Should we really have a target audience in Worship?

Something that really drives me nuts about evangelical Christianity is the way we have turned it into a business.  We have something to market and sell.  I guess when you are trying to save the world from eternal damnation, you have to make the product look as attractive as possible.

The problem is, in making the “product” look as attractive as possible, we really dumb down what the gospel is all about.  Instead of teaching Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Savior of mankind, we market him as a fix all for all of our problems. 

No wonder so many become disillusioned with faith in God, because they did not become rich after coming to faith, or they did not have all illness healed.  Everything was not pretty and Rosy.

We tend to ignore the part of the Bible that states “in this world you will have trouble”  John 16:33 (Read on to what Jesus says) We are given hope here yes, we can have the peace of God when all hell breaks loose.  Hell will break loose, things will not always be good in this life, so lets stop trying to fool people into thinking it will.  (thanks to Rick McKinley for re-opening my eyes to this truth in his book This Beautiful Mess)

The other thing that really bugs me about the “marketing” of Christianity is the whole target audience thing.  My least favorite phrase is “this service is meant to target____”

This is problematic for me in a few ways.  It’s problematic because we tend to dumb down the gospel to the genie in the lamp tool who is simply here to meet my need.  I’m not at all saying that God does not meet my need, but I really don’t think he cares whether or not I get the good parking spot because I prayed to him to help me.

It is also problematic because it can tend to add to the individualistic nature of our society.  Where it is me first and I’ll think about others if it suits my need, or as long as it doesn’t make me uncomfortable.  We prove this point by having target audiences and making worship about our desires and tastes.  Worship becomes about what pleases me instead of what pleases God.  It also gives headway to the lie that Salvation is a personal choice that is between one person and God.  It’s becomes private and something I can be comfortable keeping to myself.

It is problematic because it creates marginalization and segregation.  When we have a target audience, we have a deliberate set of people we are trying to reach and the others…not so much.   We might try to make sure that there is inclusion for everyone, but in targeting specific groups we are sure to leave people out. 

When we sell Jesus to target audiences we tend to segregate old from young, men from women, singles from marrieds, rich from poor, etc etc the list could go on, I’m sure you get what I mean. 

When we have a target audience, we disassemble the community that God intended for us.  We water down the message of the gospel and what it means to live in the kingdom of God now. 

There is no easy solution, sure I believe that God meets us where we are, but I also highly doubt he wants to leave us there.  So how do we create genuine community living in the kingdom of God?  I think we need to go back to the basics and look at how Jesus did it.  Stop trying to sell the kingdom of God, and just live the kingdom of God….maybe that’s how evangelism should work. 

It’s funny, the tradition I grew up in (The Salvation Army) in it’s early days didn’t seem to care much what people thought of them and although you might argue that they had a “target audience”  they did not seem to be selling a popular version of Christianity.  What’s funny about it, is it seems that when the army was under fire for it’s practices (people were being thrown in jail, mocked, beat up etc) those are the times when the army grew the fastest and the most and many people met Jesus Christ.   Maybe there is a lesson in our roots.

Getting better

Well, things are getting better, still missing the dog but I probably will for a while yet.

I did see a lady out walking her dogs today and thought of asking if I could pet one.  I did not though, instead I kept walking and burst into tears. 

 In other news the following song has been in my head all day long.  I’m not quite sure why, but it reminds me of 2 things, One: that I am so thankful for the grace of God, and Two: There is no other place I need to go for grace other than to God. 

O for a heart that is whiter than snow,
Kept, ever kept ‘neath the life-giving flow,
Cleansed from all evil, self-seeking and pride,
Kept pure and holy by Calvary’s tide! 

O for a heart whiter than snow!
Saviour divine, to whom else shall I go?
Thou who didst die, loving me so,
Give me a heart that is whiter than snow.

O for a heart that is whiter than snow,
Calm in the peace that he loves to bestow,
Daily refreshed by the heavenly dews,
Ready for service whene’er he shall choose!

O for a heart that is whiter than snow,
With the pure flame of the Spirit aglow,
Filled with the love that is true and sincere,
Love that is able to banish all fear!

O for a heart that is whiter than snow,
Then in his grace and his knowledge to grow,
Growing like him who my pattern shall be,
Till in his beauty my King I shall see!
Author:  Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (1851-1920)

Still sad

As I mentioned yesterday my beloved dog Murphy passed away yesterday.  She was 16 and a half.  She was suffering a lot, so we all agreed that it was time that she be put down. 

I remember when we first got her.  My mom had been on her annual trip to the states with her sisters and she phoned my dad to ask him if she could bring home the cutest little dog, and he said yes.  So when she got home, she surprised us with Murphy.

Murphy was really good, we actually did not have to train her.  She started going outside right away.  She would also head to the porch (her room) when she noticed that we were getting ready for bed.

I could always count on Murphy for a good laugh.  If we would ask her if she wanted to go for a car ride, she would run around the house excited and then she would run into the door before we had a chance to open it. 

If we had company coming I would say, who’s coming Murphy and she would head up and look out the window.

 For fun we used to pretend to beat each other up to see who the dog would protect.  I could always count on her to protect me. 

She always ran to you when you came in the house, and made you feel welcome.

I would sit on the stairs and she would sit at the top and I would torture her, by singing to her while I scratched her head.

I miss the dog.

sad

OK the crappy news is the apartment is not clean, the diet is not started….

My beloved dog murphy has passed away

Well I’m less busy now so I should be able to blog

It seems that every-time I try to organize myself into some pattern with my blog I fall off the wagon.  I find that it’s Monday and I don’t want to blog about what I wanted to blog about on Mondays….I want to blog about something that is completely different from any of the frequent topics I had set up in my “pattern”.

