Friday, February 22, 2008

Good News or Good Deal?

It appears to me that the Church has been influenced in the last 40 years by the methods of marketing that are promoted in the business world to build a customer base. Not that anyone thinks of potential converts as customers, but it appears many believe that packaging the message and appealing to the interest level of the target audience are keys to reaching people for the Gospel of Christ. The problem with attempting to achieve relevance with modern minds is that we may give up more than we gain, i.e., we may see more lost in truth than is gained in numbers. It may be said that many modern methods of marketing the Gospel present the "Good News" of Jesus Christ as a “Good Deal” for men.

The emphasis of the Good Deal is focused more on what we stand to receive through Christ (everlasting life and this-world blessing), than on what we have obligation to give to God, (willing submission to His authority and will). The "hook" of the Good Deal is what God will do for those who accept Christ as their Savior, rather than on what God has already done in sending His only Son to save repentant sinners. The promise of the Good Deal looks at what a person, hurting and in need, can get from God (solutions to life’s problems, personal well-being), while the biblical Good News is mostly concerned with what a person, lost and dead in sin, can be with God (free from the power of sin, and knowing Him who is Way, Truth, and Life).

There is no question that the promises of blessings and abundant life are real, scriptural promises. The problem of the Good Deal is that such benefits are presented as the substance of the Gospel, rather than, as they are, the outcomes or results that come our way by virtue of being reconciled to a gracious and forgiving God. Thus, the Good Deal makes eternal life in Christ a product, obtained by "whosoever will believe" from a kindly Deity , rather than a by‑product of the restoration from death to life, made possible by the grace of a righteous God, and imparted to undeserving and rebellious creatures. People may be thus encouraged by this Deal to be consumers of a benefit, rather than becoming contrite and repentant sinners, seeking the mercies and forgiveness of the Maker and Redeemer of mankind.

The problem in this manner of Gospel presentation is not in the lack of truthfulness of the images of God as presented, nor in the reality of the blessings alluded to, nor in any of the facts as presented. The problem, rather, is in the objective of such a presentation, and therefore in the way facts and images are selected and employed. The objective of such a Gospel appeal seems to be to secure a commitment of the mind, rather than loyalty of the heart; an agreement of the mind as opposed to a change of mind. The outcome appears more like signing up followers than reconciling rebels. No wonder some have referred to such evangelism as “easy-believism.”

For such who seek benefit from the Gospel, many discover that, not only are the blessings largely confined to internal things like the fruit of the Spirit, but there are these hidden surprises, euphemistically called "trials", awaiting them at every turn. Rather than experiencing an abundant life of continual joy and peace, many find their problems multiplied, their conflicts even greater. True, there is joy and peace to be found; but it comes by a price of surrender and humility. Such prices are hidden in the "fine print" of the Good Deal, generally omitted in the presentation aimed at persuading men to a decision for Christ. Little wonder so many are soon looking to exchange their faith for something more rewarding.

With such emphasis on what the sinner will receive for his expression of faith, there may be little attention given to the weighty issues of sin and guilt that demand a genuine change of heart. The result may be a "seed sown on the rocks or thorns", that will almost surely fail to take deeper root. When Roy Edgemon, Director of Discipleship Training for the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, responded to the question of why “...so many of our converts show no sign of spiritual life?”, He gave two primary reasons. First, he says: too much of our evangelism is "manipulative," "shallow," "abortive," "evangelism without integrity." Second: too many of our churches are concerned with "decisions rather than disciples."

If the intended objective of Kingdom work is to accumulate a numerical following, then the Good Deal is a good marketing strategy. But if the goal is to truly make sincere followers, then we must be truthful about the facts of what God is offering in the cross of His Son, i.e., a no‑turning‑back, take‑up‑your‑cross approach to life, leaving behind the considerations of self and "what my God will do for me" in favor of "what ought I do for my God?"

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Being blue brings out the green

A recent headline from the Associated Press reads: "Sad, self-absorbed shoppers spend more." The report goes on to describe a study that shows "people’s spending judgment goes out the window when they’re down, especially if they’re a bit self-absorbed." That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with life in the adult world, and especially with the things people tend to do when they're "blue." Spending, or rather, I believe, the anticipation and acquistion of something new, is just one of a variety of experiences like eating, partying, daydreaming, drinking, and many others that are "self-medications."

But is there any credible study that demonstrates people actually improving their moods or emotional life, long-term, by such activities? If anything has been proven again and again, the opposite is true. Momentary relief from sadness or stress by self-indulgent means is always a path to greater problems. Why then do intelligent people, who presumably know this when it comes to other people's lives, plunge ahead into poor choices when dealing with their own problems?

