Churches and Haunted Houses

The other day, I saw a sign advertising "a live, multimedia, theatrical performance that will scare the 'Hell' out of you."  It wasn't your run-of-the-mill Halloween haunted house, it was actually a production put on by a local church, no doubt with the best of evangelistic intentions.

Though certainly not my cup of tea, my purpose here is not to out-and-out condemn this type of practice.  I would recommend though that before any church hosts such an event, they at least consider Russell Moore's thoughts as to why this type of outreach often misses the mark:

1. They’re not scary enough.
2. They assume people’s problem is that they don’t know about judgment.
3. They abstract judgment from the love of God. 
4. They abstract judgment from the glory of God. 
5. It’s hard to cry at a Judgment House. 
6. The Holy Spirit doesn’t usually like to work that way. 
7. They’re easier to pull off than talking to people.

Click here to read his entire post, in which he fleshes out each of the points.

An Interesting Outreach

Kevin Golden is an old friend of mine from my college days and the pastor of Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Missouri. Village Lutheran seeks to be, as they put it, a traditional Lutheran church, reaching out untraditionally.

Due to their location in a very nice part of town, a large number of walkers, joggers and bikers pass their church every weekend morning. In light of this, they came up with what I found to be an interesting outreach highlighted in the short video below.

It's a little thing. But it's a point of connection. And especially in an affluent neighborhood where traditional outreach/mercy ministries might not be as needed, it is, as Kevin put it, "a very tangible yet simple way to share the love of Christ." Beyond this, it is something that God might very well use to create an open door for the gospel.

May all of our churches refuse to budge on the gospel of grace: We are all sinners in need of a savior, and that savior is (and can only be) the one who died for our sins, Christ Jesus. As we stand firm though, may we similarly be thinking of creative ways to serve the communities in which we are located, simply yet tangibly sharing the love of Christ.

Congratulations to Jerram Barrs

Congrats to my former professor Jerram Barrs who recently was honored by Outreach Magazine. His excellent book, Learning Evangelism From Jesus was named the book of the year in the area of Evangelism.

This is a well deserved honor. I recently taught a Sunday School class on evangelism, and this book was one of my primary resources in preparation. Jerram epitomizes someone who has the heart of an evangelist and is truly one of the most Christ-like individuals I've ever had the privilege of meeting. It is no exaggeration to say that among the highlights of my seminary education was the opportunity to learn from him.

Kudos, Jerram! And thank you for your service to our Lord and to the Church.