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Videos that Make us Laugh and Think Pt. 2
By Dan | May 14, 2008
This video obviously is calling for a little discussion. There’s not a lot of fence sitting going on in this clip. But you know what, I have to kind of sit on the fence with this subject.
Do people come to church to find their needs met, or do they come to church to serve?
As my professors always liked to answer such questions: yes.
Of course we come to church to get our needs met. After all, that’s the heart of worship, that God comes to us and gives us his forgiveness, his Word, his body and blood. Of course when we come to church we expect people to care about us, to talk to us, to lift us up in prayer. Church is also supposed to be a community. And you know what, churches should also seek to meet people where they are sometimes. After all, people who aren’t in relationship with God don’t generally just go out seeking just to find God. They’re looking for something. They know they’re missing something. Churches often have to meet people and connect what they’re missing to the heart of the Christian message about God’s restoration of what is broken in this world.
Do churches go too far sometimes? Of course they do. I can’t say I’m on board with the churches giving away Ipods to attract newcomers. I’m not a fan of telling people that membership is irrelevant- just come to church whenever you feel like it, serve or don’t serve, as long as you’re on the rolls. Yes, the key is that as people are drawn in closer, they should also be drawn closer to the heart of God, which calls on them to serve as they have been served.
So how’s the video affect you? Any places you’ve seen these principles violated in the church lately?
Topics: Videos that make us think |
May 14th, 2008 at 9:15 am
This was one of the first videos I favorited at http://www.worshiphousemedia.com. The pony thing just cracked me up. I still don’t have the cajones to show it in church, though
May 14th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Ooooo my that was funny. I love the guy leaning over to kiss his wife as she moves away. John I would expect to see your vid on the big screen!
May 15th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Churchgoers do need their needs met, but I think it’s important to distinguish between real needs and felt needs. They really do need God’s forgiveness, the Word preached, the Sacraments administered, etc. They don’t need a concert experience, You’re Best Life Now, or similar criteria used to evaluate churches these days.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Darin, you pull us into some interesting discussions. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between “felt” needs and real needs. Do people have a need for food and shelter, healing, for emotional support, for parenting advice, etc. Certainly. Does God equip and in fact command the church to be part of his solution to these things as well? He certainly does. In fact in Luke 4 Jesus makes clear that his mission of salvation is quite holistic.
At the same time, we need to be careful that we don’t become so much about social side of the Gospel, that we forget this side is only a foretaste of the feast to come. Also, many of the things this video and you are highlighting have a hard time even sneaking in as social Gospel. Thanks for pointing that out. Truly the Word and sacraments, and an emphasis on those as central (as opposed to oftentimes getting so wrapped up in the trimmings) is key to our faithful and successful ministry here.