Again, the answer should be obvious to anyone with understanding of the human experience. By nature, I can be coldly objective about other people's feelings, and dispense wise counsel about the choices they should or should not make. But my own feelings are things I feel, things I am hit in the gut with. If relief or avoidance of discomfort in the realm of emotions is comparable to relief of physical pain, I'm going to tend toward a preference of a quick solution. I don't try to just "tough it out" with a throbbing headache, and various negative emotions feel just as painful; and an immediate "pain-killer" can look very attractive if it is believed to offer a positive emotional uplift, if even just for awhile.

Human beings don't "do suffering" easily. And the history of such suffering suggests that the burdens of the soul are far greater than afflictions of the body. We can go through a lot of deprivation and loss, and still live a more-or-less "normal" human life, if we at the same time have a resource for the soul that gives hope, comfort and some assurance that all this fits into some larger scheme of things. And this is what faith is all about, at least in the subjective experience of faith as a strength for the inner man.

And this again points out the weakness of self-medicating methods that primarily soothe the body, not the soul. They're all very short-term, and tend to be addictive, delivering less results with repeated use. By contrast, faith's strength and comfort for the soul is a "long-lasting" pain reliever that no drug can equal.

If there's a problem here, it's the fact that "just believing" has a kind of placebo effect in giving relief to the soul, even if such belief is not wholly based on truth. So people may think they find comfort in the promise of their chosen faith, when in fact they may be trusting in something contrary to the only authoritative source of truth we have: the unchanging Word of God. Only God's promises give real hope, though false hopes may feel just as real for those who hold them.

Trusting in God's promises in Christ doesn't remove all the various stressors of modern life, much less all the hazards of living in a fallen world. But faith in the God Who is, the God who has spoken, the God who acts in human history to save, not only comforts the troubled soul, but delivers the soul from much greater harm that befalls so many who seek a false comfort, finding instead only further pain.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Are we having fun yet?

If there's anything that keeps the American economy going, aside from the basic industries to fuel our daily needs, it's the human desire to have "fun." And the more our modern lifestyle stresses us with constant busyness and demands of work, raising children, improving the quality of our lives, etc., the more we seem to hunger for some kind of release and amusement.

As a result, the "fun" industry keeps growing. Movies, games, amusement parks, party providers and much, much more; an ever-growing sector of the economy is being built on things of little more consequence than to divert our minds from the daily grind. The recent Super Bowl extravaganza, a spectacle of far more impact than just another football game, was produced with the fun and enjoyment of the viewing public as an objective at least as important as deciding the recipient of the Lombardi trophy.

Even some of the "necessities" are manufactured and marketed in a way to put some zip or bling on what would be ordinarily rather mundane. A recent automobile ad tries to convince us that our car should "turn us on," as other car makers seek to ramp up the excitement of an otherwise routine commute.

Now, I like fun, and can truly appreciate the value of laughter and mental diversions from the burdens of work and other responsibilities. As Solomon well observed, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) God must have a sense of humor, many have assumed, for that natural quality of the human mind transcends genetic differences among human beings, and seems an integral part of humanity as made in God's image. Fun is more than mere recreation. It is the relief valve for a weary heart.

But as with all things in life, merriment has many sides. Indeed, many who appear to be having fun are simply covering or attempting to numb the pain of their normal lives. This fact was also observed by Solomon, as he noted, "Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and the end of joy may be grief. (Proverbs 14:13) When fun is pursued as a pain-killer or as a rescuer from boredom, the quest for fun takes on a life of its own. And then the desire for fun becomes an insatiable appetite for pleasure that leaves ordinary life as something to be endured rather than lived to the fullest. It is the same thing that happens when the desire for wealth replaces the mere usefulness of wealth, leaving people with the "love of money" that Scripture describes as a "root of all kinds of evil."

In other words, if the desire for fun becomes more valuable to us than the desire for real life, as when people dread Mondays and live all week in anticipation of Friday night, then the fun will end up being something wholly other than fun. How many people have plunged themselves into unexpected sorrow as a result of something that "seemed like fun at the moment?"

I thank God for real fun. But it's only real fun if it doesn't turn into something that I end up regretting. And it's only fun if it doesn't reduce my ability to live a real life to the fullest of God's will for me. But I thank God even more for real life, sorrow and joy alike, for only real life can build character, teach lessons and strengthen intimate relationships. By contrast, the only I ever learned from fun times was that I liked it. Sadly, for many who have yet to discover the "life more abundant" that Jesus promised, such an outcome of fun is enough.