Barry's Blog

Whether we like it or not, churches are in tremendous competition with each other. Especially in our major metropolitan areas, the religious landscape is being transformed, as increasingly, people are attending larger "big box" churches, similar to a Costco or Walmart, to have their spiritual needs, and those of their family, met. And just as department stores and restaurants sometimes hire mystery shoppers and diners, to rate how the store or restaurant is doing, so churches are turning to professional "mystery worshippers."

A recent Wall Street Journal article, entitled "The Mystery Worshipper," addressed this curious phenomenon. Thomas Harrison, a former pastor, belongs to a new breed of church consultants whose aim is to equip pastors with modern marketing practices to enhance their product, the church. And Mr. Harrison, a meticulous inspector, poses as a first-time visitor, and often uses the phrase, "I was horrified" to register his disapproval of everything from stuffy odors in the children's area to rude congregants.

In an increasingly changing religious landscape, where almost half of all American adults switch their religious affiliation, churches are more open than ever to employ corporate marketing strategies such as customer-satisfaction surveys, focus groups, and product giveaways, to attract new souls. There are also reports recently of some churches, in an effort to jump start their multi-million dollar capital fundraisng campaigns (despite our recent economic tsunami), to bring in marketing firms, to teach people how they can give to the church  sacrificially.

According to The Wall Street Journal article, these secret-shopper services mainly target Christian churches, where declining "brand loyalty" worshippers has become a common problem. A 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which drew from over 35,000 people, found that 44% of American adults have switched their religious affiliation. And as churches attempt to court more fickle churchgoers, many leaders are seeking new ways to assess their services, everything from the style of music, the sermon, to the comfort of the pews.

What stands out in striking contrast when we turn to the New Testament is how the emphasis is more focused upon the people carrying out the mission of the worship of God, and love for other Christians, which would be attractive to those outside the Christian faith. Very little information is given, no doubt, because most of the early churches were relatively small, and met as house churches. One cannot help but wonder, though, if there is not an over emphasis in today's culture (borrowing from a secular model) to frame the church with much more of a consumer-oriented mindset. Are we in fact asking the church to be something that it is not supposed to be?

What do you think?

"Christianity is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I have attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in...It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise....You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling. In plain language, the question should never be: 'Do I like that kind of service?' but 'Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?"  --C.S. Lewis, Preface to Mere Christianity