Of all the things in the world that drive me crazy, the idea of churches marketing themselves like businesses is right up there between people who vote without thinking and that girl who stood behind us at the Arcade Fire's show at Emo's last January talking through the whole set (which, btw, was amazing) about how much she loved the Fine Young Cannibals and that one song they had. I know, I know, I know that outreach is important, that we live in a market-saturated word, and that some people like pretty brochures. But that's exactly the point. Church is one of the few places in my world that is quiet! Of all places, I feel like a sanctuary should be just that. I should be able to get away from advertising and flashy websites when I'm going to worship, or dealing with things associated with church. It's supposed to be authentic. And nothing in this world is less authentic to me than someone trying to sell me yet another thing.
Of course, if my church were putting out ads like this, I might change my mind.
And maybe the guys at the CMS blog are helping churches be more real in reaching out to their communities. But it's a fine line. What most of my friends are looking for is authentic community, places where they can be themselves, places where they don't have to agree with a pre-determined set of answers to every question, and places where faith in Jesus does not equal faith in the Republican party.