My family and I enjoyed a unique experience this past weekend. Let’s see if you can guess where we were.
It was a Saturday night. We arrived at the location and the parking lot was packed. Thankfully the workers were out in force directing people in with their smiles and flashlights. We pulled over an told a guy that we’d never been before and needed some help. He was overly kind and directed us along.
Once we got inside we made our way to our seats. The atmosphere was great. There was music playing and people seemed happy to be there. In a short time a guy came up and grabbed the mic. He was called the ‘MC’ and it became apparent that his job was to make us laugh, feel comfortable and try to keep us engaged. He was good at his job.
When the event started we noticed that everything was very professional. The music and the workers were all synced up. We felt welcome and somewhat excited for what was ahead.
Then there was an emotional appeal to everyone. We stood up and experienced it together. It felt real and I was moved (I think I got misty standing there with everyone, not kidding).
Then what we came to see got started, but not before the very loud, rockin music transitioned us from the emotional moment to the main event. We were on the edge of our seats. The first stage of the event went by pretty quick. In fact, I was ready for more. So I took advantage of the break to talk to my wife.
However, much to my surprise, we were interrupted by another announcement and a quick event to get everyone laughing. It was funny. We laughed. They transitioned to the action again. Then another break and then more games. This time it was even funnier. I was entertained. I felt like things were moving along pretty quickly. Time was flying.
Where were we?
OK, I know you want to say, “at a local seeker-sensitive church.” But this is not correct. We were at a minor league baseball game. We were at Werner Park in Omaha, the Triple A affiliate for the Kansas City Royals. The new owners have recently moved into this new ball park and have done a really good job building up a fan base and making the games a real event.
I MAY BE A GRUMPY PURIST…but
Now I may be a grumpy purist when it comes to my philosophy of ministry as much as my philosophy of baseball. While I was entertained, I missed a lot of what I came to see. For example, I missed hearing players yelling for pop-ups, watching the in between inining warm-ups, and seeing the umpires and coaches dialoging. All of this was lost because I was watching the little humans dressed up like Taco Bell hot sauces racing from the left field wall to third base for a free custard. I was distracted by the John Deere races, the YMCA group sing (always a bad idea), and the husband and wife balloon popping relay.
Their whole point was to distract me from the potentially boring moments in a baseball game. They were a little insecure about the ability of the athletes, that is the product on the field, to entertain. So they had to enhance it. They had to distract me by appealing to me.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are doing anything wrong from a business perspective. It is obviously working. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if they had accidently stumbled onto a couple of the leading books and blogs by the church growth gurus. They managed to overcome the potential landmines of their event (long breaks, boredom, low quality baseball) with energizing, funny bits and a lot of prizes.
MY PROBLEM
My problem that night was similar to what I encounter when I visit church-growth-type-churches. Aside from the fact that the MC guy clearly had the look of ‘youth pastor’ I was a bit distracted and disturbed by the side show and left wanting more of what I came to see/hear. In the case of the baseball, the product on the field was actually pretty good. This team has some talent; I wanted to really immerse myself in the game and talk about it with my family, but was prevented a bit by the circus atmosphere. Similarly with a lot (not all) church growth services, I would leave wanting more of the substance (the Bible) and less of the sideshow.
At the end of the day: it is a baseball field—therefore, I want to see baseball. And, in the case of a church— I want God to speak.
WHAT BRINGS THEM IN WILL KEEP THEM IN
It is high time that churches stop being self-conscious about the cross of Christ. It is supposed to be offensive (1 Cor. 1.18). When you take out the offense you take out the cross! All of that blood, death, atonement, substitution stuff has got to be in there in order for it to be markedly Christian. You can’t dilute that; it either is or is not.
I remember reading a quote by the late Jim Boyce who said, “What you do to get them in you have to do to keep them in.” The baseball guys get this and that is why they are so heavily invested in the entertainment end of things. I don’t know if the church growth guys do. If the ‘hook’ to get them in is not Christ and him crucified then you will have to keep recasting other distinctly non-Christian, man-centered lines into the pond of your congregation in order to bring them back. It is far better to draw them, win them, and keep them with Christ!
To top off my evening of analogy we were treated to fireworks. And who was the sponsor for this excellent show? You guessed it, a local church with some extra money. You can’t make stuff like this up.
To be clear: I love baseball and really want to go back to Werner Park. But it is because of the players and the game, not the running packets of hot sauce.
You may have actually seen this highlight from the game. It was a most bizarre triple play. You probably haven’t seen anything like this:
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