He’s a rebel and a runner
He’s a signal turning green
He’s a restless young romantic
Wants to run the big machineHe’s got a problem with his poisons
But you know he’ll find a cure
He’s cleaning up the systems
To keep his nature pure……
When Neil Peart of Rush wrote the lyrics to the song “New World Man” in the early 1980’s, he was comparing and contrasting the differences between the old world, new world, and third world man. However, as I listened to this song again while watching my Rush in Rio DVD, the thought and analogy of the “New World Man” to the Pastor influenced by the church growth / seeker-sensitive phenomeon came to my mind. Comparing the restless young romantic who wants to run the big machine to the desperate seeker-sensitive pastor who wants to be the CEO of the Corporate Megachurch have more in common than one would actually think.
In the church growth circles, the techniques of instant members prey on the restless turned desperate. Instead of continuing to pray for the harvest in their cities, the fuel of the competition called church down the street deludes his thought to where marketing replaces evangelism and instant gratification replaces eternal blessing. The desperate church growth influenced pastor has a problem with the poison called bad theology. However, he feels that the cure is to go embrace another bad or worse theology that is more poisonous and toxic than the last seminar, best selling book, and Jesus Junk purchased from the Christian book store. All in the name of ‘a spotless Bride’ and a ‘purified remnant’ he feels he is creating when instead, weakened Christians sowed on milk instead of core basic meat is what is reaped.
Learning to match the beat of the old world man
Learning to catch the heat of the third world man…Trying to save the day for the old world man
Trying to pave the way for the third world man
In the church growth mentality, there has to be a tie back to some of the teachings of the Bible and the early church fathers who paved the way to reformation and the rediscovery of the Holy Spirit. However, the teachings of the past are now repackaged as ‘new and improved’ or ‘God doing the new thing’ because in their eyes, ‘dead guy theology’ is boring, antiquidated, and in many cases deemed as obsolete even though many of the basic core tenets of the Gospel are easily learned and grasped by these teachings. Even though they may show respect towards the teachings, creeds, catechisms, and confessions of the forefathers, they feel that they have to embrace temporary trends instead of permament foundations.
The belief that the seekers of Christianity are a people looking for a “New Christianity” fuel the desire to make the teachings appear to be “fresh revelation”. The marketing techniques of consumer goods crept into the church as the eternal resolve of human nature of things getting old and stale must be changed to appear new and fresh.
Gee this sounds like my old pastor Ted Haggard of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. New Life is home to people like C. Peter Wagner and many others. The 5 years at New Life is what made me retreat to house churches and home fellowships.