Sunday’s Coming . . . the Movie Trailer
2010 May 8
18 Responses
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Sniffing out the work of God in the world…
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Exactly. EXACTLY. I wondered why the whole thing just seemed like a commodity, and this nails it. qb
The only thing they missed was the “holy hop” by all the band members while the guitarists are hitting the Casting-Crowns-type chords. But maybe that’s so much a given they didn’t need it. qb
Oh, LORD! I pray not – let it not be true!!! How sad!!!!
Oh, yes, Kathy, it’s true. This is life across a pretty wide swath of indie neo-evangelical megachurches. Spot on, in fact. qb
This is so true. Mike i’m reading your book Teens in Two Worlds and its so true. We are saved by grace and grace isnt’ us giving God our left over problems, it’s God taking over. Thank you Mike and thank you for showing me the Truth in God’s word.
That is hilarious! Unfortunately it’s a pretty good spoof on how things really are in some places.
Satire can be so lovely.
Has the contemporary church really became that shallow?
It is a hillarious video.
Unfortunately, this video is dead-on to my church home. Even though their approach reaches many unchurched people, it is so hyper-scripted that it seems to squeeze out the movement of the Spirit in the gathering. I always find it interesting how two seconds of “dead air” in the assembly freaks out the leadership.
Hey, wait a minute – this is exactly what (cool, hip author) told us would happen if we didn’t make church relevant for our dis-enfranchised 23 year olds. And, goodness knows the world revolves around a Starbucks-jacked-up 23 year old looking for meaning in life.
“Anyone who has declared someone else to be an idiot, a bad apple, is annoyed when it turns out in the end that he isn’t. ”
Nietzsche
I wouild expect this type of satire and judgment from most of the CofC..but its a sad day coming from people that have decided long ago to let God be the judge and the Holy Spirit to lead.
It would appear that our friend Steve S. has not paid close attention to the OT prophets’ use of satire! Laughing, qb
This satire gives me a lot to think about and consider. Satire can do that in a way that is very effective I think. And that’s often a good thing. For the places that this satire portrays, I hope this will open eyes and help people to focus on the One they are called to worship rather than worshipping the preacher, the money given in the offering, the numbers on the roll or in attendance, or their own “good works.”
So, perhaps the video may be helpful as a wake-up call to some churches (and for that reason maybe it should be seen/heard by those at whom it is directed.) However, I think many of us with a Church of Christ background are not familiar enough with individual mega churches to see that not all of them are portrayed by the video, even though a cursory glance at the size or music style may indicate otherwise to us. And I may be wrong, but I am concerned that some will view this video and instead of the satire being helpful (as the OT prophets’ satire was intended) it will instead only exacerbate the “us vs. them” thinking that I see all too often.
Most of us who grew up in the Church of Christ are more knowledgeable of and thus can more easily benefit from the satire of other styles of worship “planning”:
opening song that everyone has known since birth (song
leader’s favorite),
meet & greet (masks of smiles all around),
2nd song that everyone has known since birth (found as song
leader flipped through songbook),
opening prayer by whose-ever turn it is this week,
song before sermon that everyone has known since birth (standing
in order to wake everyone up to listen),
sermon rehash from file (either very soft, very loud, or
monotone),
song of invitation that everyone has known since birth (public
responses make very good stats),
closing song that everyone has known since birth (song leader’s
2nd favorite)
closing prayer (to signal that worship is now over until next
appointed time)
For the past few years I have been part of what many would call a contemporary megachurch. I didn’t set out to be there, and, in fact, I resisted being there in part because of the attitude expressed in this video. I have looked and listened closely for several years and thus far I don’t see the things the video portrayed at my church. Well, except I can see that maybe some of the music is chosen for a reason—but would it be better for it to be chosen haphazardly or randomly? Is engaging the emotions verboten? At my megachurch with all its drums and horns, with all its guitars and strings, with all its songs that are sometimes heard on the radio, I see humble worshippers and people gathered who truly seem to want to worship. I see leaders who confess sins, encourage us to lead sacrificial lives and follow Jesus and whose worship planning lifts up Him alone…not any man or woman or even our own good works. Regardless of the music selection process, regardless of the music style or instruments used, we all know that worship can and does flow from imperfect people. Isn’t it the heart poised toward God, the community of His people gathering to seek His face and who are longing to be changed as they worship Him that matters? So, I am wondering if this satire may help all of us, especially those who feel they are not being transformed in His presence as they gather to worship. Maybe this satire will help us all reflect and see if any lack of transformation is within ourselves or is because of a kind of worship that does not lift up Jesus, and so perhaps then we can begin to see if we are actually worshipping God—or something or someone else.
kathy – you forgot:
9 minutes of announcements from Brother Wannabe Comedian, including obligatory “please pick-up your covered dish from the covered dish 5th Sunday luncheon or we’ll give it away”.
We all have a liturgy. As was expressed above, the traditional c of c liturgy is one just the same as the episcopal one, or the mega church one.
I, as a former worship minister, have fallen into this trap before. Now, I really feel like, if I were planning a service again, I would want to do so as an artform rather than a tool for manipulation.
And I think that’s where some of our brothers in higher church tribes get it. The liturgy on sunday morning is there to draw us into the story. We meet around a table to fellowship and remember what our dominant narrative is. Somehow I feel like we’re missing the boat, either when we don’t plan at all (traditional c of c services) or plan a service full of bells and whistles that’s focused on personalities and light shows and videos. We get enough of that with our media saturated culture.
What liturgy we follow is important, because it guides our faith narrative.
Isn’t it curious that it’s a noted evangelical mega-church who produced this video? In one sense, it could be a self-deprecating form of humor that reflects its understanding of what its own form, wineskin, or approach could, and in some cases, does evolve into. Kind of like how we C of Cers make fun of ourselves or have our own niche of humor today in light of how other heritages “stereotype” the C of C.
I wonder if the ability to laugh at ourselves doesn’t, in one sense, indicate a healthy awareness of how we’re perceived and where we often go wrong when taken to extremes. That’s not to say we shouldn’t weep at times either over such things.
Video satires and parodies can be powerful teaching mechanisms. One of the challenges though for how we interpret them, process them, and comment on them is when we see them in cyberspace – but divorced from the original context or setting in which they were originally viewed. Sometimes we can make them say anything we want to satisfy and support our preconceived notions to begin with. This includes what I just said as well.
It’s not unlike what we are inclined to do with Scripture.
But I digress….
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