he gives 7 steps on how to brand a sermon. Steps #1 and #2 are “come up with a series title” and “create a series logo.” He wants pastors to “reduce an entire series to a single word, phrase or symbol that captures the essence of the series.” He also says, “Book titles, magazine ads, TV shows, board games, and movies are a great source of creative inspiration.” When you treat the Word of God like a TV series or movie, what are you really saying? The truth is the way we do things affects the way we view things. If a TV series is the package the Word of God is presented in, then why should people treat its content different then the way they treat the content in TV series? The consumer has a category for TV series’ in their mind that has been expanded by seeker sensitive churches to fit sermons. The rules of watching TV have been juxtaposed with tuning into sermons, especially since you can go to church today without stepping into a Building or hearing from an incarnate human being. The mindlessness that TV promotes has hijacked the reflective nature of sermon listening. Instead of participating in an active process of sermon intake, the consumer takes the passive seat, only hearing what tickles their ears.
Church Shopping
Sermon branding has laid the foundation for church shopping and hopping. Churches are not only in competition with cults, laziness and busy parents bussing their kids around on Sunday morning to sporting events but other churches. A consumer mentality says look for what a church can do for me, which results in the “Church Hop.” In his book, Making Sense of Church, Spencer Burke suggests that we “Ask not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church?” The church with the most bells and whistles is designed to attract the most consumers, instead of the church with a deep level of commitment to Biblical Discipleship. Keeping up with the Church Jones’ is part of the problem that fuels competitive rivalry between neighboring churches.
Church leadership is burdened by the need to please the consuming unbeliever as well as the believer. The sacredness of the timeless Church tradition has been replaced with the ever changing advancements and technological revoltuons that only have a temporal impact in the market place. Introducing the church to such advancements on a regular basis has caused dependency on technology so that a sermon without bells and whistles is deemed not relevant to the culture. Working professionals are not missing a beat from their environment that they spend Monday through Saturday in and Church on Sunday. The Mega-Church has McChruched the sacred space of Church so that instead of meeting in a house of worship that is distinguished from the workplace, they meet in the workplace. The church hop has left the consumer in charge and the church at the consumer’s mercy.
Drive-Thru Discipleship
The jingle Burger King made popular, “Have It Your, Right Away” has been juxtaposed with the challenge Jesus left with His Disciples, “Carry Your Own Cross." The call to Christian discipleship in the 1st century was borderline suicidal. The 1st century mantra, “Carry Your Own Cross,” meant that there is a good possibility that death might accompany being a disciple of Christ. Today in the 21st century, the deep level of commitment to Biblical discipleship has been lost. Life transforming discipleship has been traded for evangelistic efforts to meet the needs of the seeker. In the Reveal Report, Greg Hawkins of Willow Creek states, “The church (Willow Creek) was making a big impact on people early in their spiritual journey, but the closer they grew to Christ, the less impact the church was having.” The problem is not that the church did not have systems in place to disciple, but the mentality that was created by the consumeristic outreach does not have a category for Biblical Discipleship.
Bill Hybels, the lead pastor of the 2nd largest church in America, Willow Creek, has done a noble thing by taking responsibility for his actions, but the brand of Christianity he has marketed is Drive-Thru Discipleship. This brand of discipleship is primarily done through a “talk time” on Sunday mornings where each consumer is served a personal, made to order spiritual meal. The message is watered down, filled with videos, jokes, alliterations, rock bands, and a couple out of context Bible verses. Today, the pastor acts like a therapist in the pulpit and a CEO in his office, someone noted. These “Drive-Thru Discipleship” encounters in seeker sensitive churches have undermined the heart and soul of Biblical discipleship. Any sermon that lacks deep theological truth and life changing challenges but contains fluffy physiological principles does not contribute to Biblical Discipleship.
The Call to Biblical Discipleship
Biblical discipleship targets the convictions and beliefs of an individual, not their thoughts and feelings. If the Church is going to return to Biblical Orthodoxy rather than consumerism, then convictions and beliefs must be influenced by the terms and conditions of Biblical discipleship. In his book, Discipleship Essentials, Greg Ogden says, “Disciplemaking ensures that the Gospel is embedded deeply in the lives of mature believers who serve as links to the future.” The future of the church depends on Biblical discipleship, not marketing strategies and technological advancements. The brand of church that can turn the tide must be rooted in the reality of Jesus’ disciplemaking process where the few were more important than the many. If the selling point of the church is billboards, websites, blogs, sermons on steroids or any other addition that is done in the name of creativity, then the discipleship will continue to be neglected. On the other hand, if the selling point of the church is based on transformed lives that are the result of Biblical Discipleship, grounded in Biblical Orthodoxy, then the Drive-Thru Mentality will be replaced with the Long-Haul Mentality.
The Art of the Long Haul
NO! The Gospel is not something that can be sold! The quick sell that consumeristic churches use to draw seekers has widened the discipleship deficit. The missing art of the long haul must be revived if the church is going to return to Biblical orthodox ecclesiology. There is nothing quick about Jesus’ discipleship formula. He invested in a few to reach the multitudes, not vice versa. Robert Coleman captures the heart of Jesus’ methodological when he writes, “Jesus’ concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes but with men the multitudes follow.” Biblical orthodoxy must drive the bus and tell consumeristic church methodology to sit down. The terms and conditions of Biblical Discipleship are never up for negotiation. The work of God must be done God’s way. God’s way is not the quick sell, but the long haul. Remember, “What you win them with will determine what you keep them with.”