Innovators, Mass Producers, and Marketers, it’s in our blood. If it doesn’t work one way, we find another way, another route to “Get er’ done!” We inherited this drive for excellence and abundance from men like Henry Ford who had the desire to get an “automobile” in the hands of every American across the land. So he churned out the Model T on his patented ‘assembly lines’ and his dream became reality for millions. Ray Kroc gave us cheap-n- tasty burgers till we were blue in the face; and Steve Jobs, like a modern Prometheus, captured fire and put it into our hands. Innovation, Mass Production, and Marketing, iit’sin our blood.
What happens when you take American ingenuity & industry and apply it to the task of “Spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”Innovation, Mass Production and Marketing: we have creatively figured out how to manufacture Christians down to a science. Over the years through collective collaboration the church has continued to tweak & experiment with the Gospel, with the goal staying the same, “Keep turning out new product as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
THE REVIVAL YEARS: American ingenuity was first brought to bear on the process of evangelism (spreading the gospel) in the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s through revival preaching and ” The Sawdust Trail” of the American frontier. Men like Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, Billy Sunday and later Billy Graham invented new methods of broadcasting the news of Jesus Christ while implementing persuasive “emotional tools” to churn out decision after decision. “Praise the Lord, we had 45 men and women come forward. Praise the Lord, the young people’s group had 17 accept the Lord as their Savior. Praise the Lord, 18 elementary kids raised their hand to be saved from Hell. It’s been a good Sunday for soul winnin’.” The Gospel at that time was packaged in a crisp formulaic message that was easily understood and could quickly move a hearer to make a decision for Christ. The Gospel was like selling a bottle of elixir at the fair, “Come and get it and your life will be changed; be warned, rejection of this heavenly product condemns you. If I were you, I would want to avoid red, hot, burning hell fire…wouldn’t you?” The contract was often signed by walking the isle up to the alter, kneeling, praying and signing up to get baptized to seal the deal. Later revival revisions implemented phrases like, “With head bowed and eyes closed,” or “raise your hand and we will bring someone to you,” or “fill out this card and we will contact you.” American innovation done quickly and efficiently, and often taking no longer than an hour message to get you into heaven. Once a person accepted, the new Christian was turned into something resembling the Model T, conformity was required. All men were to have the same haircut, women must wear dresses, sing only acceptable hymns. And to keep your new car running in top condition you needed to be to the shop “Church Building” twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday. This was clear and direct proof you were a “genuine” Christian product.
THE “STRIP MALL YEARS: Innovation never stops…bigger, better, always with the promise, “You can have it your way.” And the Gospel was not immune to this wonderful American sales pitch. So around the late 60’s & early 70’s as car makers turned out cool new Corvettes, Mustangs and El Camino’s; churches started morphing and changing to cater to the modern new Christian consumer. We have more styles than a plain ole’ revival (fundamentalist) church, what would you like? Cooler music? More programs for your kids? Funnier preachers? Coffee shop and couches? As they say, “The customer is boss.” And so just like a strip mall where mom shops at J C Penny, dad at Sears, and kids at the Gap, church had to offer more. One principle in the 1980’s that caught on like wild fire was the “Homogeneous Unit Principle”: it was the cool new church growth teaching that people like to become Christians without crossing racial, linguistic or class barriers. In other words, if you really want to spread the Gospel, do what appeals to a certain demographic. If you want a white church, don’t have too much clapping. A black church, grind out the gospel organ with a hootin-n-hollerin sermon. You want to reach the “earthy & organic crowd” play Indie music with lava lamps, and talk about being missional. Over time some people became embarrassed by the truth that the “most segregated time” in America was Sunday morning; so their new church was going to be purposely mulit-cultural (not realizing this too was another store in the mall). Americans know how to innovate and attract the crowds so well, that during this time Mega-Churches (Shrines for American Innovation) became the norm…the happening thing…they were the glory of American Enterprise.
THE MEDIA YEARS: Innovation is on the move again, jumping on the fast track of the digital information age. It is an enhanced form of “Have it your way,” but this time all it takes is the ‘click of the enter button’ on your computer. Pick your preacher, choose your topic, find the cool rapper who hates religion but loves Jesus. You have a group of people but no pastor? No problem: find one you like and show him on a direct feed TV and then go out to Starbucks. The American Gospel once again has changed clothes and is still spreading. This new experiment in ingenuity has just gotten off the ground, I wonder where it will go, it should be exciting…maybe the world will be won with a wildly creative You Tube video put out by an enterprising wonk living in his mom’s basement?
The American Soul is a wonder to behold, when we put our heads together we really can “Get er’ Done!” But how often do we really stop and ask, “Has our desire for efficiency, snap decisions, mass marketing, and creative innovations hurt the Gospel’s effectiveness to transform lives? Has it been ‘all too human?” This Sunday we are going to look at how the very first followers spread the word, and promoted the Gospel. I have to tell you, after studying it a while those first believers really were not too impressive, they seemed to lack creativity, innovation, and slick product packaging – – they really didn’t seem like Americans at all.
I wonder, that may be a good thing?
