Light Brings Salt
Volume 2, Issue 39
Iron Range Bible
Church
Dedicated to the
Systematic Exposition of the Word of God
Let the Biblical Buyer Beware!
T.A.
McMahon
Today's
church is experiencing two new and deadly influences: "biblical" marketing
and "biblical" movies. Nothing in recent history has impacted evangelical
Christian churches as pervasively and powerfully as these phenomena. "Biblical" marketing is an attempt
to use the latest sales concepts and marketing principles to attract the lost
in the hope that they will be won to Christ. The approach begins with a survey
and an analysis of the community in order to discover what would motivate the
lost to attend a local church. Once the survey is evaluated, the structure of
the
organization is conformed to
accommodate the stated desires of the unsaved. Such changes usually include key
elements that will make the lost feel more comfortable: a contemporary and entertaining
style of music, a positive, non-convicting, feel-good message with dramatic
illustrations and stimulating programs oriented more to the flesh than to the
spirit. One of the theories is that the more the church reflects the culture
familiar to the lost, the more likely it is that they will continue to attend.
The
potential problems with such an approach have been addressed before, but it's
important to reiterate that the gospel cannot be marketed to the lost. Why not?
Because the biblical gospel doesn't fit into what marketing is all about. All
basic definitions of marketing emphasize that the customers themselves are the
priority; their particular wants and perceived needs must be identified. The
customer's satisfaction is critical and he must be accommodated-even to the
point of making "positive" changes in the product, i.e.,
self-indulging modifications.
It
should be obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of God's Word that the
biblical gospel is clearly at odds with a marketing approach. The gospel is the
gift of eternal life for all those who come to the end of themselves, who
recognize that they are sinners separated from a holy God and that there is absolutely nothing they can do to merit salvation.
Self-oriented desires,
i.e.,
"felt needs," "making the customer feel
good about himself," and all other such marketing devices are the enemies
of the gospel of grace.
The
Apostle Paul, whom God inspired to present the gospel with absolute clarity
throughout his epistles, wrote, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom
I am chief" (1 Tim 1:15). That understanding must be in the heart of
anyone who would receive Christ.
Try
a massive marketing campaign with such a message today. Any ad agency would
laugh it to scorn! Is it possible that Paul could have missed a more effective
"felt needs" approach? Or perhaps the time was just not right to introduce
marketing the gospel? Hardly. Paul not only knew his
day, but the Holy Spirit gave him a view of our day: "This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men
shall be lovers of their own selves..." (2 Tm 3:1,2).
Our self-serving bias began at mankind's fall into sin in the Garden of Eden,
and the focus on self has risen to "perilous" levels as the Lord's
return draws near. Again, marketing to self is not the way to introduce
biblical salvation. Self itself is the problem.
Astonishingly,
pointing out this very simple yet fundamental error of attempting to market the
gospel is all too often met with responses such as: "Yes, but our church
is using it with great success"; "If just one person gets saved, it
makes no difference what your arguments are!"; "The church needs to
adopt twenty-first century methods to speak to our twenty-first century
culture!" Somehow, for many Christians, when the subject is of a spiritual
nature, unreasonableness is acceptable if not preferred. But what if the
subject turned secular, and involved, say, an investment opportunity, that the
following new formula (backed up by a host of personal testimonies) would
substantially increase one's bank account: "two plus two equals
five"?
The
blinding influence of greed aside, Christians would reject the proposal outright
because it simply didn't add up. Furthermore, even if it initially began to
produce big returns, nearly everyone could see that those foolish enough to
invest in such a program would soon reap the disastrous consequences of a
foundationally unsound endeavor. On the other hand, when it comes to
fundamental errors regarding the "faith which was once delivered unto the
saints" (Jude 3), there is a growing tendency for believers to take a leap
beyond reason, common sense, and, ironically, biblical sense.
Part
of the problem is that aggressive marketing nearly always produces impressive
results. At the very least, it generates activities and excitement that are
interpreted as a proof of success. As a friend of mine puts it, "Most
church-growth schemes do produce nickels and noses!" In going about God's
business, however, the Lord is very clear that He wants us to do things His
way. The prophet Jeremiah warned, "For my people have committed two evils;
they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (2:13).
