Cutesy-Tootsey Church

Another lazy Sunday in May. Another sleepy sermon. Another praise chorus sung just a little too slow. Another church service spent trying to shake the cobwebs out of a sleepy mind that is desperately trying to stay alert, or at least look more alert for the sake of keeping up appearances. Just a plain old typical Sunday. And that’s it when it hit me. It had been there for a long time, probably years, but I had never actually realized what it was. It was that vague thought that just floated out on the dark edges of my mind, never fully stepping forward into the light of my conscious thought until that moment. I was fed up with church. No, not believers and not fellowship, or corporately gathering together to worship through song, giving, prayer, fellowship and the Word. I love that, I live for those genuine times of worship with God’s people. What was killing me, and what I believe is killing churches all across this and probably other countries as well is “cutesy-tootsey church.” It’s that church that tries too hard to be likable, that church that tries too hard to entertain. It’s that church that works so hard at looking good and keeping people zoned in on them that they become to resemble late-night comedy shows, plays, concerts, public debates, political rallies, or a self-help clinic.

Now before I get any further into this and before you write me an e-mail or post a note disagreeing (or agreeing) with me let me qualify what I mean. I in no way am putting down the need for believers and churches to express the Christian faith, in both word and practice, in ways appropriately contextualize that message. I would argue that contextualization is biblical when done correctly but that is a story for another day. What bothers me is when churches spend more time trying to contextualize and make themselves look appealing than they do actually giving the true message of eternal life, the gospel. What really gets me is when churches spend so much time trying to give people a sense of spirituality that they never open and dig into the Word of God. What frustrates me is when churches spend so much time trying to illustrate the message that they forget to actually give the message. To me when your methods begin to detract from the message than you are doing “cutesy-toosey church.” Church that spends so much effort trying to look good and sound good that they actually forget to be good and to speak the good.

Being culturally relevant and appealing to those around us, while keeping the main things the main things is like walking a tight-rope across Niagara Falls, it is dangerous and difficult, but I believe it is what the church is called to and so it must be done. May we in the midst of rethinking how we do church not lose sight of what church is all about in the first place.