Jim & Casper Go To Church
Is judging a church by its weekend service like judging a book by its cover? Hard to say. You can learn a lot from the cover.
In this book Jim Henderson (former pastor now author and director of Off-The-Map) and Matt Casper (atheist friend) visit sever well known churches around the country and rate each church according to their experience. Most churches did not fare well under their scrutiny. The idea though is not to bash those churches (Saddleback, Willow Creek, Potter’s House, Mars Hill, Mosaic, Lakewood Church, Dream Center, etc) but to give a perspective of what is the purpose of the Church in America.
Is bigger better? Lights, cameras, big screens, huge auditoriums, professional musicians, professional videos, motivational sermons, parking lots full of SUVs, and enormous budgets. “Is this what Jesus told you to do?” asks Casper. What does church look like to those who don’t believe? Is that what God intended for the church to look like?
An obvious critique is the production of services in these mega-churches. Does hype help? Is it needed? Does it manipulate people’s emotions and impose a shallow response? These are good questions that churches, especially large ones where it is a weekly production, need to ask themselves. Big productions need big budgets. Is this where money is best spent? What about giving to the poor? What about community service?
Most large churches do those things too, but is that what they are known for? Is that what celebrity pastors are known for? Their work as community servants or their good looks and eloquent 3 point sermons. Maybe it’s their charisma or their humor or their “down to earth” preaching.
You can look at the ratings they gave churches at www.churchrater.com. You could also rate a church that you visit. What do you think about the idea of rating churches? What do you think about some of the questions they bring up through their conversations?
In this book Jim Henderson (former pastor now author and director of Off-The-Map) and Matt Casper (atheist friend) visit sever well known churches around the country and rate each church according to their experience. Most churches did not fare well under their scrutiny. The idea though is not to bash those churches (Saddleback, Willow Creek, Potter’s House, Mars Hill, Mosaic, Lakewood Church, Dream Center, etc) but to give a perspective of what is the purpose of the Church in America.
Is bigger better? Lights, cameras, big screens, huge auditoriums, professional musicians, professional videos, motivational sermons, parking lots full of SUVs, and enormous budgets. “Is this what Jesus told you to do?” asks Casper. What does church look like to those who don’t believe? Is that what God intended for the church to look like?
An obvious critique is the production of services in these mega-churches. Does hype help? Is it needed? Does it manipulate people’s emotions and impose a shallow response? These are good questions that churches, especially large ones where it is a weekly production, need to ask themselves. Big productions need big budgets. Is this where money is best spent? What about giving to the poor? What about community service?
Most large churches do those things too, but is that what they are known for? Is that what celebrity pastors are known for? Their work as community servants or their good looks and eloquent 3 point sermons. Maybe it’s their charisma or their humor or their “down to earth” preaching.
You can look at the ratings they gave churches at www.churchrater.com. You could also rate a church that you visit. What do you think about the idea of rating churches? What do you think about some of the questions they bring up through their conversations?
Sidenote: I don't use the phrase "go to church." Be the Church! How does the churchrater fit into that paradigm?
posted by Tim Oas @ 4:32 PM
3 Comments:
I want to borrow the book. Sounds really interesting, especially in light of some of the conversations we have been having.
I agree, Tim. How do you "go to church?" The title itself doesn't even make sense. Either you are the church, or you are not, but "the church" isn't a place. It's people.
Hi, Tim! Thanks for your review of "Jim & Casper Go to Church." I'm a volunteer with Jim's organization Off the Map and I wanted to let you know about our Live event coming up this November in Seattle. Both Jim and Matt Casper will be speaking at this event. Here is the link if you want to find out more: http://www.offthemap.com/live
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