Consider this from Michael McKinley at 9Marks:
A good friend attended my church for a few Sundays. One comment of his stood out to me. He was struck by how different I was on Sunday mornings compared to the way I might be on Thursday afternoon over a cup of coffee. He wasn’t accusing me of hypocrisy (or so he said), rather he was noting an intentional shift in tone and demeanor. Whereas I’ll be sarcastic and (attempt to be) funny in personal chit-chat with a friend, I am much more reserved and measured in my preaching and leading of the church. In short, I’m much less cool.
All of that is intentional. It’s not too hard to draw a crowd, methadone clinics and brothels do it all the time. You could flash the tats and play some rock music and preach funny sermons and I promise you’ll get a crowd if you do it well. But I think if I do that, I’ve obscured Christ and drawn people to myself and my personality. I’d much rather step back, tone down my largish personality, and try to draw attention to Jesus.
What do you guys think. Should we (who may or may not be “cool”) change the way we act and talk on Sundays in our church services in an effort to get our personalities out of the way to show the people Christ? Does that imply that we are being sinful in our normal everyday behavior?
So should we cover our tatoos, flatten our spikey hair, and tuck in our shirts in an efforts to not be liked by people who come hear us for the sake of the gospel?
May 29, 2008 at 4:13 pm
That is a very interesting question. I think it’s human nature to change the way we act to some degree when we are representing something other than ourselves. Usually we try to “show the good side” while trying to “hide the bad.” Everything we do in life should be to point the way to Jesus. My personal goal in life is to be so filled with Jesus that He is what people see instead of myself.
I’m not too good at expressing myself (judging from how many times I’ve deleted and re-written this comment) but I believe we should be transparent and truthful to all people, all of the time. I don’t think we should be different on Sundays than we are any other day of the week. I think that is why the world outside of the church sees so much of what they consider hypocrisy. Of course, this is easier said than done and I wish I could say I practiced it. But I’m learning and we have to be honest about that too.
May 30, 2008 at 7:06 am
agreed.
May 30, 2008 at 7:21 am
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May 30, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Several things to think about. Did the church call the cool guy or the other guy to be their pastor?
Have you always had both personalities?
Who do you want to attract to the church? We usually attract people like us (I know that’s scarey for me!).
And if the church called the other guy (not the cool guy), who might you run away from the church if you go cool in the pulpit too?
There may be a Biblical balance there somewhere and God will have to lead you to it.
Good post,
Thanks,
Mark
June 7, 2008 at 4:43 pm
There are some things about ourself that I think should be set aside when it comes to ministering. You wouldn’t act the same over a cup of coffee as you would at a funeral (not that church is a funeral). It is a different setting. You may motify your behavior at a business meeting vs. a cup of coffee too.
I don’t think we have to wear a bun or not spike our hair because we are in church on Sunday. My real question would be why do we try to hard to be “cool” outside of church?
As Christians I think we sometimes “try” very hard to attract “cool” people or a specific “generation” to our church rather just be ourselves and speak into the lives of people around us regardless of their “cool” factor.