Monday, July 29, 2013
The Place of Miracles
Jeff Dunn quotes Jim Stafford on Pentecostalism:
I would also note that vending machines are very much about optics - that which looks good gets bought. Thus, in miracles, we tend to look for the spectacular instead of noting the small miracles that occur in our lives every day.
This also points out the inherent problems with using marketing techniques to grow the church. Marketing seeks to please the customer. In church the customer should be seeking to please God.
marketing miracles
But we go wrong when we show a higher interest in miracles than in God. This is Pentecostalism’s persistent temptation—to let the effects of God’s presence become more central than God himself. When God becomes mainly a miracle provider, he stops being God. He becomes more like a vending machine.I love that analogy to a vending machine. Note how perfectly it encapsulates making God something that serves our needs rather than making us conform to God's will.
I would also note that vending machines are very much about optics - that which looks good gets bought. Thus, in miracles, we tend to look for the spectacular instead of noting the small miracles that occur in our lives every day.
This also points out the inherent problems with using marketing techniques to grow the church. Marketing seeks to please the customer. In church the customer should be seeking to please God.
marketing miracles
