At the risk of turning into one of those pastors who always uses sports illustrations … the football analogy that I used last time suggested so many more possibilities that I feel like I have to write again. But first a brief recap. Last time, I wrote about the widespread use of gimmicks in the church – pizza blasts, Jesus slinky’s, evanga-cubes, and so on. I do not doubt the zeal of many of those who use these things. They are sincerely trying to reach people for Jesus. But I wonder if these marketing strategies don’t end up doing more harm than good. And I also believe strongly that the use of such techniques betrays a lack of confidence in the simple gospel. Analogy? It’s the less-talented football teams who have to resort to trick plays. When a team like Akron plays Ohio State, for instance, they are forced to resort to chicanery because they don’t have enough talent to take on the Buckeyes straight up. They can’t just run their normal plays because Ohio State is too big, too fast, too strong. So they use smoke and mirrors. They gimmick their way, perhaps, into a touchdown or two. And so it is with those who resort to gospel gimmicks. They don’t (perhaps merely subconsciously) believe that the gospel itself is powerful enough to win the game straight up. They think it needs a little bit of help from a clever coaching staff. And so the evange-cube is born!
What can we say about these things? Let me point out three more lessons:
1. Sometimes trick plays work. Occasionally the Akron Zips might fake a punt and end up with a thirty yard gain for a first down. And, occasionally, someone might genuinely come to Christ by means of a pizza blast. God sometimes uses offbeat methods and blesses them in spite of themselves. And God always uses foolish, sinful messengers to share the good news. But just because something occasionally works doesn’t mean it should be the norm. A team that fakes a punt every game is probably going to finish the season 1-11.
2. The normal playbook sometimes results in slow (but genuine) progress. That is to say … while a fake punt may yield 30 yards in a single play, the more powerful Buckeyes methodically work their way down the field on an 11 play, eighty yard drive that takes six minutes. And so it is with the gospel. Sometimes the gimmicks yield quick, noticeable results. Not always lasting ones, mind you; but quick ones. At the same time, the steady preaching of the gospel from the pulpit and the regular sharing of it at work and school may not seem to explode the church with rapid growth. But over a full game, five or six long, methodical scoring drives will always result in victory. Slow and steady wins the race … especially when the alternative is gimmickry.
3. Trick plays eventually backfire. For every time an Akron or a Bowling Green pulls off a beautifully executed half-back pass … there will be several more times when a team like Ohio State snuffs the trick play out … and throws them for a ten yard loss. And so it is with gospel gimmicks. They almost always eventually backfire … and harm the cause of Christ in the process. How so? Well, how much can you fit on an evange-cube, for instance? Not a lot. So you inevitably leave things out that are crucial to the gospel. You don’t have room to explain that Jesus is both fully God and fully man … so you leave it out. You don’t have room to explain the new birth, and the fruits of it in the life of a real believer. So you leave that for later. You don’t have space for many scriptural references or proofs, so you just paste a verse or two in here and there. And people end up ‘believing’ in a Jesus who hasn’t been fully explained to them. They end up being told they are born again without understanding what that even means, much less being given time to discern whether or not it has really happened. And the gospel is, little by little, eroded.
Not to mention the fact that thinking people can see that a team which is forced to resort to gimmicks must not be all that powerful. A gospel that is forced to use games, and prizes, and jokes, and pizza to attract people must not really be the power of God. For, if God were in it, they wouldn’t need all the claptrap! Thinking people see that. And thinking people have largely written off evangelical Christianity because it seems no different than so many marketing strategies. So maybe it’s time to return to the old playbook, run the ball up the middle a few times, and let the power of the gospel flex its muscles!
What can we say about these things? Let me point out three more lessons:
1. Sometimes trick plays work. Occasionally the Akron Zips might fake a punt and end up with a thirty yard gain for a first down. And, occasionally, someone might genuinely come to Christ by means of a pizza blast. God sometimes uses offbeat methods and blesses them in spite of themselves. And God always uses foolish, sinful messengers to share the good news. But just because something occasionally works doesn’t mean it should be the norm. A team that fakes a punt every game is probably going to finish the season 1-11.
2. The normal playbook sometimes results in slow (but genuine) progress. That is to say … while a fake punt may yield 30 yards in a single play, the more powerful Buckeyes methodically work their way down the field on an 11 play, eighty yard drive that takes six minutes. And so it is with the gospel. Sometimes the gimmicks yield quick, noticeable results. Not always lasting ones, mind you; but quick ones. At the same time, the steady preaching of the gospel from the pulpit and the regular sharing of it at work and school may not seem to explode the church with rapid growth. But over a full game, five or six long, methodical scoring drives will always result in victory. Slow and steady wins the race … especially when the alternative is gimmickry.
3. Trick plays eventually backfire. For every time an Akron or a Bowling Green pulls off a beautifully executed half-back pass … there will be several more times when a team like Ohio State snuffs the trick play out … and throws them for a ten yard loss. And so it is with gospel gimmicks. They almost always eventually backfire … and harm the cause of Christ in the process. How so? Well, how much can you fit on an evange-cube, for instance? Not a lot. So you inevitably leave things out that are crucial to the gospel. You don’t have room to explain that Jesus is both fully God and fully man … so you leave it out. You don’t have room to explain the new birth, and the fruits of it in the life of a real believer. So you leave that for later. You don’t have space for many scriptural references or proofs, so you just paste a verse or two in here and there. And people end up ‘believing’ in a Jesus who hasn’t been fully explained to them. They end up being told they are born again without understanding what that even means, much less being given time to discern whether or not it has really happened. And the gospel is, little by little, eroded.
Not to mention the fact that thinking people can see that a team which is forced to resort to gimmicks must not be all that powerful. A gospel that is forced to use games, and prizes, and jokes, and pizza to attract people must not really be the power of God. For, if God were in it, they wouldn’t need all the claptrap! Thinking people see that. And thinking people have largely written off evangelical Christianity because it seems no different than so many marketing strategies. So maybe it’s time to return to the old playbook, run the ball up the middle a few times, and let the power of the gospel flex its muscles!
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