24 May

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Don’t Let the Rapture Not Happen Again

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rapture

This last Saturday, like every other day, came and went without a Rapture.

There were no reports of nude Christians flying in the air and there were no piles of clothing left behind on sidewalks and street corners. No unmanned airplanes fell from the sky and cars devoid of operators were not turned into bombs on wheels. As far as I know, Kirk Cameron was not running around with that trademarked, dumbfounded look on his face.

Despite the agonizing pleas of a handful of Christ followers in California, none of these things happened.

What did happen in the days, weeks and months leading up to this weekends anti-climactics, was the result of decades of bad theology, improper use of Scripture and broken eschatology. For Christianity, it was a massive public relations gaffe that would have made Charlie Sheen wince.

How did we let this happen?

Towards the end of last week, there was no shortage of mocking directed at the Church.  By proxy, Jesus Christ and the Gospel were turned into a laughing stock. People were creating “end of the world” checklists and playlists to accompany being raptured or left behind. Most of it was hilarious. Unfortunately for the Christian Church, a handful of attention-starved believers were allowed to speak for the whole group.

If this were an isolated incident it would be funny.

Every week, it seems like some fringe element of Protestantism is grabbing the spotlight and using it to do damage to the message of peace, forgiveness and love that is the Gospel. Somehow, the likes of Jim Jones, Harold Camping and Westboro Baptist Church have become the spokespeople for Christianity.

The cast majority of Christians are stunned when these people open their mouths and we deny them emphatically to anyone who will listen to us. In our attempt to show the unbelieving world that they are not us, we also participate in the mockery and humor. The silent majority of true Christianity is only reactive to public relations issues and most of the time it is too late.

How can we be proactive? What can be done to prevent the crazy guy in the mailroom from being the voice of the corporation (forgive the big business analogy)? Talk to an Imam in your community and you will find the same frustration in his heart. Christianity’s problem is much like that of Islam: fringe radicals represent the middle in the minds of Western culture. It should go without saying that this is not helping the Gospel message and we need to find a solution.

One idea that is not original, needs some work and is a little bit idealistic is unity. Yeah I know, you’re thinking “fat chance” right? But any conversation about the Christian voice in the mainstream needs to include some discussion about unity. The Catholic church sends out its press releases through the Holy See but the Protestant faith has no official voice that a majority of its elements agree on. Instead, hundreds of denominations speak for themselves and many cite petty theological issues as reason for not working with their brothers more closely. To an outsider, the church looks like a splintered group of bickering children who let their minor differences define them instead of their major similarities. Protestant Christianity needs unity.

I have no idea what this unity would look like, maybe like the United Nations, but its functions would include public relations, joint missions initiatives and pleading the case of the poor, the fatherless and widow worldwide. The hope is that over time, this unified group of the world’s Christian denominations will come to accurately portray Christ and represent the Gospel to mankind. It should not be a political organization, and its only vision should be the full Gospel for the whole world. Within it’s members, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and Baptists disguised as community mega churches all get along.

Maybe this is asking too much or maybe it is discussion for another time and place. But time is running out, according to a man who knows his Bible and speaks for Jesus, the world is ending on October 21 of this year.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Culture, Strategy

18 May

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Are Your Small Groups Thinking Too Small? Part 1 of 2

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small-group-pancakes

I’m going to borrow a line from Mitch Hedberg and use it as an analogy in my  2-part series on small groups.

Small groups are like pancakes – exciting at first but by the end you’re sick of ‘em.

My self-serving, self-satisfying need for community was fed to me for years through the model of a church small group.  Imagine swapping out the Cheers logo with “Small Groups” in the video below. The catchy lyrics sum it up nicely:

I like going where everybody knows my name. Let’s throw a little Jesus in the mix with some off-the-cuff prayer and a video study where only half the people actually have the study guide and a quarter of them actually read it.  Play some games, eat some snacks, throw in a few, “How’s your week been?” followed by some, “Fantastic!” and wrap it all up with, “See ya next week!”

I think small groups think too small.  Jesus had a small group, and they had snacks, but then He died which totally killed the small group’s momentum. Then, He came back and told His small group to think bigger.  My goals with this 2 part article are first to identify some concerns I have with the traditional small group model and the church’s view of “connectedness” and second to explore some solutions with the hope that it will push us all to reexamine some of our ideas on community.

