Saw this in Chris Erdman's Blog ...
What do you think?
Why reach out? To pull in, or..."
Saw this part of a church's ad for a new associate pastor for family and young adult ministries:
"The 2,000 member congregation has served God and Community since 1956. It has recently completed major construction including a multifunctional facility and Day School. Arriving two years ago, the Senior Pastor, experienced in large churches, excels in high program growth. Through the developement of new programs, the church is reaching out to the community and is eager to attract young families."
At first pass there seems little problematic here. The description is a common way churches think about their ministry. But I wonder if there isn't something problematice about the last sentence. It is the attraction motive to outreach that troubles me. What does it mean when our congregations believe they exist to offer religious goods and services that compete in the market for people's money, time, and lives? In what way is this an appeal to Christendom--a life for the church at the center of culture as its religious chaplain? What is the church's motive in outreach? I wonder if it's not inherently opposite to this? There is no question that a growing church will attract new people--but how and why? Is "high program growth" what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ? Something grates at me here.
