Manufacturing Jesus: A Plea For God Centered Pastors and Youth Rally's

Being a youth pastor I receive all kinds of mail from many customized ministries. The brochure is typically very flashy, with bright colors, and pictures of people doing radical stunts like sky diving or bungee jumping. The phrases are bold, short, and verb happy. They all come with the same motives and package; to try to sell a manufactured experience of Jesus. They promise to “move” your youth to the next level of Jesus through cutting edge music, energetic speakers (going no more than 15 minutes), a flashy pyrotechnics show, and all the glittery smoke one can imagine. The really successful ones will provide a brief leadership workshop for all youth pastors and their youth workers, that will equip you to increase your youth group and maintain a deep and fervent passion for Christ. In one mailer I found the group brining in a motivational speaker with wonderful credentials for the world, but no connection to the church.

I was not surprised by this considering the slippery slope many of these ministries are riding on. This is devastating to me and I find myself getting disgruntle every time I receive an invite to a three day weekend of hype for Jesus. What is even more disheartening is to watch so many youth leaders and youth fall for it hook, line, and sinker. I yearn for something genuine. I long for something real, and so do my youth. We long for an authentic time with Jesus.

We Are The World

One night I was driving down the road on my way to town pondering this very issue. I found myself trying to figure out why the church is allowing this and what to do about it. My conclusion as to why is simple; we have bought into the “worlds” way of doing things. We run our churches like corporations. We treat worship like a concert (and have made that into a billion dollar industry). We write self-help books on “How To Live Your Best Life Now” or “How To Have a Purpose Driven Life.” Our souls are perishing on fast food sermons that are cheap and quick. And if “I’m not lovin it“, or if I do not feel the “we treat you right” atmosphere, then I will leave and go find a place that will cater to my needs. And rest assured, there are many churches out there to choose from. In the words of the most beloved Michael Jackson (who would be welcome as a worship leader in many of these churches), “We are the World!”

[Of course if our churches are living this way, then it is no surprise that our “youth retreats or youth workshops” are run with the same philosophy. They are just mere shadows of what is going on at the home church.]

Blasphemy and Unbelief

Many of today’s churches believe we must manufacture and assemble our worship services to a “relevant Jesus“. Which means our music must be contemporarily subjective and our sermons must not go above the ankles in the theological swimming area. The reason being is that people “now a days” do not want to hear sin preached from the pulpit and have a lustful appetite to be entertained. Our attention span can only handle information in 10-20 minute sound bites and we must make sure it is uplifting and positive. Anything outside of this will kill the church.

Blasphemy! This very idea is rooted in the unbelief that God is the one who increases and maintains His church. This unbelief takes form in the presumption that man is in control of our salvation via power of manipulation or persuasion. Many evangelicals preach this untruth in the church today. For example, a very influential evangelical of today wrote in his top selling book, “If I can push a persons emotional buttons, I can get them saved.” (paraphrase) To think that we have the ability to save somebody from their complete depravity is not only pampas and arrogant, but is not biblical in any means. The bible teaches something completely contrary to this.

In Acts 2:38-39, Peter concludes a sermon to all who were listening in Jerusalem at the coming of the Holy Spirit, with a call to “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all the Lord our God will call.” Further on in Acts 2:47 it says, “ And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Peter preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and trusted that God would add to the church. The two go hand in hand. He did not do a dance or bring in the hottest Messianic Jew to sing a self-centered ballad about God. He simply preached the word. The Lord was adding those whom He was calling. And he was calling them by the testimony of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the word (John 1:1-8). Christ himself is the good news and the truth unto salvation (John 14:6).

Jesus Was A Magnet

Jesus was the center piece of His ministry. Every time he spoke, people by the droves flocked to hear and marvel at his teaching, preaching, and healing. In the gospel of Matthew in chapter 4:24 it says, “… Great multitudes followed him- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.” (cf Mathew 8:1, 18; Mark 3:7,8) They followed him because he healed the sick and taught with authority (Matthew 7:28-29). When he spoke there was power that spawned life in the soul of the lost in concordance with the given promise of His Father (John 6:37,44, 64). Those whom He was calling heard and responded with a sincere heart because the Father was drawing them to add to His church (John 6:44-47). Simon, who was called Peter and his brother Andrew dropped their nets and left immediately when Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) In verse 21-22, we see the same thing with James and John. They immediately dropped what they were doing and followed Christ after he had called them. Those who hear the gospel (the good news of Jesus) and respond are the fulfillment of the promise in John 6:37, “All that the Fathers gives Me will come to Me.” Jesus is the magnet if you will, that will draw all whom the Father has given to be redeemed for His church. This is still happening today and is still the means in which God is building His church; namely, putting Christ on display through His word and in the lives of His believers.

Putting Jesus On Display

The solution is simple; gives us Jesus. The means is just as simple: put him on display. And what I mean by putting him on display is to preach the word of God! Give us the depths and riches of His truth. Take us diving into the deep end of the vast sea of theology and doctrine. Sing songs that remind me of His greatness in power and wonder in mercy. Tell of the cross, the wonderful cross, in which he bids me to come and die and find that I, may truly live! Equip me with what I need to live a life that puts Christ on display through the truths of his word ( i.e. expository preaching). Don’t be afraid to take me on a 50 minute hike through the mountains and valleys of scripture. Trust the Holy Spirit to sustain me and my youth as we wrestle with the hardships of the text. Do this that we may live with a passion to make Christ supreme! This is what I long for in a youth event! No smoke, no hype, no cutting edge shallow Christian band, no motivational speaker that uses dead business principles in the living church. Just give me Jesus, my blessed Jesus, who is more beautiful than any glitter and comes completely and self-sufficiently intact. Put Christ on display and He will add to His church. It’s a promise!