Riding the Foam

Last year, I interviewed Mark Connelly, Lead Pastor of one of the fastest-growing churches in America. During the interview, Mark said something I tend to agree with.  He likened the traditional small group model to a wave that has been ridden until it is nothing but foam on the beach.  Churches have been riding the small group wave for years because it’s what they know.  We do it because we’ve always done it, and we’re neither willing to change nor convinced there is a new wave to ride. Sunday School anyone?

Cliché

The problem is connectedness, and the solution is to join a small group. But, when someone asks why, we resort to the clichés. The church has created language to try and make the idea of small groups more relevant and appealing. For example, if you want to go “on a journey” and “do life together” with other “messy people” that will help you “unpack your sin” and provide “accountability” with the things you “struggle” with all the while “encouraging spiritual growth” with an element of “outreach” then you should definitely “get connected” in a small group.  That’s the language I’ve grown up with and it’s how I communicate small groups to other people, but I’m not really sure I even understand what I’m saying anymore.

Small Groups Stay Small

We like the exclusivity & comfort of a small group.  It’s a place where we know others and they know us. We’ve spent time talking, connecting, praying and learning to trust one another.  In fact to introduce a new couple or person into a close-knit small group is often frowned upon.  We stay small because small groups are self-serving models of comfortable intimacy.  We stay small because we’ve been told it’s how we can “do life together”. What if early churches believed that staying small was the goal and exclusivity was celebrated?  Would we be here today?

If small groups were marketed as “Small Churches” it might feel too overwhelming and not quite what we’re looking for … we’d like to stick with our big church where the paid staff carries the weight of caring for the poor, helping the hurting, moving the gospel forward, and discipling, thank you very much.  But, I think a small church model is a more Biblical approach.  Small groups fundamentally are not meant to grow while churches are intended to spread.  We often say, “It’s not about us.” Whatever makes you feel better, but, small groups can quickly start to feel exclusive and self-serving the minute we fear change.  Could you look around the room in your small group and think, “We’ve got everything here we need to start a church”?

Bust Open the Back Door

The mainstream church has popularized the concept of “closing the back door.”  Churches pay big money to companies that can come in and figure that out for them.  The question they are trying to answer is, “How do we keep our people here?” The biggest way to do this is by pushing people towards small groups. Why? Because small groups equal community, community equals connectedness, connectedness equals consistency and consistency equals stability. Basically, people usually don’t leave a church once they have a connection. But, maybe we’re attracting the wrong people with a shallow view of connectedness? Maybe we’re asking the wrong question? If your church has started to look more like a hotel concierge with a list of fun things to do perhaps it’s time to revisit what Biblical connection looks like? Maybe it’s time to start asking how we can move more people through the church rather than into comfortable seats?

If you constantly feed a person’s need for comfort within the church you will unwittingly sacrifice your Biblical mission for the satisfaction of a people that will hold you captive.

I desire to be part of a church that, like frozen orange juice, is concentrated. In fact, the whole point of buying a concentrate is to dilute into a solution that serves its purpose.  The world is that solution and the church’s focus should be so concentrated that a person who refuses to grab hold should feel out of place and invited to hop to the watered-down church down the street. Maybe that not’s popular, and perhaps even unloving, but try being all things to all people and you become a fad, not a legacy. Or, as St. Augustine said it, “The Church is a whore, but she is my mother.” Are you afraid to sacrifice numbers for purpose? Bust open the back doors and invite parasitical people to suck the life out of some other body.

Comfortable, stagnant bodies breed parasitical people.

A New Model

You cannot change the culture of small groups without adopting a new model of Biblical connectedness, mission and relational experience.  Anything else is a bandaid or an experiment that will ultimately fail. You must turn the ship and espouse these values across all aspects of the church.  If you preach small groups but do not participate in a small group is it really ingrained in your culture?  Is communion a cracker and some grape juice a few Sundays out of the month or is it an intentional part of gathering together separate from a big building to rejoice, remember and give thanks?  Your people will adopt the language and direction you lead them in, regardless of what is true.  It’s time to look at the problem of small groups not as an isolated component of the local church, but the culmination of actively living out the culture Jesus espoused 7 days a week and separate from a building.

New purpose with unwavering focus ignites fresh, contagious momentum.

