I have talked myself out of writing this post several times over the past 2 years - partly because the content is uber-critical and I do not personally know those responsible for what I am going to criticize. They are likely very faithful and sincere Christians.
On one of our annual trips to New Orleans to participate in disaster relief, the house we stayed in had an impressive and rather random collection of coffee mugs. Yes. I am blogging about a coffee mug. What can I say? I've lost my muse and am searching desperately for content. ;-) This particular mug was put out by the missions arm of an orthodox denomination. While I don't recall the logo, I definitely remember the words: Go. Connect. Engage.
Pardon my cynicism, but is there any particular reason someone decided that the original Great Commission wasn't great enough and needed to be altered? I understand The Church's desire to be culturally relevant, and I suppose sporting a catchy slogan probably seemed a fairly innocuous way to appear that we're not stuck in The Dark Ages.
But really. Think about it. We have already been given our mission... by none other than Christ Himself! How can we possibly hope to improve on that?! He has designated His means of bringing in the nations and it cannot fail to bear fruit if we follow it. Our own little modernized formula carries no power whatsoever!
That mug is simply a manifestation of a broader mindset within evagelicalism which views The Church as another business (albeit a "spiritual" one!) and therefore assumes we must adopt and apply successful corporate models to our own practices. I am not suggesting that we arrogantly assume we have nothing to learn from the "secular" corporate world. We can and should borrow from (plunder!) them in areas of practicality that make life function more smoothly, but I take great exception when we think we must borrow from them in areas that have already been clearly delineated for us!! Such as our mission.
There is Truth and Power in "Go. Baptize. Teach." that will never exist in" Go. Connect. Engage."
4 comments:
I have often commented that I have felt like the victim of a marketing attack after visiting some churches.
What's wrong with a friendly hello from a few of the folks sitting around you?
And, no, Lori, I do not count your church as one of them! We still consider your church as one of the most sincere and welcoming churches we have ever visited.
I know what you mean! At times, I have felt like I was being "sold". That business mentality reflects itself in all kinds of ways that have greater implications than words on a coffee mug.
Amen!
Very true.
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