Somehow I just can't see the apostles doing something like this:
A Baptist church in Florida is using iStore gift cards and the chance of winning an iPhone to lure newcomers to its pews.(via)
[...]
Hughes said he planned a series of sermons titled “i: Successful Living in a Self-absorbed World.”
Hughes has increased church membership from 500 to 2,500 during his eight years as pastor. Previous tactics to draw the curious included a January billboard with the headline: “The Bare Naked Truth on Sex.”
I think a better sermon series would have been, "The Eternal or the Temporal? Where is Your Focus?" or "Can Gadgets Bring Everlasting Joy?"
Um, I think that we've lost the whole purpose of the church and our focus has shifted from the message (the good news of eternal life in Jesus our Lord) to filling the pews. This pastor has 2,500 members, he should be focused on training them so that they'll go out and bring in visitors. If he did that, he wouldn't need gadgets to bring in the lost.
As our regular readers know I have nothing against iPhones, I just don't see why the church needs a gimmick to bring in the lost. The message is the draw, not freebies. It cheapens what the church has to offer: freedom in Christ.
Update: Dr. Jim West is a bit more blunt than I was.
