If you’re going to start a church there are a lot of dumb things you can do. At Renovatus we’ve done many of them, and I think I’ve written that blog post before. But more and more I am becoming convinced that one of the worst things you can do is aim to be cool. Being a cool church is a terrible idea. It sounds fun, it is most definitely appealing, and it could possibly feel very successful. Local Christian college students will flock to your church if you’re cool enough. Depending on your definition of cool you’ll attract decent crowds from different demographics. We all want to be cool, so we are drawn to join and be a part of a cool church. It’s like being invited as an 8th grader to hang out with a senior. I’m pretty sure it’s a subplot to every episode of Glee. It’s a part of our broken nature, we want to find acceptance and dignity through those that live and act as if they own it. In other words, we want to hang out with the cool kids. So if you have the choice between two churches on your street, and one of them is filled with cool soul patches, cool artwork, and cool pastors that wear sunglasses inside the building like Bono part of us wants to be involved in that church…because if we’re a part of a cool church then we might be considered cool right? It’s Jr. High all over again.
I don’t claim to be able to identify which churches are trying to be cool churches. It’s not that easy. There are some really cool churches that actually have little vested interest in being cool, it is actually a byproduct of their commitment to mission and justice. (There’s always something appealing and kind of cool about a person or group who is confident and sure about who they are and what they’re about…even if it’s an “uncool” thing like loving poor people) As far as I am aware, there are only two definite ways of knowing if a church is seriously trying to be cool:
- You name yourself Cool Church
- You make your website www.coolchurch.com (Sorry Abundant Life Church but…well…you chose the url!)
Anyway, the reality is that following Jesus is not cool. Dying to yourself is not cool. Loving the unlovely is not cool. Caring for orphans and widows is not cool. Eating meals with those living on the streets is not cool. Following the child of a teenage mom who grew up as a peasant refuge and claimed to be a king only to be murdered as a criminal is not cool. It just isn’t.
When we try to make church cool, we water down what makes us unique, we begin to lose our voice. The Christ follower is invited to be different. And, no, we’re not different because we listen to Michael W. Smith music, we’re not different because we make T-shirts that play off already made products, we’re not different because we don’t sleep in on Sunday mornings, we’re not different because we don’t say cuss words, we’re not different because we don’t smoke cigarettes. I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe that Jesus died so that we could be free from smoking cigarettes. I’m sorry, I just don’t believe that Jesus died so that we could go to church on Sundays. I’m sorry, I don’t believe that Jesus died so that we could say “darn” instead of “damn”. I’m sorry, I don’t believe that Jesus died so that we could listen to poor quality and less innovative music (Oops, I’ve got an obvious bias here). Those are all fine and dandy things, but they have very little to do with following Jesus! (though I do believe that the Sunday gathering CAN and should break this mold). When we make our aim to be cool we shift our focus from trying to please God to trying to please people. There’s a difference between pleasing people and loving, accepting, and caring for people. God invites us to be radical. Cool invites us to be mainstream. Mustard seed is not cool, it’s noxious, it’s an annoying weed, its invasive, and it’s the metaphor Jesus uses for his kingdom. Nope, joining in Jesus’ kingdom movement means that you’re going to be an awkward and annoyingly passionate lover of people. It means that you’re going to choose the path of sacrifice and generosity over the path of power and prestige. It means you love the unlovely (including yourself) it means you love people regardless of whether they are considered cool or un-cool.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Pursuit of cool and pursuit of crucifixion don’t really mesh. I wish they did because it’s always been my secret dream to be cool. I want it like the desert wants the rain. I grew up a poor black child …I mean, a preachers kid, a homeschooler, I married the only girl I ever kissed…while my experiences cause me to have a different definition of cool than most, it has always been my dream to be cool. But the more I fall in love with Jesus, the more I get to know him, the more I find myself being freed from the oppression of cool.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Galatians 5:1
