A recent article talks about how "Small Churches are the Next Big Thing." Its actually a comment on a book recently written that predicts that people want "intimacy...not production values."
I appreciate these comments, and I also appreciate that the author of this article points out the danger of marketing a small church as 'better' just to get more people to come.
Christian Identity and the Hegemony of Mammon
2 years ago
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5 comments:
It really makes me feel queesy every time i heard the word "marketing" and "church" in the same sentence. Are we selling something? In my mind marketing implies production. That could even be produced intimacy. I have seen this manufactured intimacy in some churches (although usually big ones) and it never rings true.
I haven't read the article yet, but the irony seems to me to be that if you are marketing a small church as more intimate to get more people to come, won't it then cease to be a small church?
It seem like churches really put a lot of emphasis on growth as a sign of a healthy church. I wonder could explosive growth equally be a sign of something wrong (Cancer, for example is uncontrolled cell growth)? The pace of growth could be the difference between growth from marketing and growth that arises from the fruit of the lives of the congregation. The latter feels more authentic to me and I suspect would not be as likely to draw people looking for a production or entertainment.
Nick--you should read the article. Jesse's comments may have given you the wrong impression as to what it is about.
Yes, you definitely have to read the article. The author expresses similar concerns, and I agree.
I read the article. I just get so frustrated in these kind of discussions. I kind of just want to throw my hands up in the air and say, "who cares, just make it real." If its real and it grows, great. If it is real and doesn't grow, great.
Despite the sentiments in the article the author has written a book called "The Strategically Small Church." In my opinion there is too much out there to distract pastors and church planters that has to do with strategy and planning. When your focus is on those things you are rooting yourself in your own abilities and are limited.
My father in law's church on the Hilltop is a great example of what the opposite can look like. When that church was planted he was sort of the reluctant pastor and he had no plan. He says he remembers laying prostrate on the floor begging God for a plan. All he got was "feed 'em, love 'em, be with 'em". And today it is a thriving congregation of rich and poor, black, white, latino, asian, housed, homeless, recovering and addicted. It is a beautiful glimpse of the kingdom.
Sounds like your father is someone I'd like to know, Nick.
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