Part 2

In part 2 of this series I will explore some ideas on the culture of connectedness, social online tools to help support a new model of small group in a world of online connectivity, and discuss models that may align better with our present culture seen through a Biblical lens. For now, please share your thoughts and ideas on models, cultures & tools you’ve seen work and fail, and some insight into why.  I’ll incorporate some of your thoughts into part 2.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Article, Church 2.0, Strategy

13 May

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5 Reasons to Cancel Cable

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cancel-cable

A friend of mine was asking some questions this morning about the AppleTV and Roku media boxes.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to talk a little bit about my family’s move away from cable.

Hello, my name is Brian and I’ve been cable-free since July 2009.

Hi, Brian.

This may all sound shallow and petty (because it is) but my decision to cancel cable was tough.  There has been cable in my house since I was a kid, and had become accustomed to complaining about having nothing to watch despite channels going into the 700′s.  It created a sense of anxiety just thinking about it. What about sports? Oh man, no more Man vs. Wild, or Mythbusters?  What would I do with myself? You see where I’m going.

But, I’ve survived.  My family still functions, we’re not bored, and food still tastes good.  Here are my 5 reasons to cancel cable.  Maybe you have more to share in the comments?

1) The Cost

Cable is expensive, we all know that.  I was spending well over $120/mo.  I’m not going to make this an article about a justice project or how many people could get clean water from my annual cable bill (it’s 72).  But, I do want to point out that $120/mo can be used in more life-giving ways … even in the realm of entertainment.  $120 is 4 good date nights. $120 is a lot of books I’ve been wanting to read. $120 is taking a friend out to coffee every day. $120 is paying off that loan just a little bit faster and moving towards being debt free.  $120 is a great start on a rainy day fund (which happens often metaphorically but not so much literally here in Phoenix).  You get the idea.

2) The Alternatives

We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg with the alternatives to cable.  In short, canceling cable doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on your boob-tube entertainment.  Recently, I turned my parents (now in their 60′s) onto the AppleTV ($99 one-time cost) .  No, it’s not an actual television.  It’s a little box that connects to your TV and using your internet wi-fi (or ethernet) acts as a middle-man to connect you to videos, music & photos stored either on your local computer, or, on a service such as Netflix.  Roku ($99 one-time cost) and Boxee Box ($199 one-time cost) are two similar devices, and I have tried them all.  At the end of the day, though, my family uses the Roku player and we mostly use it for Netflix, Hulu, Rdio & Pandora.  Roku has a big advantage over AppleTV right now because it has “channels” you can download.  Think of Roku channels as the equivalent to Apple iPhone apps that you’d get in the app store.  Once AppleTV opens up an app store (which I’m sure is coming) I’ll probably switch over to that device.

My point here is that for a one-time cost of one of those devices plus $9/mo. for Netflix and $5/mo for Rdio we pretty much have all the content we can stand to watch.  Granted, Netflix streaming doesn’t have all the greatest and most recent stuff but that’s where purchasing movies on Amazon VOD and watching shows on Hulu Plus balance it out.

3) The Waste

700 channels is a lot of waste.  I think we are starting to see a trend in only paying for the content you consume which really optimizes your spending and removes the opportunity to sit on the couch with your thumb on the “Previous Channel” button as you search for your best bet.  Canceling cable trims the fat.  Think about it, you probably have 5-8 channels you regularly watch, which means you’re probably paying around $15-$22/channel.  Ouch.  That’s how cable packages work – they bump you up to the next tier to enjoy a few of their popular channels and you pay them dearly for it.

4) The Routine

Watching TV can be a routine.  You come home from an exhausting day and you just want to turn off your brain, right?  You cook, eat and clean with it on.  I’ve implemented a strict policy in our house that we rarely have a meal with the TV on – only music, or only if what we’re watching is something we all agree is timely and important to all of us (such as NBA finals, announcement from the President, Jackson reunion … just kidding).

The point is that TV can be a habitual disengagement from your surroundings, your family, your time with God, and even yourself.  Be in a routine that is life-giving, not life-sucking.

5) The Win

My wife and I rarely agree on what to watch.  In the past it would end up with her watching Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice while I sit on the couch with my laptop doing something else, or sometimes, just leave the room completely.  Or, I’d watch some action movie and she’d be on Facebook or go do “crafty things”.  We we’re both present and absent.  We were no different than 2 strangers at an airport terminal – sitting next to each other, going to the same place, but completely disengaged from each other and in our own worlds.  Now, because we can choose series and episodes that we can watch together and at any time we have torn thru shows like Lost, Prison Break and now onto 24.  We cheer together, laugh together, unwind together, and relate together.  How many times is Michael Scofield going to have to save the day? Now, I realize there are a ton of other things we can do together too, but, this is a post about canceling cable, not ideas on a fantastic date night.

