Faith for sale

It's fall and time for old boots and new tobacco. I proudly proclaim that I own a classic pair of Sketchers boots from the mid-90's. Ah the 90's. When men were men and boots were boots. Oh yes its true. Sketchers at one time made actual boots. Now in the age of bastardized genre-bending music and gender-bending attire, Sketchers has deteriorated into inbred, cross-pollinated footwear designs. But I digress.

Recently during a cigar walk, complete with old boots, I passed Urban Outfitters. The store is located in an old church and it struck me how metaphoric it is to have commerce in a church.

An example of commercial principals in the church is church marketing. Church marketing rubs me the wrong way. Especially roadside church signs and their witty letter boards. Honestly, who is going to have a profound religious experience after reading a lame and sugary sweet half-sentence on a light-up sign that could just as easily be telling me today's special at the Stop-N-Go. These churches are trying to either attract new members or impart pearls of Gospely wisdom to the unwashed masses. I contend they fail on both fronts. The logic behind church marketing irritates me. God's love and message of salvation is it's own marketing. No colorful banner or fantastically charming roadside sign will ever top that. I don't remember reading about Paul wandering around, wondering how to attract a congregation. He focused on the message of God's love and the man who embodied it. And the masses congregated.

God builds strong congregations where He sees fit. The fitness of a church is based solely on its relationship with Him. As a result, the church that openly and publicly lives the Gospel will attract attention. In essence, take the church to the people instead of bringing people to the church. Being the Word is the only solid ground on which to build the Kingdom of God. All else is shifting sand. Furthermore, the goal should be the spiritual development of the individual and encouraging that individual to find a Christian community of worship; any Christian community of worship. After all, is the message of the Gospel the redemption of mankind or the growth of a singular church?