Besides having "John 3:16" printed on the bottom of their cups, the Gospel and In-n-out Burger are similar in that they do not change. This is something I appreciate every week at church as I hear the preaching of the gospel as well as when I enjoy a tasty burger (which I do
at least once a week). The thing is, when you have a good product, there's no need to modify it in order to increase its sales. Typically fast food chains will come out with a "new" item about every six months or so that sounds and looks good, but hardly ever lasts. For example, the other day I tried Taco Bell's new "fully loaded nachos," and not only was my first chip completely devoid of any of the nacho toppings, but it was also overpriced (30 cents extra for jalapenos!) and not even as good as the classic "nacho supreme." But I'm sure Taco Bell execs already know this and they know that these nachos won't last long, but are only good for a quick buck. One can find obvious parallels of this in the way that seeker and emergent churches adopt any number of "new" programs, styles, agendas, practices, etc. to stay "relevant" and to gain new followers.
I am not suggesting that every one of these church leaders are conscientiously engaged in crass marketing techniques, but the shallowness in many churches is undeniable. I love the fact that the liturgy we use in our church is essentially the same as that of Calvin's and the Reformers, and theirs was a conscience reproduction of the ones used in the early church. That being said, I think I'll go get a burger.
2 comments:
The picture of the guy jamming on the key boards is taken from an Emergent church event. I love the fact that there's a bunch grey hair men in the front row while homeboy's doing his best Daft Punk impression.
"...and theirs was a conscience reproduction of the ones used in the early church."
-A conscious reproduction?
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