What Does the Future Hold for This Church?
- 12.23.09
- Stupid Church Signs
- 22 Comments
I’ve been to several church conferences where I’ve heard it said again and again, “Churches need to change and evolve or else they’re going to become obsolete and culturally irrelevant.” The struggle for us pastors is deciding what needs to change and what things from the past we should hang on to. When I saw these church signs at a local church, it caused me to pause and wonder, “With this attitude, how long will this church last? Can it survive the next 10 to 20 years with its outspoken commitment to ‘no contemporary services’ and ‘preaching, practicing, and promoting old time religion’?” What do you think?
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I used to go to a church like that in the summer in South Dakota. Very friendly and the people were kind, but I was glad it was only for a summer. Everyone who went there regularly was at least 70!
I wonder if they allow integration or if there is a white side and a black side?
Alan…that’s funny!!
I think it’s funny!
will it last. sure. They more than likely have the Gospel down really well, but the love thing, not so much. I get it that they are sick of the junk in the Christian world, but they just like the Emergent guys have good intentions, but its a poor delivery.
Not to be negative… BUT I doubt this church will last very long. The older ppl will pass away and the younger ppl in my opinion DONT want” old time” religion. I regularly attend a VERY contemporary exciting church.. I am in my early 50’s… We have an awesome rock band and all… Lots and lots of young ppl attend. Perhaps this “traditional” church will survive.. but I truly believe that church is moving in a different direction to attract ( younger) people ! God Bless !
Whether this particular church lasts or not, churches like this will always be around, like antique furniture. It won’t be the norm, but a few people will always want to worship the old way.
That is my home church…they sent me out as a missionary.
Ha, Brandon. I know better than that!
The down side is that every so often someone goes off the deep end from one of these churches (like the pastor in AZ that had issues recently with the president) and these churches get painted as the norm for all Baptist Churches in the media…
I think the answer to that largely depends on where the church is located, and what market / demographics are they drawing from. Having lived in the deep south, there are plenty of areas where Southern Gospel still reigns, even with the young families… it’s part of the fabric.
Would this work in Boston? No… But contemporary worship isn’t the draw for a lot of people there, either.
What will draw people? Often it’s not the message. It’s most often (in my opinion) genuine community within the church… people who love each other… and a common cause.
I don’t know if this church will last or not, but I hope it doesn’t.
In the midst of all the Christian culture wars etc. Don’t we always lose sight of the fact that we are supposed to be worshiping God and loving people?
The sign has a liking to those old motel signs that advertised ‘free cable tv’. If the church body is that dull and life-less… no way.
I don’t think the apostles fretted over whether they were relevant or contemporary or (fill in the blank) in order to reach certain demographics.
They focused on prayer, the word and preaching the Gospel.
I’m not against guitars/drums/etc. (“contemporary”) in worship, but if the reason you’re using it is to reach the lost and/or bring in the youth, then you have forfeited the right to be a church. We are supposed to preach Christ crucified, not win them to our side with our ‘cool’ music and ‘cool’ look, then hope they join our ‘Jesus’ team.
It is the Gospel that saves, not how contemporary your services are.
This sign like most of the others advertise a product, whether the good quality of the handmade traditional ways or the excitement of the high tech.
The answer to whether any church will survive centers on their commitment to missional living. One of the best summaries of missional living reads in Matthew 4:23, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”
This is the Christmas message pure and simple. It is not about getting people into the church, it is about getting us out of the church. – Leon Hill
One more comment stimulated by my son’s blog…
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Perhaps another significant question would be, if the shepherds came to find the redeemer in our church would we welcome them or would we all move to the other side of the auditorium to escape the smell…???
If God desires this church to last, it will. If not, it won’t. Simple as that. Bottom line, it’s not the building, the pastors, the style of worship or anything else. It’s about Jesus. If this church holds true to God’s word and spreads the love of Jesus and the Gospel, it will endure.
I don’t remember the poster in the youth room exactly but in essence it says, preach the Gospel and if necessary use words. If we live the gospel, people will come.
Wow, I think Mike’s comment (5th above) is right on. I’m 22 years old and a musician, so if we can get together as a body and exalt Jesus with an awesome contemporary band and maybe even some lasers, I’m all for it! But if the concern is about being a “culturally relevant” church, rather than a gospel-heralding missional one, something’s not right. Why ditch the biblical model of church for a business model of church? No matter what you do, the gospel will still be the stench of death to some. Our hope is found in the wrath-absorbing, blood-splattered cross, and that is the only thing worth clinging to.
Paul used contemporary language, language that the masses knew. He worked in cultural references and made things applicable.
If the church rules out contemporary “things” just becasue they are contemporary, as long as they focus more on doing what they do, rather than being anti contemporary, they will thrive and reach people.
Not everyone wants to hear drums, electric instruments or any instruments. Some do. As long as the gospel is true and given the way it should be, who cares if its connected to an amp?
Wow! Can’t you see the humor in this?
This church is using irony to promote its distinctive – it’s preaching the Gospel. It’s the good news about God’s work through Jesus that saves;
not cool music,
not ear-splitting music indistinguishable from MTV,
not great bands,
not even wonderful music artists,
not seeker-friendly Starbuck cofee served in the church ‘lounge’,
not multi-media latest techno-gizmo’s,
not smoke machines,
not strobe lights,
not websites,
not twitter,
not facebook,
not linkedin,
not even hip preachers,
- well you get the idea.
This church promises the Word of God – does anything else win souls? Don’t all these ‘contemporary gimicks’ confuse the lost, hide the message and crowd out the Spirit? The “Old Time Religion”? – About 200 years old, I reckon.
I think I’ll just say this: I go to a missions church (www.wotc.org) we don’t have lots of technical savvy or a big stage. Our buildings a little run down and we don’t have tvs and pricey coffee. Our preacher just loves the Lord and tries to follow His Will and it shows. All that is taught there is the Word from the Bible. No censors. No judgements but the Truth is told.
There have been those that have come and left because they don’t like the Truth. And those that stay because they know what it means. I have been to Big business like churches and smaller nondenominational churches and it is nice to have Sunday Schools and lots of extras but to me church is about the preaching…not about the outside. And I’ve been to the old school churches…they are not for me but the truth is. I think sometimes simpler is better. But that’s just my little opinion.