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Bye-Bye, First BaptistThe truly hip church rejects the old naming conventions.

By Jesse NoyesPosted Friday, Dec. 21, 2007, at 7:23 AM ET

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A concoction of Christianity and pop culture can produce mixed results, though.

In recent decades, the line between the church and commercialism has blurred nearly to the point of invisibility. Ministers, armed with Bible verses and effusive charm, are best-selling authors of books about how God can make you happy. Megachurches employ just about any performance-enhancing tool they can to charge up an audience, including rock bands, bright lights, and fog machines. And Christian-sanctioned merchandise, from those WWJD bracelets to video games, continues to be cranked out. All of which has sparked a culture war of sorts pitting the megachurches against modern-day fundamentalists.

But for these coolly named churches, cultural attentiveness has appeared to pay off. In many ways, these churches are a reaction to both the megachurch and fundamentalist models. Unlike fundamentalists, these churches are engaging with pop culture, but they forgo the in-your-face style found in the average megachurch.

Most of the churches I spoke with identified with the "emergent" or "missional" movements—two outgrowths of the mainline Protestant and evangelical denominations that share a common emphasis on interacting with cultural climates. Though they may have picked up a few marketing tactics from the megachurches (i.e., direct mail and transit ads), they often meet in smaller groups and the emotional register of their services can be far less charged. (At the REUNION gathering, I noted the conspicuous absence of an altar call.)

More importantly, many of them have evolved with the purpose of addressing social justice and environmental issues, like health care and global warming. Some have launched health clinics in foreign countries, provided microloans for people in developing nations, spread awareness about human trafficking, and created ministries for people living with HIV and AIDS. These are the types of issues that are being embraced by grass-roots culture, and the discussion and activity taking place within these churches can mirror what's happening at college campuses. I'm not saying other Christian churches aren't philanthropic. They are. But their charitable works can come off as secondary to the goals of converting hordes of souls to Jesus or pushing their conservative brand of family values.

There is a passage in the New Testament book Acts that I've always felt spelled out the way a church should, well, act. In it, the church is described as a group of people that "shared all things in common," where possessions were sold and distributed "as any had need."

OK. This is communal living, and it is organic, which makes it seem very en vogue at the moment (hence the spate of churches brandishing trendy names. James Dalman, a pastor turned branding consultant, told me that he once advised one church planter—folks who establish smaller-sized churches, sometimes serially—not to go with the name iChurch). But there's nothing wrong with these young bodies of believers tapping cultural fads and lingo as they return to such an ancient idea of Christianity, so long as they earn it with fruitful action. Religious movements can come and go as quickly as a season's fashions. I'd like to see this one stick.

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Jesse Noyes is a writer living in Cambridge, Mass.

Photograph of church by Photodisc.

COMMENTS

Remarks from the Fray:

I don't think it's all that accurate to compare the pagan roots of Christian holidays to the hip refashioning of the church as we're seeing it today. Those pagan holidays had very ancient roots; observing the natural cycles is so embedded in the human psyche, Christianity probably needed to take on some of those embellishments instead of fighting them.

But the trends churches are embracing now are considerably more fleeting. One has to wonder how many of these congregations are going to change things up in the future, just to stay on top of the trends.

I wonder, though, how the church expects to remain a steadfast mainstay in the human experience if it is so willing to drift with the winds of change. The central message may be the same, but the atmosphere sends a different kind of message: you don't have to change for us, because your church will change for you. What kind of religion is that?

Christianity is going to be around for a long, long time, but pop culture is going to dilute it to such an extent that I doubt it's going to have the kind of personal impact it once did. Consider the study recently publicized that found teenagers who take oaths of abstinence rarely honor that commitment. Despite promises to God and family that they will remain celibate until marriage, they almost always surrender their virginity before their wedding night anyway. And why not? God will forgive them, after all.

Pop culture is going to win the war. It's already winning. Divorce is hardly noteworthy these days; how long before homosexual unions become tolerated and even accepted? I often quote a Flaming Lips song on this board: "With loving hands/and the arms are stretched so wide you can't even take a breath/knowing evil will prevail..." It's not "evil" today, though it was before...and it will prevail, always.

--Anse

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(12/25)

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