Being "Real"

This morning I was drinking my morning coffee and watching a local talk/news program on television. Two pastors from a new church start were there promoting their faith community. They were going on about how their church was “real” and “relevant,” how you could come dressed any way you want, and how the music was “hip hop” but with a Christian message. My initial reaction was, “Well that’s great, another effort to try to reach people for Christ can’t hurt, after all Jesus said ‘Whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40) My feelings changed however when the pastor said (not a precise quote) “There are church buildings on every corner in our city but I don’t believe that many are the real church, we are a real church, we are out there in the community working.” So all these church buildings don’t house real churches huh? I’m about sick of this whole “We are the cool church” marketing strategy that a lot of churches are using today. It’s as if they are vying for people who are stuck in their high school days. If you want to be cool, come to our hip and relevant church and you can be cool like us. We deal with the real problems of real people because we are really cool. First of all, if you have to tell people how cool you are, you probably aren’t cool. Second, being real isn’t about wearing jeans with the knees ripped out or a style of music. Being real is about being authentic about who you truly are. Some of the most authentic Christian people that I’ve met over the years, dress up on Sunday morning for church, and sing the old hymns. Their authenticity comes from the fact that they genuinely love Jesus Christ and live in a way that honors him. I understand the need to communicate the gospel in ways that help people to be more open to Christ, but because you are “real,” does not mean that everyone else is not authentic in their own faith. Being “real” has a different look on different people. For some it is about wearing jeans and a tee shirt and listening to drums and electric guitars, for others it is wearing dresses and suits and organ music. Personally, I hate getting strangled every Sunday by a necktie, but not as much as I hate wearing a robe. Frankly, I don’t care what people wear, and as long as the music isn’t being slaughtered, I don’t care what style that is either. The important thing for me is that we are open and honest about our need for God.