Trendy Pastors

the following was posted by Keith from Oklahoma on his blog (see below for Jason’s comments):

The men pictured above are all pastors of “churches” (in some cases, I use the term loosely) that appeal to “seekers” or what I call “emergent” types. They have lots of similarities, i.e. casual dress, haphazardly-styled or no hair, some don’t appear to be happy, most are tanned (maybe their church is close to a beach), none of them are over forty, and none of them own a tie. (That one preacher/pastor guy is pretty muscley, too.) EDIT: 07.01.07 – I have been informed be a concerned reader that one of the pastors IS over forty. He should know better, then.

Some other things I’ve noticed about these “trendy pastors”:

• They really like to use the word “relevant.”
• It’s more trendy/relevant to refer to themselves as “Christ followers” rather than “Christian” or “Believer.”
• They seem to have an aversion for anything “old” or “traditional.”
• They “give talks” rather than “preach sermons.”
• Music Ministers don’t like to be called Music Ministers…they are “Minister/Pastor of Creative/Christian Arts.”
• On one church’s website, the pastor wrote: “God began to burden my heart with the need for a dynamic, innovative, multicultural church, where people could learn God’s truths in relevant and creative ways…” (emphasis mine). Honestly, I’ve always thought that a church that faithfully preached the Word of God, WAS “dynamic” and “relevant.”
• One pastor wrote on his blog: “Every movie has a great sermon.” Silly me, I thought the Bible had some pretty good sermons in it.
• One pastor commented: “I think it’s funny that we meet in a movie theater that’s showing Knocked Up.” I think it’s sad he thinks that’s funny.
• One church’s website proclaimed they were “the cool church.” Groovy, man…if I’m looking for a place to trip!
• One pastor noted: “Knocked Up is a great movie.” I hope he’s kidding.
• One church’s website, announcing their upcoming sermon series on “sex” proclaims: “God wants you to have great sex.” One of the sermon titles for the multi-week series is entitled: “Leather, Whips, and Whipped Cream.” Oh, brother.
• Churches are now referred to as “campuses.” I guess using the word “church” isn’t “relevant.”

I guess I’m just old fashioned. I still think that faithful preaching will accomplish exactly what the Word says it will: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

Jason’s thoughts: Thank you Keith for this blog post; your concerns are shared by many of us who are serving God with Biblical accuracy and relevancy. In short, I believe there is a huge difference between being relevant and being worldly. I do not wish to judge the motives of any of the men above, but I wonder why there seems to be an acceptance of worldliness in the name of relevancy. Take sex for example. Why is there such an appeal to sex? Sure God gave us sex as a wonderful gift within marriage. But to play off of this culture’s perversion of sex in order to attract attention seems to be not only ungodly but unnecessary.

I was in a book store last week and noticed Rob Bell’s new book entitled “Sex God” which had chapters entitled:

• God wears Lipstick
• Leather, Whips, and Fruit
• Whoopee Forever

It is just appalling to me. There is something that turns sour in my stomach as I read books that package theology in such a way. Again, is this necessary? I know it isn’t godly. Does theology have to be taboo and provocative in order for God’s sheep to hear His voice? I think not.

Which brings me back to “trendy preachers.” I have no problem with preachers looking like the generation in which they live. I have met quite a few preachers that should actually use their gym membership, drop about fifty pounds, grow their hair out a little, and shed the suit and tie. Really, I think being anti-trendy is not more spiritual than being trendy. It is not the facial hair that matters, it is the accuracy of our exposition and effectiveness of our ministry that matters.

It is too easy for each generation of preachers to pick on the next generation (and the young guys to pick on the old guys for that matter). But such is worthless to the reality that God’s servants are all different, and every generation of preachers should be relevant to their cultural challenges. Any student of church history knows that every century was filled with preachers and theologians who were similar theologically but quite different in what cultural issues they were concerned with. The first century church seemed to distance themselves from anything that smelled of Judaism. The fifteenth century was filled with Reformers who were shedding any vestiges of Roman Catholicism. The Puritans were concerned about the materialism of their generation. The late twentieth century saw a great attempt by theologians to rid our churches of social liberalism. But todays generation will have its own look and its own issues, and tomorrow’s generation will be different as well.

So, lets keep our attention upon the doctrinal accuracy. Let us listen carefully to what “kind” of Christianity is being preached. Forget about the dress-codes and haircuts; focus on whether Christ is exalted and God’s Word taught.