Think having 25 TVs in a church is excessive? Yep, you guessed it, hater.
Now, I've never wanted to be involved in a blog war. And I don't think this is one, but over the last month or so, I've become aware of the fact that (among other things) my views on things may have been misrepresented. I've been labeled a "hater."
I posted a blog on my Twitter account last night that almost perfectly sums up how I feel about church. You can read it here. And let me just say now, I agree 100% with everything Rachel Evans wrote in this entry.
Now, I am by no means an expert on...anything really, but I've read a couple of books on how "cool" and "christian" can (or can't) mix (and actually the best one of these books was Hipster Christianity by Brett McCracken. If you are interested in this issue at all, read it), partly because I'm interested in sociology but mostly because I'm interested at how hip Christianity can really be, and I'm also interested in this question: Is the church influencing culture, or is culture influencing the church?
But before I try to answer that question (which I almost certainly cannot do), I want to clarify which question(s) I am not asking.
First, I'm not asking whether or not the church embracing technology is right or wrong. I'm sure some people have thought I'm some Christian Luddite sitting in my room writing manifestos about how robots are going to take over the world if we don't stop digitizing everything. That's not the case. While I do hate the fact that it seems that buying an actual, tangible book or record or whatever is going the way of the dinosaur, it's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact it's quite alright (except for the fact that when the robots DO take over the world, I'll still have my copy of Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and I'll know how to handle the situation better than all of you, but I digress.) It's personal preference. I'd rather read my Bible in book form and not in iPad form. I'd rather listen to music on vinyl than on my iPod. It's not right or wrong, it's personal preference.
And, on top of that, technology can be very helpful. It's a major benefit, for example to have the words to the music up on a screen instead of passing out a song sheet every week. It allows for some flexibility and it saves the environment (see? I'm not a hater of EVERYTHING at least). I mean, at some point and time, installing those great big organs in old churches was the pinnacle of technology, and I absolutely love organ music in church. I think it's great.
So that's not the question. Anybody that's reasonable can understand that, and I feel like reasonable people should be able to understand this - we don't hate technology. Not by a long shot.
Second, I'm not asking which "style" is right or wrong. Those might seem like very similar questions, but to me they're very different. I like folk music, so I'm going to be more inclined to buy an Indelible Grace or Red Mountain Church album than a Hillsong or David Crowder album (that's not the only reason, but it's a big part of it).
And I think in large part, culture is affecting the Church. I mean, it's hard to see it any other way. I mean, on one hand, you have the whole gay clergy thing. On another you have the universalism thing. On another you have the bullcrap that Elevation pulled (and I couldn't care less how many items were donated to the needy - Christ's own words in Luke 17:2 say it's better to tie a millstone around your neck and jump into the ocean than to cause a little one to stumble - that crap is inexcusable).
Like I said, technology isn't the issue, and I don't think anyone is saying it is. I mean, I'm sure there were people who were pissed at Paul for writing his letters on scrolls instead of stone tablets. They probably thought "if stone tablets were good enough for Moses, they're good enough for Paul." No, technology isn't the issue, it's just a medium. Just like Twitter or Facebook or anything else isn't an issue. It's the people using it. And I think part of the problem is that we've created a culture in which "why" is a bad word. There are certain people that I would feel totally comfortable saying "hey, why do we have this" or "what's the purpose here" and they'd give an answer. And that's fine. But there are other people that I wouldn't feel comfortable asking why, because asking why is just an assault on their authority, and that's wrong because they said it was.
And, if I were completely honest, "what's really bothering me" is the need to puff ourselves up and to try to make the gospel more appealing. Simply put, that's what bothers me. So, technology isn't the issue, as I've said before. It's the fact that the church in America today doesn't think the gospel of Jesus Christ is good enough.
On a final note, back to Elevation when church employees say a church focuses on "worship, not ministries," something is gravely, gravely wrong. John Piper once said "missions exist because worship doesn't." In that same vein, I'd say a church that focuses on "worship, not ministries" doesn't actually worship at all.
And that is something I have a huge, huge problem with.
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