Monday, August 16, 2010

What's the Give Away or Take Away?

Sometimes churches go a bit too far trying to share the message of salvation.  Recently a youth group was "taken hostage" by their leaders disguised as terrorists in order to "scare" them into a real commitment as a Christ follower.  It was so "real" that law enforcement and S.W.A.T. teams responded!  The intent of the "act" was lost on the intended audience.  I wonder how something like this effects a searching, struggling, and even settled soul.  Using fear as a motivation to change hearts and share love does not compute in my brain!  I recently came across a personal response to a similar situation.  A church decided to use the old "bait and switch" routine to share Christ under the guise of a "free" backpack, full of school supplies, give away.  Here's that story:

Upon arriving, everything was organized and well planned. I pulled up to the parking lot attendant to show him my confirmation number in order to park. I then parked and my son and I proceeded to check ourselves in. We were given a wristband, and told there were free concessions available for us. My son was really nervous and not sure what to think of everything, so we went inside the church where we were instructed we would be able to get our backpacks. On the outside of the building, we could hear shouting, laughter and music. I was figuring we were in for a good time. A few random people guided me to the correct door to enter. When inside 2-3 ladies welcomed me and I thanked them. They all in their own way told me they REALLY hope to see me back again. Nice for the invite, and I was feeling rather relaxed and comfortable. It was just a few feet and past a “line forming” barrier where we were taken into the sanctuary. The man on stage was throwing footballs and such to the crowd. The energy was high! I was asked to hold while an usher found us a seat. Once directed where to sit, on my way there, the lights dimmed and the mood got really serious. I thought to myself… what is happening. As predicted, in most churches that are controlling and power hungry, I was not surprised as to what came next. The speaker…. Not sure who or what position he might have in the “church” but he looked as if he might be an assistant pastor or youth pastor. (I have looked for information on him and not been able to find any) He started with his childhood story and how he “discovered” Jesus.

  “One day I was watching the old movie on Moses, and saw him split the Red Sea. I turned to my mom and asked if that was real. She replied the movie itself was not real but the actual story was. I then as a curious boy started asking question to find answers to this incredible true story.”

He continued to talk for a bit, but I started to tune out and make sure my son was doing okay. The next thing I remember tuning into was as follows.

“I just need a volunteer. You, please come here. You will not have to talk; I just need you to stand facing the wall with your back to the audience.”  The lights dimmed further as to make the mood more serious and reflective. Slow “guilt” music began to play. “Here this boy is going to represent Jesus. Back when Jesus was alive he knew he came here to save you all. I met a girl last year that was hurting. She was cutting herself and couldn’t stop. I met another girl who was suicidal and another family who just lost their house and income. “The list went on for a bit.  “Who knows what you might be going through today? Perhaps you are a wife ready to pack her bags and leave her husband… (so on with the guilt/fear questions).  You are hurting and Jesus is ready to take away all your guilt and pain no matter what your situation is. See these screens with the crosses? Jesus endured the pain, so you do not have to. (Goes back to boy standing on stage) Before nailing him to the cross, they beat him so badly he was unrecognizable. (Doing motions around the “volunteer”) – The soldiers took whips the size of this microphone, and gouged into his back. It bled and oozed. Jesus was dehydrated, and fell to the ground”

At this point again, it began to get severely graphic for a room full of kids, that were simply there for a backpack. All the specific gruesome details of the actual “hanging Jesus on the cross” I cannot relay properly. The speaker continuing….

“The last words Jesus said were “It is finished”.  So for all of you today you have nothing to worry about. Jesus died for you. (Dismisses the boy)  I have another example and I have my two boys to help me out here. (Two men from the sidelines came onstage) – This guy here will represent “the enemy”. This one here will represent you. I will represent God. As you live your life, the enemy will beat you down. When you trust in God and call on his name, the Bible says that the enemy will go away. He will be right there by your side.”

A few “Amen’s” erupted from around the sanctuary.

“As you can see God stepped in, and shooed away the enemy. As you go through life, you may stray and the enemy will come back, as he is always trying to.”

They repeated the stupid play once or twice more. The men then returned to standing on the side.

“I want to ask you all to stand with me. (Music and lights grow louder and darker. All I could think, was here it comes.) I know you all are here for backpacks, but we want to share this story with you. You will get your backpacks I promise. Right now what I have to say is important. It has nothing to do with you joining the church. The pastor and his staff are more concerned with spreading the story of Christ no matter what church you go to or where you are in your life. I am sure you all have heard of Heaven and Hell. I have had the chance to talk to people on the brink of death who have said that they had a glimpse of either Heaven or Hell. The ones who where “in Hell”, woke up gasping for air in a panic. They said the pain was intense and they could feel their soul burning as if they were above a bonfire. They felt the burning and that, my friends, will last an eternity. You know how bad it feels to get burnt. Imagine that feeling always there never going away. It sounds like torture. The ones I spoke to that had a glimpse of Heaven, said they didn’t want to return to Earth, it was so incredible.”

