Back in January I wrote a response to the current issue of Outreach Magazine, and their first ever list of “America’s Most Innovative Churches.” Based on the content of the list, I titled my post, “America’s Most Inbred Churches.” Having taken some time to visit the websites of these churches, I have been struck by something that is quite convicting; entertainment has become the core conviction of many groups masquerading as the church.
I spent some time browsing the website of a popular and large church. They had a link for, “first time visitors” and so naturally I went there first. As I viewed the content of these pages, I asked myself the following, “if I were new to Christianity, what would I learn about these people who claim to follow Jesus?”
The first thing I noticed is that they gave a history of their church—that looked interesting. It was well organized by giving key dates that served as milestones in their history. But with each milestone came the recognition that everything was about numbers and a building. Every milestone was about how many people showed up on a Sunday, how much property they were able to buy, and how much money they had raised to build a building. The website even gave a nicely crafted bar chart so visitors could track just how big and prosperous the church had grown. What was the most important message to their first time visitors, “we have grown really big and now we have a really expensive building on some prime property. We can entertain you!”
The next article for the “first time visitor” was a video showcasing their 2006 year in review. I watched this video as this church displayed everything they thought was important for the first time visitor to see. What did I see? I saw a lot of fun events; people eating food, people dressed up like chickens running across the “stage” during services, and generally people having fun. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but what bothered me is what I did not see. I did not see one person in prayer, I did not see one person serving the needs of others, I did not see anything that looked liked a missions project, I did not see one single baptism, I saw no one taking communion, I saw nothing that emphasized the teaching of God’s Word or the making of disciples… in short, I did not see anything about Jesus. What was the most important message to their first time visitors, “we are a really fun group that will make you feel good about yourself. We can entertain you!”
The reason I don’t care to reveal the name of this particular church is because, quite frankly, I am more concerned that it does not become the name of my church. Seeing this group’s website convicted me that our own Reunion Church website needs to reflect the unique message of the Gospel. Sure we want people to know that Christians have fun and can throw a good party, but this message must not come out at the expense of the letting people know we are doing the work of our Father and proclaiming the message of our Brother.
Who are America’s most entertaining churches? I don’t 
know, but I pray my church does not earn a spot on the list. And before anyone volunteers to compile a list, take a good long look in the mirror and make sure your church is not already on it!
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