Reaching out... by any means necessary?

Now, I am all for creative expression. I will even admit that I find the commercial above funny. At first. But then, when you stop to consider that this is guy is singing about his woman creeping with chicken nuggets, and then subsequently reprimands her -- soulfully -- for not sharing said nuggets with him, you have to feel uneasy.

And by the way, what, pray, is "stingaaaaaay?"

In actuality, it is interesting to see how companies transform and adjust identities to reach particular segments of society. Kind of like Bruce Wayne at night. On BET, McDonald's becomes the urban-tinged Mickey D's with R&B singers that croon about the evils of being selfish.

Of course, it boils down to economies of demographics. Different strokes for different folks. Advertising and catering to the needs of Mr A does not always compute to achieving the same results for Ms B. Quite understandable. Different people like different music. I even have a video to prove how interpretation can vary very, very widely:



Now, the same type of thinking seems to be prevalent in the church.

Big question: should the church tailor its offering to particular people? I am not talking about the content of the message: in essence, that should and will be unchanging. What about the frills? The music? The style? The atmosphere?

Some churches are more explicit than others. The most popular focus is to reach the "young, post-grad unchurched or rechurched" crowd. To be brief, just say the Starbucks crowd (though, admittedly, recent developments in the economy may force a change in the tag). Why not? It is probably the largest Gen Xers segment out there.

But what about others? What about the soon-to-be largest minority in the United States, Hispanics? What about the immigrant African population? Should a church that straddles a reservation approach work differently from a church that borders a large community of Asian ancestry? Questions, questions, questions...

Integration seems to be the measure of success, and for all the wrong reasons. I spoke to a pastor of a predominantly white congregation a while back who wistfully dreamed of how great it would be to have a black guy on staff, even while being visibly concerned about the reaction of one or two older members to such a hire. Now I cannot say that full-out sit-ins were in the picture, but I do find it interesting that an informal type of affirmative action-type mentality seems to be setting in. I also wonder if we should be concerned that a minority face on the church staff webpage is becoming standard strategy.

Of course, it is hard to fault folks that think this way. I will be so forward as to say I doubt that a lack of sincerity is at play. In the big picture, we should be careful of the potential fruit (of course, I do tend to be cynical sometimes, but hey, when you have had a white pastor of yours where an afro wig, bell-bottoms, platforms and a dashiki in the name of being culturally relevant in February, you are allowed to be a little jaded).

And yes, this is reality. Take the stereotypical African American worshipper, for instance. Yeah, you hate to lump people in batches, but most would probably say quality of music is a biggie. And, by quality, the perfect opera performance by the late Pavarotti wouldn't cut it. Neither would a bluegrass praise session, just as praise session headlined by BB Jay would confuse and concern a "Starbucker." Anyone with the most basic understanding of African American history would understand why music is such an important part of the spiritual consciousness.

While I do applaud the efforts of churches that strive to be open, I think the biggest thing is the need for change and acceptance in each heart. I do believe that folks should make efforts to learn the cultural attitudes of people in our communities. Furthermore, I humbly think that sometimes, the church should strive to do what is RIGHT, even above societal leanings or trends. Openness and love is openness and love.

One thing to consider is that if we applied some of the modern day definitions of success, our Lord's ministry would probably been labeled a failure. As much as we hate it, regional mores will always affect attitudes. Centuries of mistrust, misconceptions and prejudice (on EVERY side) won't disappear overnight... but we do have the morning after, right?

Blessings at ya!