Church: The Cult of being Cool

There is a prominent philosophy that has been sweeping church circles that has been having a damaging effect.  That philosophy is  the relentless pursuit of "The Church should be Cool".  I know this very well because I've been in that mindset before.  It was a mindset that drove me.  Instead of focusing on being a relationally driven church that lives and teaches the ways of Jesus to a lost and dying world...the church is driven by what is cool or entertaining.

I feel as I look back on my own journey that my drive to show that Jesus is cool was driven by being in very legalistic churches growing up and early on in my life.  As a kid Church wasn't cool.  In fact it was very boring.  It didn't do a whole lot to connect with me.  The songs were boring the preacher was longwinded and the people were very judgemental.  I remember worrying more about what would people think if I didn't wear a suit today than that actual worship of God.  It is for this very reason that many have left the church because they claim it isn't relevant to their lives.  But when you are passionate about Jesus and know that the church is the answer for this world....you revert to anything you can to convey the message.   So what is the normal direction most take from this point....they try to make the uncool...cool.  The irrelevant....relevant.   The "what seemed to be fake" to be real.  

Now let make it clear.  I don't see anything wrong with being what many may say is cool/relevant.  I don't mind the worship bands that play cool music...the pastor who wears jeans while he preachesl...the videos that drive home the message.  I don't mind the free coffee and donuts in the morning...who doesn't?  :)  None of that stuff is bad.   I begin to have a problem with above mentioned items when it becomes the "end".  I believe the above mentioned things are just a "means to an end".  Some churches think that because they are hip or cool means that they are doing a great job in the "Great Commission".   Let me be very clear here.   Just because you are gifted in drawing a great Crowd doesn't mean you are doing the Great Commission.  In fact....it's the opposite.

The very first word in the Great Commission is the word "GO".  Go and make all discples of all nations.  I would argue that the mantra of the modern day church is not GO.  The mantra of the modern day church is the word "COME".   The difference behind those words are really a line in the sand.   The word "COME" invokes a very attractional philosophy.  It translates into "you better look cool/hip so that when people "COME" to your church they will want to stay...because if not they are going to go to the next church that is cool/hip."   IF you have the "COME" Commission than it's just a waiting came to see whose going to show up.  I think that Jesus knew people better when he said...GO.  Jesus knew that people had to be motivated.  This is also called the "Attractional" view of ministry.  You'll see slogans and mottos that suggest that their church is better than anybody elses church.  "The Place to Be"..."Discover the Difference".  Many churches have slogans to suggest why their church is the best church to "come" to.  

I believe the better answer lies in being "Missional".  That is simply put...."being the hands and feet of Jesus everywhere you GO".   I also see a major difference between the Attractional vs. Missional views in this way.   The attractional view of church focuses it's attention on building an empire.  I can't say it's true for 100% of churches but most attractional churches focus on "growing their church".  The major questions swirl around "how many did we have?"...."what was the offering".   The "Missional" approach lies in building the kingdom of God.

I believe being trapped in the "cult of being cool" has robbed many pastors and churches of it's soul.  That does not mean they have lost their salvation.  It just means that it has take away it's true focus of reaching this world for Christ.  When you got more wrapped up in the details of lights, camera, action....and less focused on worship and building community amongst the people...you've lost it.   I can remember many, many weeks where I was more focused on being cool in my sermons...then I was in showing God's love to somebody.  It is easy to fall into the trap.  I believe it's a natural reaction that many have bought into because more people don't go to church today than used to. So they want to change people's minds.

Remember.....You don't need to make Jesus or the Bible more relevant....They already are.  You have to make yourself more relevant because relevance changes everyday.  Don't let relevance steal your soul.

Comments

[James]

Hello Dan,

I've been reading your blog for a while now. Interesting thoughts. I do have a question. Why is it that so many people in "the ministry" today pour cold water on the churches of their childhood?

Most of everything we are today was begun in us during those formative years. Our pastors taught us much of what we know, and those churches are what our foundation is built upon today.

Maybe we should be thankful for the blessings of the past, rather than looking at them with a jaundice eye. Rather than blaming the church for not being engaging (Paul wasn't very engaging to the youth who fell out the window), we should realize we were juvenile, immature adolescents that didn't engage ourselves.

In the ministry when I began I wanted to be different. I tried everything, but I learned something. No matter what I tried nothing made me content in the ministry. Modern, traditional, contemporary became just labels on the same empty bottle.

Until I stopped looking, and started just focusing on true spirituality I was wandering. It is either total surrender to Christ and His Word or the love of the world, which is enmity with God.

I now realize that what I wanted was not what God wanted. He wanted me in absolute surrender. I now look back on my youth days in the church you describe and realize that had it not been for the truth set before me by what you refer to as a "long winded preacher" who cared for my soul, those "boring songs" and "judgmental people", I would not be saved or serving God today.

Let's be careful the way we frame the past. We might just be letting our petty bitterness steer us away from God's reality for our lives.

By the way: Bono is no example in how to live. His hypocrisy is too obvious. The Pastor from your youth would be a much better choice:)

[Dan Sardinas]

Hey James,

Thanks for stopping by. I'm very sorry to have given the impression of dogging my church growing up. I don't believe I expressed myself appropriately there. Even though as I look back those words were pretty potent.

I Am grateful for the church I grew up in. What I was trying to say was I had felt a certain disconnect in some ways...which later came out as longing for a contemporary church. So, although I disagree with some things about my time there I am still grateful for what God did in me there. IT was there that I turned my life around. It was there where I was baptized. I wouldn't traded that for anything!

Sorry bro to have not been more clear. It's a part of the journey. Each step of the journey is a path to the future...without all of the steps, we can't move forward.

Although Bono is not the perfect example...I was referring in his video to his passion over justice. I feel we should all have that same passion.

Thanks,

Dan

[Jess]

Just commenting for the sake of commenting... didn't want you to think I'd stopped reading! :)

Enjoy the sun, Lori and Brandon look happy to not be wearing coats!

[Russ]

I don't believe that wanting to feed the fire in our soul, started by God's Spirit, requires an apology. We have each traveled different roads from our youth, seen and heard from various pastoral types, and taken away some good... and some less-than-good. Sometimes we've been running from God. At other times we run to Him. I even wonder if there are times when both happen simultaneously...

The real rub with true spirituality is that it is found in the context of the Church, and all the more in the fuller expression Thereof. So maybe we can agree that it is not the package that any of us hungers and thirsts for, but an authentic expression of the Body of Christ.

The dry, long-winded, boring nature of similar church experiences in my past have lead me to conclude that God is so great (greater even than my own need of Him) that He continually breaks through using these less-than-ideal forums! So... does His grace in using the imperfect church context in fact sanction that (or any other) particular forum as off-limits for critique or discussion as to how well it measures up to the heart's desire for a fuller expression of the Body of Christ? I think not.

I do not see this as bitterness. This is the longing of the soul... for more.