The
[u]nited States, with few exceptions, are Protestant nations par excellence. If, therefore, one understands something of
the nature and essence of that religion, he will also understand something of
the course the States will probably follow.
One
of the fundamental elements of Protestantism is change. It resists settledness with all its being. Early in the Reformation, John Calvin laid
down some important markers regarding it:
“The reformed and
ever-reforming Church.” This was John
Calvin’s response to the Latin accusation that he and the other Protestants
were innovating. He articulated in his The Necessity of Reforming the Church
that this process of reform is the work of God in the Church at all times, and
is to be done “according to the Word of God” . . . (Archpriest Josiah Trenham, Rock and Sand: An Orthodox Appraisal of the Protestant
Reformers and Their Teachings, Newrome Press, 2015, footnote 210, pgs.
145-6).
The
Protestant obsession with innovation, with the ‘new’, is a major tenet of
modern life in the States. One can see
its ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ side in this article about the latest megachurch
fad, the Crossroads Church:
The fastest-growing
congregation in America is one you may never have heard of with a name you hear
everywhere: Crossroads Church.
Crossroads are about
as common as First Baptists among today’s non-denominational, contemporary
churches. But this particular Crossroads, based in Cincinnati, could have a
location near you in coming years if all goes according to plan. It has set out
to take on nationwide influence, leveraging data from its app and streaming
services to choose where to launch new campuses.
“There’s something in
the whole package that comes together,” said senior pastor Brian Tome, whose
preaching is broadcast from Crossroads’ campus in Oakley to more than a dozen
other sites. “God gets the glory.”
Just over two decades
old, the booming church still functions like a startup—for good reason.
Described by Cincinnati Business Courier as both “an entrepreneurial
church and a church for entrepreneurs,” its business mentality has been key to
its growth so far and shapes how it will expand—essentially, franchise—in the
future.
In 2017, Outreach
Magazine and LifeWay Research named Crossroads the fastest-growing church for the
second time (the first was in 2015). With 14 campuses and 38,000 in attendance,
Crossroads added around 6,000 members in 2016—growing at a rate of 25 percent.
Taking
ministry out of the box
While keeping focused
on Scripture and the Spirit, leaders at Crossroads pride themselves on
rethinking the standard tone of church life. They favor catchy language and
marketing, powerful messages, and exciting programs. They credit the church’s
growth to an entrepreneurial willingness to break the mold—even their own.
“We don’t set out to
intentionally disrupt anything,” said Brian Tome, senior pastor of Crossroads,
who mingles business metaphors and spiritual allusions.
“But Jesus said he
works in new wineskins. He’s not against old wineskins. But he said he has come
to do a new thing. The Holy Spirit is active in our church, causing us to do
things other churches aren’t willing to do.”
Tome cites the Holy
Spirit’s leadership in everything at Crossroads—from their vision to expand beyond
the Midwest to how they organize their programs to why they placed beer kegs
outside a prayer tent at a recent men’s event, drawing thirsty participants in
for prayer.
While he has a
seminary degree and a ministry background, Tome has surrounded himself with
business leaders, out-of-the-box creatives, and entrepreneurs. Most of
Crossroads’ founders (who invited Tome to the city to be their pastor 22 years
ago) were executives at Procter & Gamble, the Cincinnati-based marketing
behemoth behind brands like Tide, Febreze, Crest, Gillette, Charmin, and
Pampers.
“We’re taking risks we wouldn’t take if we
were preoccupied with sustaining ourselves,” Tome said. “I think that’s the
call of discipleship … We have to be willing to take the risk and be hurt if we’re
going to take new ground and be formed into being the disciples Jesus asked us
to be.”
Jenn Sperry, far
right, leads the church’s media team as it shifts to a national focus. “we’re
open-handed right now to where God is stirring up energy,” she said.
Founded in 1996,
Crossroads has always built on its business background. Only a small fraction
of staff members have seminary training, because the church seeks diverse staff
to fill roles that go beyond preaching, music, youth, and children’s ministry.
While in-house
graphic design and branding are nothing new for megachurches, Crossroads has a
team that functions like an ad agency—stocked with designers, copywriters,
project managers, public relations managers, and social media strategists.
It’s these
initiatives and strategies that set the church apart, rather than Tome himself
as some kind of celebrity pastor. (When he showed up recently at a pastors’
conference in Silicon Valley, he said no one recognized him.)
The church embraces
conversational and edgy lingo, what it deems “culturally current
communication.” In its manifesto,
Crossroads celebrates authenticity because “hiding sucks.” The church takes a
strong stance on biblical truth but points out that it doesn’t care if members
wear socks with sandals or how they pronounce “GIF.” They adopted a “beer test”
for leaders on stage each weekend: Anyone speaking should be approachable
enough that you’d want to tip one back with them.
Tome predicts American
churches will soon look radically different from what Christians have expected
and experienced for the past few decades, though he doesn’t know exactly how.
To stay ahead of
whatever changes might come, the church employs two full-time market researchers,
as well as a sort of research and development division. The “skunkworks” team
borrows its name from the corporate-world moniker for a group that operates
autonomously and often secretly to pioneer new ideas. Crossroads’ leadership
entrusts the skunkworks team, full of young Christian entrepreneurs, with
building ideas for the future.
They aren’t supposed
to play it safe. These days, for example, the high-tech team is looking into
ways Crossroads could use artificial intelligence in ministry and worship.
“Their task—figure out a way to put Crossroads out of business,” Tome said.
“Anything short of sin is up for grabs.”
. . .
Source: Kelly Carr, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/may/crossroads-cincinnati-america-fastest-growing-church-start.html,
opened 30 May 2018
This
constant change in forms of worship is a real point of trouble for the
post-Schism West (both Roman Catholic and Protestant) that touches on something
much deeper than matters of taste: the acquisition
of the Grace of God. If one rejects the
Orthodox forms of worship, he also cuts himself off from God’s Grace. Leonid Ouspensky explains:
. . .
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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