SuperLutheran on Nostr: So I got asked about weird "community Jesus places" like this: Why do weird churches ...
So I got asked about weird "community Jesus places" like this:
https://www.everydaybuilding.com/Why do weird churches pop up, trying desperately to pretend they aren't churches?
It's a response to the so-called "rise of secularism."
The thinking was, in order to get a bunch of godless yuppies to get to Church and hear the Gospel, the assumption must be made that they would scream bloody murder if they hear the word "repent" and they would burst into flames if they saw a Cross.
So in order to reach the "seekers," these places de-emphasize the whole being Christian thing so as to bring people to the Word via some kind of osmosis.
It's also why a whole lot of their sermons are phronetic/life-guide type stuff. "10 ways the Bible fixes your marriage" type of stuff, or "wisdom for money from the Bible." Anything smacking of fire and brimstone is going to be frowned on, because it would be seen as chasing away the people who aren't "ready for it."
The problem is, these places get a lot of butts in seats on Sunday. This makes it a fantastic church model if all you care about is butts in seats, money in the coffer, and a kind of ego-boost that comes with preaching to big crowds. The state of these peoples' souls becomes negligible, because the pastorate is blurred with a business-type of model that emphasizes output. Put that coffee down, pastor, coffee is for closers.
Published at
2025-08-25 16:15:26 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "So I got asked about weird \"community Jesus places\" like this:\nhttps://www.everydaybuilding.com/\nWhy do weird churches pop up, trying desperately to pretend they aren't churches?\n\nIt's a response to the so-called \"rise of secularism.\"\nThe thinking was, in order to get a bunch of godless yuppies to get to Church and hear the Gospel, the assumption must be made that they would scream bloody murder if they hear the word \"repent\" and they would burst into flames if they saw a Cross. \nSo in order to reach the \"seekers,\" these places de-emphasize the whole being Christian thing so as to bring people to the Word via some kind of osmosis.\n\nIt's also why a whole lot of their sermons are phronetic/life-guide type stuff. \"10 ways the Bible fixes your marriage\" type of stuff, or \"wisdom for money from the Bible.\" Anything smacking of fire and brimstone is going to be frowned on, because it would be seen as chasing away the people who aren't \"ready for it.\"\n\nThe problem is, these places get a lot of butts in seats on Sunday. This makes it a fantastic church model if all you care about is butts in seats, money in the coffer, and a kind of ego-boost that comes with preaching to big crowds. The state of these peoples' souls becomes negligible, because the pastorate is blurred with a business-type of model that emphasizes output. Put that coffee down, pastor, coffee is for closers.\nhttps://i.poastcdn.org/9e/6e/8d/9e6e8dfbda99d1f485959a86b685f21db38f55dcf574a42c76181f5cbab9c84b.png\n",
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