Noted Evangelical author Rick Warren said, in a recent article in The Christian Post:
Use Easter to Break a Growth Barrier
Every church hits a wall in growth, that attendance barrier your church can’t seem to get past. Maybe it’s 50, 100, 1,000, or 10,000. It doesn’t matter. One of the best chances you’ll have all year to pass that barrier is at Easter. . . .
Leverage the day. Make sure you’re putting your best foot forward that weekend. Promote Easter as much as possible and then make sure you’re ready for the people when they come.
Also, give people something for their heart, for their head, and for their hand. Give them inspiring music for their heart. Give them a practical message for their head. And you put something in their hand they can take home.
Finally, start a series at Easter. This will encourage your Easter guests to come back the next week because they want to hear what’s next in the series. Pick something that connects with your community. You know what they’re dealing with. Tell them what the Bible says about it and provide practical help.
This Easter can be huge for your church. It can be just what you need to take your church to the next level.
Are you ready?
If you read the entire article, you will find that the words, “Christmas, anniversaries, and other celebrations,” are used. Here are some words that are never used in the article: Jesus, Resurrection, Father, Holy Spirit, birth, Incarnation, etc. I could at least understand the recommendation to start a series on Pascha. After all Pascha–called Easter in the West–begins the 50 days that leads to the Ascension and the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. Priests have known for centuries that certain days draw large crowds to the church. They will try to craft special sermons that will reveal the importance of that day and will call the people to be followers of Christ. One only needs to think of Saint John Chrysostom’s short and pithy Pascha sermon to see this type of masterful special sermon. A series that led to Pentecost might be appropriate, although the danger is that you forget to celebrate the day for its own sake.
Nevertheless, what is clearly missing in Rick Warren’s article is any mention of celebrating the day for the sake of the day. There is no thought in the article to remembering the great day in which Christ arose and confirmed our salvation. The day is not for itself, it is only to be “leveraged” and forced to fit into a different structure than its natural day of celebration. It makes me wonder what he would do with Our Lord’s request about the Lord’s Supper that we “do this in memory of me.” I suspect that he also leverages the Lord’s Supper so that rather than pointing to Jesus, it points to another opportunity to become a member of Saddleback Church.
Rick Warren has done many good things. He has fought abortion. He has been fully pro-life in that he has also made sure to support programs in Africa that help the needy with social services in the name of Christ. He has been involved in trying to break cultural and racial barriers so that there can be an united Christian witness in this country and around the world. His pro-life stance is one of the most balanced and full ones in this country. It does not simply focus on abortion, but on all the facets of what it means to be pro-life. But, every so often, he seems to get so focused on church growth that he forgets his Christology altogether. This appears to be one of those times.
Meanwhile, the Church Fathers clearly celebrated Pascha for the sake of what happened on that day and not as lever to something else. I hope that Rick Warren can get that distinction straight. In the meantime, let me quote to you from the Paschal Liturgy.
It is the day of Resurrection, let us be radiant, O ye peoples: Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha; for Christ God hath brought us from death to life, and from earth unto Heaven as we sing the triumphal hymn. . . .
It is the day of Resurrection; let us be radiant for the festival, and let us embrace one another. Let us say, O brethren, even to those that hate us: Let us forgive all things on the Resurrection; and thus let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead, by death He has trampled down death, and on those in the tombs He has bestowed life.
Christ is risen from the dead, by death He has trampled down death, and on those in the tombs He has bestowed life.
Christ is risen from the dead, by death He has trampled down death, and on those in the tombs He has bestowed life.
As an Evangelical, sometimes Rick Warren can say things that may be cringe (Warren is known for not always phrasing or emphasizing things properly). And I certainly agree there are some issues with the “church growth” emphasis.
However, to be fair, we also have to keep in mind the context of where he is coming from. His article is not about the meaning of Easter. He is not trying to say, “Easter is about “growing your church.” Instead, he is stating that potentially more people will be attending because of the importance of the day, so use that to reach more people.
For me you have highlighted something not unique to Mr. Warren, but much of “pop’ church in the U.S. The lack of emphasis on the Incarnate God, and on The Kingdom and the almost anything goes to draw people on the door. I think that is one thing which began my search to look for something more substantial and timeless.
I completely agree that many people and leaders are doing some noble work in many facets of life, their main focus seems lacking.
Thanks for your thoughts on this, and please have blessed Holy Week, Fr.
Rick sent out a questionaire to the neighborhoods surrounding his church to find out what people disliked and liked about church.
So now his church looks just like ‘
them’.
He is really missing the boat, however. The San Diego Chargers just down the road an hour or so, pack in many more people on any given Sunday than does Saddleback Church.
The numbers game is just one problem with R.W.’s ministry. The message always curves back to…’you’.
He’s a Southern Baptist. What else would anyone expect?
Saddleback Church? As in Rancho Santa Margarita/Lake Forest/El Toro? As in that Wal-Mart-sized concrete-block foretress with its own four-lane driveway bridge across that dry riverbed where Santiago Canyon Road empties out into the built-up area just south of the 241 toll road overpass? Like a Wal-Mart crossed with Disneyland?
One and the same.
They pack ’em in there so that R.W. can give them back to themselves. And they love it.
Leverage the day. Make sure you’re putting your best foot forward that weekend. Promote Easter as much as possible and then make sure you’re ready for the people when they come.
And don’t forget the Networking Opportunites for Career Advancement!
As for me, I’ll be at St Boniface for Easter Vigil High Mass.