What
makes today's so-called biblical marketing approach far more ominous than other
secular trends and fads that the church has implemented in the last century is
the core philosophy from which the marketing approach is drawn. It is basically
a management theories system that is humanistic and reformational, which means
that the purveyors of this philosophy are working toward solving community
problems (and ultimately the world's) without God by getting people to think in
a new way (i.e., their way). Their objective is to produce a humanity that has
exchanged a mindset for a "mindflex;" that
is, those willing to give up fixed beliefs (such as biblical doctrines and
absolutes) in order to pursue the middle ground in the hope of reconciling
differences that hamper "building relationships." The goals are peace, harmony, inclusiveness,
and tolerance, for the greater good and productivity of the community.
Although
the goals and methodology certainly sound good in general (and even better when
mixed with biblical terminology and ideals), they are "a way that seems
right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death" (Prov.14:12).
Proponents of "systems theory" thinking have targeted the church as an
agent for transforming society-but certainly not according to the "narrow
way" Jesus declares in Matthew
7:13,14. The church itself must undergo a transformation: from being
Christ-centered, submitted to His Word and only His solution for mankind's
salvation, to a man-centered endeavor in support of humanity's social welfare.
Contenders for "the faith" (Jude 3) must become simply "people
of faith," working for the "good of society." Since pastors and
pastoral staff members are the teachers and trusted leaders of their
congregations, they are potentially the ideal agents for this transformation.
The process is gradual and seductive, beginning at a very pragmatic level, with
church growth being the magnet. Marketing and management systems principles are
promoted, and the pastors are exhorted to function as
"corporate managers" and "change agents" of their churches.
Evidence
of this trend is manifest through-out Christendom, most particularly in the
"seeker-friendly way of doing church." The two men most influential
in spreading the marketing -management systems (with their globalist
and communitarian goals) to evangelical churches are Peter Drucker,
whom the business world recognizes as the elder statesman of modern management
theories, and Bob Buford, head of Leadership Network, an organization that
trains pastors and staffs of large churches in marketing - management
principles. Buford also heads up the Peter Drucker
Foundation for Nonprofit Management.
In
an extensive interview with Drucker, Christianity
Today notes their wide influence: "Over the last 20 years Drucker has had a good deal of interaction with what he
calls pastoral' churches. These include megachurches
like Bill Hybels's Willow Creek or Rick Warren's
Saddleback Community. Bob Buford's Leadership Network has invited Drucker to speak to conferences of large-church leaders and
has linked them to many pastors seeking [church-growth] advice." Rick Warren is especially taken with Drucker's concepts: "I read everything Peter Drucker writes. His book, The Effective Executive, is a
favorite I re-read every year." Drucker, in
turn, is gratified to see his humanistic concepts take hold in increasing
numbers of churches and parachurch organizations, which he regards as playing a
new and central
role in a new form of society. Willow
Creek, according to Drucker, stands out as an example
of "what business can learn from non-profits," and Saddleback's
mega-church model, he states, is "the most significant phenomenon of the
second half of [the twentieth] century." Would the undiluted teachings of
Christ ever win such acclaim from the secular world?
No
doubt few of the biblically oriented churches and pastors that are participating
in this systems-theory laden approach to church growth understand what they are
buying into. Nevertheless, they have (wittingly or unwittingly) taken on
worldly baggage and are headed down a road littered
with anti-biblical means and methods.
How far-reaching is the damage? Simply go to the Willow Creek and Saddleback
websites to get a sense of their influence.
Surely
Warren and Hybels are aware of the roots of what they
are promoting. Why are they and hundreds of thousands of shepherds (many, I'm
sure, from Bible-oriented churches) leading their flocks down this path paved
by man's methods and means? Where is biblical discernment? Where is awareness
of what they are feeding their sheep? By trusting in men, are they leading them
to "conform to the world" (Rom 12:2) and unintentionally directing
them away from the Word?
Note from P/T: That this kind of teaching is out there and
so prevalent in the Church today and is having a tremendous influence is all
the more reason to stay focused on the Word of God so that we will have
"the spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we can walk worthy of the
Lord." (