Friday, January 16, 2009
Buyng Faith
Well, the season is behind us, but are the reflections. Cereulean Sanctum wrote about a Christian Bookstore catalog he received before the holidays:
But his closing paragraph there set me to thinking - "buying Christianity" - how do we do that? Yep, getting spendy at the Christian bookstore is one way, but I'm thinking there are more insidious ways.
I remember a conversation I had with a pastor not long after he came to a church. His focus on the future of the church was on hiring a lot of part-time staff. I mean a lot. When his plans came to fruition (and they long since have) the number of bodies on the staff was going to be doubled - the part time thing kept the payroll from growing quite that much, but it sure is a passel of people for a moderately sized church.
As we went through his laundry list of what they were going to do, I would point out that we could accomplish the same thing with volunteers and in doing so we would provide ministry volunteers and "recipients" alike. "Not in this day and age, that just doesn't work," came the rapid retort, and he was kind of right.
In adult ed, when one of us with minimal credentials teaches (take myself for example - I did not finish seminary) the response is mediocre. But, if the credentials increase, or better yet, we bring in a pro from a nearby seminary, the numbers blossom.
If we try to organize a large event like Vacation Bible School, when we run it on a volunteer basis, all sorts of little things fall through the cracks, cookies don't show up in a classroom on time or whatever. But if there is a pro about triple checking and cajoling it just all seems to run more smoothly. and when VBS runs more smoothly, registrations rise.
But what does all this really produce - well, easy to consume, non-challenging Church in a box. Think about it. Volunteer teachers have to stretch themselves to teach and while the presentations may be slightly less dazzling, they may cause the attendees to work harder to get the info - which means they just might make it their own. What about when the cookies don't arrive on time? - Maybe there is a lesson in patience in there somewhere.
You see, when we staff up, we make church easy to consume, but also easy to hold at arm's length. It allows us to consume Jesus, but not really digest Him.
You bet we buy Christianity, and with more than those catalogs.
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And last, but not least, the back page gives us coupons. Lots of coupons. Use them all, please. As quickly as possible. Like now. Stop reading this blog’s drivel and go buy yourself some Christianity.My disdain for Christian gee-gaws is well known, which is most of what Dan devotes his post to, well, not MY disdain, but the ugliness of gee-gaws.
But his closing paragraph there set me to thinking - "buying Christianity" - how do we do that? Yep, getting spendy at the Christian bookstore is one way, but I'm thinking there are more insidious ways.
I remember a conversation I had with a pastor not long after he came to a church. His focus on the future of the church was on hiring a lot of part-time staff. I mean a lot. When his plans came to fruition (and they long since have) the number of bodies on the staff was going to be doubled - the part time thing kept the payroll from growing quite that much, but it sure is a passel of people for a moderately sized church.
As we went through his laundry list of what they were going to do, I would point out that we could accomplish the same thing with volunteers and in doing so we would provide ministry volunteers and "recipients" alike. "Not in this day and age, that just doesn't work," came the rapid retort, and he was kind of right.
In adult ed, when one of us with minimal credentials teaches (take myself for example - I did not finish seminary) the response is mediocre. But, if the credentials increase, or better yet, we bring in a pro from a nearby seminary, the numbers blossom.
If we try to organize a large event like Vacation Bible School, when we run it on a volunteer basis, all sorts of little things fall through the cracks, cookies don't show up in a classroom on time or whatever. But if there is a pro about triple checking and cajoling it just all seems to run more smoothly. and when VBS runs more smoothly, registrations rise.
But what does all this really produce - well, easy to consume, non-challenging Church in a box. Think about it. Volunteer teachers have to stretch themselves to teach and while the presentations may be slightly less dazzling, they may cause the attendees to work harder to get the info - which means they just might make it their own. What about when the cookies don't arrive on time? - Maybe there is a lesson in patience in there somewhere.
You see, when we staff up, we make church easy to consume, but also easy to hold at arm's length. It allows us to consume Jesus, but not really digest Him.
You bet we buy Christianity, and with more than those catalogs.
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