One Oregon church is taking a creative approach to recruitment. Admitting that “ church sucks ” is the first step toward what a Eugene pastor hopes will be a vibrant new community of believers.
Pastor Tony Crank has been mailing out hundreds of fliers for One Love Church with a catchy new slogan emblazoned on the cover. “Church Sucks” is Pastor Crank’s new mantra, and he is hoping to offer services that actually help people connect with God instead of dragging folks through the same dogmatic stuff over and over.
“Some churches have become the kind of place where you point the finger and you condemn and you rebuke and are really quick to do it,” Crank told CNN. “And so I think that is definitely lending itself to people not wanting anything to do with church and thinking church sucks.”
Those familiar with church are probably recognizing some familiar themes there. You’ve heard churches say they’re “relationship-oriented” or “seeker sensitive” before. The result is generally a rejection of boring tradition in favor of trendy contemporary services that prove simultaneously non-confrontational to non-believers and non-challenging to the faithful.
It’s a tricky game to play, but Crank is hoping his “Church Sucks” overhaul will stand out.
KVAL reports that Crank will be experimenting with shorter services, that he’ll be adopting contemporary worship music which could include the occasional Maroon 5 and Katy Perry song, and that he wants to be referred to as a “pastor,” not a “preacher,” because he doesn’t want you to think he’s going to be preaching at you.
“I just like to have a conversation with everyone, just like I do at the coffee shop if we were talking one on one,” he said.
Do you think that “ Church Sucks ?”