Meditations
David O. RankinPopularity
To escape the trap of public acclaim, an authentic church should advertise as follows:Our worship is not an entertainment.
Our congregation is not an audience.
Our music is not a concert performance.
Our preaching is not a trivial comfort.
Our theology is not a marketing strategy.
Our counseling is not a promise of prosperity.
Our church is not a business enterprise.
Our ministry is not a cult of personality.
Our community is not a gathering of sheep.
Our success is not a membership statistic.
In fact, it is probably better to be disliked, offensive, and scandalous. Even booing is preferable to mass applause. For no vision is worthwhile without the risk of rebuke. Every truth is born out of painful criticism. Love, itself, is crucifying.
Source: Dancing in the Empty Space – Skinner House 2001
Copyright: The author has given Unitarian Universalist Association member congregations permission to reprint this piece for use in public worship. Any reprints must acknowledge the name of the author.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
