Youth Ministry & Church (epilogue)

Over the years I have become convinced of a simple truth about ministry.  I have watched it played out in the ministries I have led and others that I have observed.  For the visit to X church a few Sundays ago it has dual implications.  That truth is this: What we win people with, we win them to.  The phrase is not mine, I heard it first about 20 years ago from a guy on staff at WillowCreek Church.  A few years back I discovered a guy using a parallel phrase in the UK “How people start is how they continue”.  The truth is this… the type of ministry that captivates the person is the type of ministry they will gravitate towards.  Now the significance for this church visit is that the very nature of the way they do church today is incredibly like the way many youth ministries ran in the 1990’s.  The biggest crowd they are reaching are in the age range that would have been teens at that time.  The second reality is that the type of church experience that people are coming into at church X is what they will continue to want.  Few will move on to a different church experience at some point. That would suggest that such a church will continue into the future for some time. I appreciate a diversity of church traditions and I love a good contemporary church.  The question then becomes, can such a church sustain itself?  Will it bear long term fruit or will the wow factor wear off for people leaving them thinking they tried church and it really was not fulfilling?  Will such a church produce disciples that make disciples and a vibrant faith that glorifies God? Does an entertainment driven church glorify God? Is God concerned about how we worship Him or does anything go?  I believe there are answers in scripture to these questions.

The most ironic part of the experience was the message itself.  The title of the message was “It’s not about me”.  This was part of a series titled “Love Revolution”.  The 70’s design to the art on the bulletin cover and the stage backdrops probably explains the use of 1970’s classic rock tunes in the service.  Here was the irony though.  In a message that emphasized this notion that “it’s not about me” like a thousand times, I could not help but notice the irony. It was a great message in so many ways.  Engaging, funny, insightful, and memorable.  He really drove the title home.  But this church exists in cities all over the state and each has a campus pastor.  The message is delivered from the senior pastor each week.  I could not help but wonder why the senior pastor delivers the weekly message in all these cities rather than train the campus pastors to deliver the message.  The end result is a church where all eyes are focused on the senior pastor.  On visiting the website, you don’t read about the campus pastors.  Attention is drawn rather to the senior pastor.  22,000 people listen to his messages each week on all these different campuses.  It just struck me that there would be more kingdom good done by developing a team of great preachers rather than have the entire statewide church focused on one guy… who tells us “It’s not about me”! I realize there are many other churches around the country with multiple campuses and one pastor that does the bulk of the teaching.  I have the same reservations about them as well… but I have not heard them preach a message that “It’s not about me”.