Is there such a thing as going to far?

I love originality. Sadly we have a severe lack of creativity in the church today. We copy the church down the street, rip off the latest TV show and we even are even preaching the same exact stock messages. All of those things can be great springboards, but only if you allow them to stir your creativity and do the hard work of developing original ideas from them.

oh god billboardWe’ve worked with churches and put sermon branding on race cars, sent people out to scrape the ice off of people’s cars, and even taped people’s mouth shut…but is there such a thing as going to far? Are we pushing the envelope to communicate more effectively or for the simple effect of shock and awe?

What about that billboard, it’s funny and I’d laugh as I drove by, but is it too much?

shot glassOr how about a shot glass with a church logo on it, is that going to far and giving a green light to the activity?

What about XXXchurch? They’ve made a big splash in porn but can they go too far?xxx

What do you think? How much is too much in bringing originality to the church? Is there such a thing? Can you go too far to reach people?

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 12:10 pm and is filed under originality . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • JimmyD
    Going too far with Church Marketing? I am not sure if I can say there is a limit to where to far is. Take for instance the Porn Bible. Ask an average church person in America if it is too far and they may say yes. Ask the guy who took one at the Porn Convention and found Christ and broke from an addiction to porn, maybe you will get a different answer.

    Paul said, I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1COR9:22NIV. I am guessing that was his marketing plan for the gospel and I am not sure he cared anything about going too far.

    And then there is Jesus who takes the young disciples to Caesarea Philippi. Not a ton is known about this place except for the fact that it was the center of pagan worship in Israel. Legend has it that there was a huge crack in this huge rock and that the crack was gateway into hell. People believed ghosts and demons would enter and exit this world through this crack. People would dress up and bow down and worship evil and darkness there.

    So Jesus takes his disciples right to the gateway of hell and says, "on this rock I will build my church." Mt.16:18. This little teaching may have been a little shock and awe. How many pastors take their disciples to the local topless bar and say, this is where it begins.

    Going too far? We haven't gone far enough!
  • Flotsam
    Interesting question... I guess I don't look at idiocy such as the above church sign, shot glass and pornstar-oriented outreach as going "too far" per se, rather I see it as going about a noble task in an ignoble manner. Not a matter of "distance", but "direction". Kind of like the earlier discussion of message t-shirts. True, these techniques probably get attention, but is it positive or helpful in achieving the objective of evangelism? I'm guessing not.

    In business, we spend a great deal of energy and money in marketing and advertising, but it's always (well, almost always) done with a crystal-clear view of the ultimate objective of creating positive customer awareness and perception of our brand and products. I really wonder if the people responsible for the stuff above thought any further than "Hey! This'll get people's attention!". Yeah, it'll make everyone conscious of the fact that you're morons. Nice work.

    Christ was radically creative in His evangelism (hanging out directly with publicans and sinners certainly broke new ground), but it never served to make Him look ignorant or shallow, just willing to go however far it took to reach the lost. Why is it so hard to keep His example clear in our minds when we're attempting to be about His business?
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