i thought this was interesting.. views from the outside on the methodist church. some will make you scream, both in agreement and in disagreement. one thing, i’m not sure these folks are as smart as they think they are..
update: john has posted on this and has some good commenting as well
All of which makes me wonder just what, if anything, has been accomplished by Igniting Ministries. Sure, it has raised the visibility of United Methodism, but what message has been conveyed?
All of which makes me wonder just what, if anything, has been accomplished by Igniting Ministries. Sure, it has raised the visibility of United Methodism, but what message has been conveyed?
Gavin,
I have to say I didn’t hear much I agreed with at all. It seemed like a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals over simplifying and mischaracterizing (and getting things just plain wrong a few times).
Who are these folks anyway?
I will say that I’m not sure how effective TV adds are for churches, apart from simply providing some name recognition when folks drive by a Methodist (or Episcopal, or whatever) church and see the sign.
Gavin,
I have to say I didn’t hear much I agreed with at all. It seemed like a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals over simplifying and mischaracterizing (and getting things just plain wrong a few times).
Who are these folks anyway?
I will say that I’m not sure how effective TV adds are for churches, apart from simply providing some name recognition when folks drive by a Methodist (or Episcopal, or whatever) church and see the sign.
WOW…You always wonder what other people think about you who are not you. I found this video interesting and it did make me scream on occasions.
I have generally like the IM’s commercials and I know many other people didn’t but I would be interested to know their effecitivness. I do know people who have come to/back to the church because of these commericals so on some level they do help.
WOW…You always wonder what other people think about you who are not you. I found this video interesting and it did make me scream on occasions.
I have generally like the IM’s commercials and I know many other people didn’t but I would be interested to know their effecitivness. I do know people who have come to/back to the church because of these commericals so on some level they do help.
You’re right – they are not as smart as they think. Thanks for providing the clip.
You’re right – they are not as smart as they think. Thanks for providing the clip.
Overall, I found their comments quite insightful. They saw the ad as an attempt to separate the UMC from other denominations. In that sense, it appears that we are competing with other Christians over a limited market, rather than really trying to expand the market.
Most distrubing but insightful none the less, was the uncertainity of where the path was leading. If it’s not the Jesus, we’re in BIG trouble.
Overall, I found their comments quite insightful. They saw the ad as an attempt to separate the UMC from other denominations. In that sense, it appears that we are competing with other Christians over a limited market, rather than really trying to expand the market.
Most distrubing but insightful none the less, was the uncertainity of where the path was leading. If it’s not the Jesus, we’re in BIG trouble.
That’s the way most people seem to think of “evangelism” these days. I went to conference last may where Dan Kimball pointed out basically the same thing. He noted that of those Churches who are successful in reaching the 18-20-something age demographic, most of them are near Christian colleges and–you guessed it–picking up folks who come from Christian backgrounds. Many such places aren’t very successful at reaching the completely unchurched. The same seems to be true of Mega-churches, i.e. they feed off of smaller congregations and usually aren’t attracting the person who’s never been to church before. But then that raises the specter of thinking of Church as evangelism…
That’s the way most people seem to think of “evangelism” these days. I went to conference last may where Dan Kimball pointed out basically the same thing. He noted that of those Churches who are successful in reaching the 18-20-something age demographic, most of them are near Christian colleges and–you guessed it–picking up folks who come from Christian backgrounds. Many such places aren’t very successful at reaching the completely unchurched. The same seems to be true of Mega-churches, i.e. they feed off of smaller congregations and usually aren’t attracting the person who’s never been to church before. But then that raises the specter of thinking of Church as evangelism…
Excuse me I should have said “But then that raises the specter of thinking of worship primarily as a means of evangelism.…that’s what I was thinking anyway.
Excuse me I should have said “But then that raises the specter of thinking of worship primarily as a means of evangelism.…that’s what I was thinking anyway.