The win for us is that we save a ton of money (without switching to Geico), we pay for only what we want to watch, we can access it anytime, anywhere (no DVR required), and we’re watching things together that we enjoy.  All win’s in my book and reinforces the reason I’ll likely never go back to cable.

Bonus

For those of you who still feel like you’re missing out on shows I’ve found that not having cable but wanting to watch something specific that I don’t have access to (like Phoenix Suns games when they we’re worth watching) I’m forced to get out and either go to a restaurant with my wife, or, we go to a friend’s house to watch it with them.  In other words I haven’t yet missed out on anything I’ve really wanted to watch, and in the process have found that getting out and being with other people is a side-bonus!

Note: You can also purchase NBA League Pass, MLB League Pass & NHL League Pass and watch live games on your AppleTV, Roku & Boxee Box.

So what have your experiences been? What are some good arguments for keeping or killing cable? What are some other alternatives?  And if you’re the smart-guy that says, “Just don’t watch TV, it’s a waste of time.” I’ll punch you in your digital face.  Not that what you’re saying isn’t true, this just isn’t the article for it and you’ll be “that guy.”

Filed Under: Advocacy, Article, Culture, Featured, Resources

28 Apr

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CLA Conference Presentation & Notes

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photo2

In case you missed Nick and I at the CLA Conference in Dallas I wanted to give you the presentation and notes we put together on our talk, “Lots to Look at, Nothing to See; a Promotional Tale.”  This talk covered social media strategy, communication vs. marketing basics and tons of social media tools you can look further into!

Download Presentation

Filed Under: Church 2.0, Strategy

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12 Apr

2 Comments

Easter 2011 Campaigns

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Hello friends of Stc!

Easter is upon us and we are all thinking the same thing – those 2-a-year-timers are a-comin’.  So, I was interested to hear from you on ways you are reaching out to your community to invite them to Easter.  What are you doing this year? Is there a new approach to the message you’re taking? Is there a campaign that could inspire others? Are you taking advantage of social media or web strategies to invite people?

Share yours in the comments below!

Here are a few campaigns I recently came across that are interesting:

Have you seen others??

Filed Under: Be Inspired

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07 Apr

7 Comments

[CONTEST WINNER] Have You Seen This Piggy?

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We asked readers to submit a piece based on this image. It happens to be a prop from our “What NOT to Do in Church Communications” Booth at Converge Ignite last month. Anyways, the winning post came from Dustin Stout, check out his blog here. Thanks Dustin, the pig is in the mail!
-SHRINKstaff

First off, let me start by saying I have nothing against pigs. In fact, I eat them regularly. I also have nothing against piggy banks. I had one when I was growing up as I’m sure many of you did as well. However, the picture below really makes me want to engage in a real life session of Angry Birds! (If you don’t know what Angry Birds is, check out THIS VIDEO.)

WARNING: if you see this pig on or around your church’s premises, find the nearest heavy object and proceed (with caution) to bash and smash it into a thousand little pieces. Afterwards, walk away slowly and pretend it never happened.

I think this picture, unfortunately, depicts the way many church-goers view their financial contribution to their church. The ‘giving’ part of Sunday’s church service comes around and they reach into their pocket, pull out their pocket change, dump it in the tithe tray and call it a day. Then they’ll go out to lunch after church and end up tipping their server more than they dropped in the offering tray.

Jesus doesn’t want you to leave him a tip, he wants you to give him your heart.

Piggy bank faith is a huge problem. (I may have coined a new phrase with that one!) It is a huge problem that is a result of a lack of trust. It is our job as followers of Christ to combat this bondage and smash it into a million pieces. God is bigger than a ‘piggy bank’ faith. The best place to start is God’s word.

God commands us in Malachi 3:10,

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

God commanded us to bring the WHOLE TITHE (one-tenth or 10%) as an offering. He already owns it all and he’s trusting you with a portion of it. All he is asking is that you give back 10% of what you “earn” to resource his kingdom. How can we claim to have an authentic, REAL faith in Jesus when we won’t trust him with our finances? You can do all sorts of religious practices and look like a saint on the outside, but what about inside? What is in your heart? When you look at the things that Jesus taught, he always seems to be getting to the heart of the matter. It seems pretty clear to me in Matthew chapter 6 verses 19-24:

“19Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…

24No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

It comes down to a matter of the heart. If talking about money is offensive and you feel it doesn’t belong in a church, guess what– you may want to re-think what you’re devoted to (read verse 24 again). If Jesus is your Lord and savior, then you will trust him with your finances and willingly play your part in resourcing His kingdom. You trust him with your eternity, so trust him with everything else.

