Feeling discriminated against…
Posted by mikekell on October 29, 2008
I have long since felt discriminated against. Is it for my color, my gender or my lack of hair? Nope. It’s for the way I do ministry. It seems to me that there is a general awe of churches that are non-traditional. There are churches identified by hip-hop, truck stops and flip-flops. These are then labeled as cutting-edge and relevant. While they very well may be doing great and effective ministry to a segment of society, labeling them as cutting-edge and relevant has some interesting implications. The implication is that if doing certain things is what makes them relevant then if you are not doing those things, you are not relevant. Within the church growth circles, there is no greater sin than being irrelevant. As a Pastor at a church that would likely be described as fairly traditional, I resent being deemed as irrelevant simply because my Senior Pastor wears a suit instead of ripped jeans. My concern with a church’s identity being wrapped up in a style (type of music, casual clothing, etc.) is that styles inevitably change and people change away from a style. At my church, we strive for it to be our love and sense of community to be what draws people to our church. I’d rather be known for our love then for what we wear. Anyway, Isn’t it by our love that they will know we are Christians?