 I’ve decided though that Mondays are definitely going to be about the diet.  I can’t seem to stay on track with the whole thing, and I need to lose weight before my Dr.’s appointment in July.  July is only really 3 and a little bit months away.  That’s not a lot of time to lose any significant weight, yet I am going to try. 

 I guess by making myself blog about it on Mondays is a way I might be able to keep accountable to myself.   I don’t know we’ll see how it goes, today is day number one and I have a bit of chocolate left to eat up and some groceries to buy. 

What I am going to do today to try to keep myself from boredom grazing, is clean my apartment.  It is time for a spring clean in preparation to move in June.   I also really want to start jogging so we’ll see how that goes…the only shape I am in is round.

Pop in next week to see if I have lost any weight.

I love Johnny

I’ve not been on the computer as much as usual this week because I have had a very bad headache.  I’ve finally got some relief, at least until the advil wears off…but I hadn’t blogged in a while so I’ll post this video.  I love Johnny Cash and I think his cover of Nine Inch Nails hurt rocks

Sunday Survey

I steal all these from Stacey’s facebook

Well here are 55 guarantee you’ve never answered. (Or so they say!)

1. Are you taller than your best friend? I doubt it I am not taller than anyone

2. Do you have a favorite type of pen? ones that work

 3. Look at your planner for March 8th, what are you doing? March 8th is done and I don’t remember what I did

4. What color are your toenails usually? normal

 5. What was the last thing you cleaned? I just took the garbage out does that count?

 6. What color are the sheets on your bed? Light blue

 7. What color are the seats in your vehicle? don’t have one

8. Have you ever had a black and white cat? nope

 9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on? nothing

10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming? nope…

11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time? To pay someone back cash I owed them

12. Who is the last baby that you held? Ruby?

 13. Can you spell well? no I hate spelling

14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste? no

15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago? none

16. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators? gators?

17. Last time you went to Six Flags? never been

 18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house? no I live in an apartment

 19. Closest thing to you that is yellow? a bag of granola

20. Last person you gave a business card? a customer

21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to? the church

 22. Closest framed picture to you? picture of my dog

23. Last time someone cooked for you? today my mommy and daddy cooked roast beef dinner….well I did not eat any beef

 24. What kind of computer do you have? dell something

25. How many emails do you get in your inbox daily (excluding spam)? depends how active my facebook is

26. Last time you received flowers? uhhh

 27. Do you own a pair of bowling shoes? no but I love bowling so maybe I should get some

28. Do you play air guitar? nope

 29. Has anyone ever proposed to you? yeah but in a joking way

30. Do you take anything in your coffee? cream and sugar! 

 31. Do you own any Willow Tree figurines? sure do

 32. What is/was your high school’s mascot? huskie

 33. Last person you spoke to from high school? spoke to?  Uhhhhh Kate via facebook?

 34. Last time you used hand sanitizer? yesterday

35. Would you like to learn to play the drums? I have no rhythm

36. What color are the blinds in your living room? beigeish

 37. What picture is on your calendar? don’t have one

 38. What color is your bath robe? pink

 39. What was the last pageant you attended? what?

 40. What is the last place you bought pizza from? pizza hotline

 41. Have you ever worn a crown? yes at mine and Kara’s unbirthday

42. What is the last thing you stapled? uhhh paper?

 43. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi? nope

 44. Are you ticklish? I refuse to answer this

45. Last time you saw fireworks? Canada day

 46. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut? a long time ago…sooooo good

47. Last person that IMed you, and you actually responded? Anney

48. Do you have a favorite hat? my sens hat

 49. Do you have a black dog? yes

 50. Do you have a hairless cat? nope

 51. Are you an aunt or uncle? nope

52. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of? I don’t pay attention to eyes a lot

53. Last time you saw a semi truck? today parked on portage

I lost #54

 55. Do you have a little black dress? number 1 I am not a dress person….#2 no clothing of mine could be classified as “little”

I love this video

Tuesday’s Top Ten

Here are my top ten favorite shows of all time

10. survivor

9. desperate housewives

8. Jeopardy

7. Law and Order (any)

6. CSI New York

5. Everybody loves Raymond

4. Seinfeld

3. family guy

2. the simpsons

1. the biggest loser

Monday Moaning

I just have nothing interesting to say these days, not that anything I say on any other day is interesting, but at least something comes to mind for me to write about on those days.

 It’s pay week so maybe I’ll get that xbox 360 and guitar hero soon.  Hey I gotta have some fun before I get to CFOT.  I may wait until April though because then I will definitely be ready.  Although I probably should save all my cash for CFOT. 

I have not been doing much these days, doing lots of reading which is normal.  Been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.  I’m not overly impressed so far, but I am at the beginning.  There have been a few points that I totally agree with, but to me that does not suggest there is no God.  Of course being the brainwashed, imbecile that I must be for believing, I highly doubt his book will change my mind.  I’d just rather be in the argument part of the book right now.

I’ve really taken to Activia yogurt.  I like everything about it, except the fact that it is more expensive than other yogurts.  It’s a nice thicker blend of yogurt.  I especially like it with granola. 

I am planning the Sonrise service this year at my church.  I feel so much more pressure for this little half an hour service than I do at like an old folks home.  I think it is because it’s for all the people who still see me as a little kid.  Speaking of which I better get working on it.

I’m not doing so good on the diet right now…but I need to get going on that too.