What would happen if you smashed the ‘piggy bank’ faith?

The early church in the book of Acts tells of a radical way of life in which the believers had everything in common– they shared everything they had! The Bible tells us in Acts 4:32-37 that because of these faithful believers that they were able to do powerful things and that there was “no needy person among them.”

God blessed the early church in Acts so much that they had no need to keep things to themselves. They gave generously to anyone who had need, and because of that, God continued to bless them beyond what they needed! Their hearts were fully committed and they lacked nothing. Think about what that would look like today. What could we, the church, do if we truly committed ourselves to God’s vision? What impact could we make in places like Japan, in the aftermath of the recent devastating earthquakes and tsunamis?

Grab a hammer and shatter that piggy bank.

As followers of Jesus, it’s our privilege to carry out God’s vision. We can hear the word of God every week, but if we don’t put our faith into action, surrendering EVERYTHING (including our finances) to God’s will, how can we expect God to do wondrous and miraculous things in our life? Let’s go grab our hammers and refuse to be held captive by a ‘piggy bank’ faith. Let’s join together, go all-in for Jesus, and watch him open the floodgates so much that we won’t have enough room to contain it!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Humor

28 Mar

8 Comments

5 Things We Need to Learn from the Mormon Church

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lds

This week, the dudes who brought us South Park are debuting their musical based on their ever-famous (or infamous) Mormon episode. Book of Mormon has been met with mostly positive reviews but has not been without the negative blowback that typically follows when South Park pokes fun at a particular religion.

Now, it is no secret that foundational Christian doctrine differs from LDS theology in key areas. Christians have made it a sport to argue with and generally make life miserable for Mormons when given the chance. However, we have no problem lining up behind them to protest against the staple gay marriage bill that comes around every other voting season. It is a demented relationship at best.

But this post is about methodology, not theology.

Living in Arizona, we are surrounded by a large population of LDS (Latter Day Saints). They are our neighbors, co-workers, and *GASP* friends. Over the years I have come to respect several things about the Mormon church as an organization and community. These characteristics are things I think the Christian church in America needs to take notes on.

1. Public Relations

If Christianity had a PR firm, it should have been fired decades ago. The fact that we don’t is so painfully obvious that preaching[raw][image align="right"]http://www.i4m.com/think/thumb/South-Park-Mormons.jpg[/image][/raw] against our past failures has almost replaced the Gospel itself. Every Christian engaged with a peer in a spiritual conversation must first overcome the typical “hypocrisy” debate and then tackle the issues of the Crusades, Manifest Destiny and the bombing of abortion clinics (just to name a few).

But the Mormon faith has a tainted past too. Outside of church historians and a handful of ill-intended educated Christians, people don’t know about the dark side of the religion. This dark side includes a massacre of 120 men, women and children settlers less than 150 years ago on American soil.

Instead, the Mormon church is known for being “too nice.” People are annoyed at how perfect its followers seem. Overall, there is a consistent approach to works and Mormonism has branded itself as the religion of good deeds.

Like Christians, Mormons hold some pretty wacky-sounding beliefs too. Try and describe communion to a non believer:

What you say: “Well, we eat bread and pretend it is the body of Jesus and we drink grape juice and call it His blood. We do this together once a month at least.”

What they hear: “We practice ritualistic cannibalism or a regular basis.”

Mormons believe they will one day be exactly like God, but having dominion over their own world. But this belief is buried and lost on even some of its followers. And the way they describe it makes you want to sign up and begin picking out names for you own celestial realm. From a public relations standpoint, the fluidity and consistency at which the LDS church has handled itself is almost flawless.

2. Staffing Issues

Have you ever met a Mormon pastor? Have you come across a guy in jeans a flip flops at your local Starbucks, reading blogs and listening to sermons and getting paid for it by his church? 

Nope, and you never will.

That’s just not how Mormons roll. Instead, they decided that for each local church body (aka “ward”) there would be several key volunteer leaders (aka “bishops”) and they would be responsible for the delegating the responsibility of running the church to other volunteers. The music, message, and other service elements are performed by volunteer church members each week who are on a sort of “pastoral rotation.” Each year, the church member is assigned his or her “calling” which tells them what duty they be performing in the coming months. 