At this point I was appalled at the tactics this guy/institution was up to. They were literally just scaring the living Jesus into them.  Way to make a no choice, guilt ridden, fear striking speech.

“I now want to start with the children. Let us pretend there is a line of tape on the ground; one in front of you is white, and one behind you is red. Are you ready to cross the white line and make a change in your life and have a personal relationship with Jesus? I am about to invite you ALL but once again I want to start with the kids. The first “show” I did (and yes, he used the word show), there were swarms of people around this alter taking that next step in their lives. It was an amazing turnout. So I now invite the kids to come forward to the alter if you want to have that personal relationship with Jesus we have been talking about.”

No lie, I believe 85%-90% of the kids/teens were instantly up at that alter. Why wouldn’t they be? They were there for a backpack and were then all the sudden scared to death by this corralled situation. So, common sense, we now have all the kids upfront, time to target the parents/guardians!


“The little ones have made the decision to change theirs lives, now parents, I want you to consider the same. It does not matter where you are in your life. It is not about joining the church. I have a friend over here who visited a sick man everyday at the hospital until he died. He was not a part of our church, but he still took the time to let him know he cared and wanted to share the love of God with him. I am here to do the same. So parents, loved ones, I invite you now to join the youth up here if you also want to take the step toward having a relationship with Jesus.”

As in so many “institutions”, I could see and “feel” the crazy amount of ushers/counselors getting ready to move in on the people standing up front. They had some information/accepting Christ into your heart packets. So cliché! The speaker then led the whole group in a “Prayer of Salvation”. They all repeated it cult style, then were cheered for when finished. Like a miracle, the lights became bright again, music turned to something SUPER casual, and the people were all instructed to see a counselor/usher to get their “packet” on the way back to their seats. Keep in mind he was talking for a good 40-45 minutes or so! As everyone dispersed, I breathed a sigh of relief because the backpack I had come for was finally about to be given to me.  The speaker switched into fun mode again.

“Alright kiddos! Who is ready for their backpack?!? (no one really cheered, it was asked several times and the crowd started to interact just a little with excitement) Before we do that, it is time to give away this brand new bike to some lucky person in here! The Nintendo Wii will be given away by a random drawing from all the names who came to Operation Backpack! Okay let’s do a dance-off.  I want to see all ages up here dancing for the bike! “ The crowd starts to perk up again because who doesn’t want a free bike? About 7-8 people were picked to go onstage and dance. “Okay, start the music!” Everyone onstage danced their butts off. One kid stuck out because he did this maneuver that landed him on his back offstage. He thankfully was fine, and the “crowd judging” began. The kid that landed on his back, was the winner. I tell you this because the most shocking thing came out of the speakers mouth right after he announced that the kid was the winner.

“Where are your parents son?” He looks into the crowd and points to the boys parents, “I have to ask, were you on drugs when you were pregnant with him? I have NEVER seen any moves like that before!” Everyone, chuckled and passed it off.

We were then told we would be dismissed aisle by aisle to go up front to receive our backpacks.

From there, my son and I got our backpack and left the sanctuary.  We did not stick around after the “planned salvation speech”, and quickly headed home!

For the record, there were too many inserts and details to remember, but I tried to get the gist of everything.

4 comments:

  1. Okay, can I throw up now? This is the kind of nauseating crap that so much of "Christianity" is passing for these days. It is appalling and gross. It is sickening. How can these people feel good about themselves, and sleep at night? I'm truly sorry a friend and her child had to endure this. What a freak show!

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  2. It wasn't all that long ago that this wouldn't have seemed so bizarre to me. I probably would've even signed up to help with it. God has brought me to a different place. I would prefer to become part of a radical movement to show Christ, live Christ in a different way, what I believe is the better way. But before we move into condemnation, let's remember where we've come from. Instead of condemning, let's invite others to join us.

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  3. Well spoken, Steph. I appreciate the accountability, especially when passion for His heart overwhelms my brain and mouth. I pray we all continue to challenge and hold one another accountable as we move forward. I truly don't want to be a judge, but I do want to make a difference in this life I have been given. The story continues ...

    - Living Loved

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  4. My intent is not to condemn anyone, only to point out the absurdity of trying to share pure love (Christ) using the motivation of fear (antithesis of love). The post is to stimulate the brain waves and initiate a heart change. It's difficult to move away from what was the norm (right vs wrong mentality) and into community with Father, Son, and Spirit (total love) and not respond. I agree, it needs to be accomplished through the LVOE we now live and know!

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