The downside of this is that a guy like myself might be stuck pulling diaper duty in the nursery thus propelling me to the megachurch down the road where I don’t have do anything.

The upside of this is that it keeps cost down and every church member has taken ownership of their church. Each family is invested in making sure things run well and the vision of the church is executed. Who doesn’t want that for their local body?

In the average Christian church, the largest budget section is the salary of the staff. We have managed to take a couple curious verses in the New Testament and turn them into a mandate for creating medium-sized corporations complete with corporate perks and parking spaces. I am not going to make a case against paid staff in this post, but it is possible and seems to be doing wonders for the fastest-growing religion in the world right now.

3. Engaging the Community

I recently heard a speaker at a conference of church leaders chastise the audience for focusing their time and energy “building towers of Babel” instead of engaging their community around them. In my conversations with people after the sessions, I was amused and saddened at how many leader assumed the speaker was directing his message to someone else in the room. I never heard one person say, “Wow, that really hit me personally. My church needs to make some changes.”

[raw][image align="left" caption="Mormon missionaries."]http://www.wordsoftruth.net/wotvol10/wotbulletin11222009_files/mormonsonbikes.jpg[/image][/raw]I think this is because as church leaders, we know what we need to do (talk to tour neighbors, etc) but we don’t know how to do it. The Mormons are great at this. Granted, their strategy is simple and hasn’t changed for decades, but they have conditioned their community now to know who they are and what they are about based on looks alone. They use pairs of scrapping young men, wearing dark slacks, white short-sleeved button up shirts and dark ties. They get around on mountain bikes and they always have helmets on. When they come to your door, you know what they are there for: to talk or to help.

One time, a friend of mine who is a Christian told me with great joy how he some Mormons came to his door and asked if there was anything they could do to help him.  He put them to work for hours on a hot summer day picking weeds in his backyard. To him, this experience was a win for the real Kingdom, he was glad to take up their time and got joy from relaying the story. I, on the other hand, wondered why the real Kingdom wasn’t the one with the followers who were willing to sacrifice their time and sweat for their community.

We need to learn from the Mormons that engaging your community doesn’t require a ministry or director. Talking to your neighbors means putting their needs above those of your church and asking your congregation to do the same.

4. Social Media

One recurring theme here at Shrinkthechurch is that it is not enough to just HAVE a social media profile for your church, you need to USE it. There is a major difference between talking TO people through Twitter and Facebook and talking WITH them. The first is just traditional, old marketing that gets unused. The second is what make social media work.

The LDS Church is excellent at talking with people across their social media sites. There are several Facebook pages for the different sections and interests and multiple Twitter feeds users can follow for church news, devotions etc. The official LDS Facebook page is updated daily with videos, polls and conversations and has almost half a million users.

Recently, they started the, “I am a Mormon” YouTube campaign where average church members are followed around in their everyday life and proclaim, “My name is ________. I am an artist and I’m a Mormon.” These videos are featured on a microsite that engages prospective converts and even allows them to chat live with average Mormons about their faith.

5. Unity

This is the biggest and most important. While there are varying sects of the LDS religion, for the most part, they are one unified body that offers a consistent experience across all regions and wards. The statement of faith for all communities is the exact same and there is no competition among branches.

Simply put, the Mormon church is the closest thing to a Wal Mart religion there is out there.

On the other hand, Protestant Christianity is always fighting and competing within its parts. In every suburb of America, you can find a handful of Christian churches vying for the love and affection of the same group of people. There is palpable sibling rivalry just below the surface of our churches and as the megachurch movement expands, it is only getting worse. I am unqualified to offer a solution here, but lets look at the LDS Church for ideas.

Wrapping Up

Now, I know the Mormon church has its flaws. It is not perfect and they may be the first to admit that. But in a recent interview with NPR about their musical making a mockery of Mormonism, Trey Parker and Matt Stone were asked to comment on how they have been received by Mormons. I expected the usual backlash, condemnation and palaver. Instead, the Mormon church responded this way:

“The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.”

For Parker and Stone, they said the more reactions they read from Mormons, the more they like them. I’m starting to feel the same way.

Christianity has a lot to learn from its wanna-be second cousin twice removed.

Filed Under: Culture, Strategy