{"id":297,"date":"2009-03-31T09:46:36","date_gmt":"2009-03-31T09:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/rick-advises-pastors.html"},"modified":"2009-03-31T09:46:36","modified_gmt":"2009-03-31T09:46:36","slug":"rick-advises-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/rick-advises-pastors.html","title":{"rendered":"Rick Advises Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think that Rick Bennett is one of the most under-appreciated emergbloggers around.  Today he’s decided to dole out some advice to pastors<\/a>.  He and his family have been looking for a church, so he knows of what he speaks.  A few of my faves:<\/p>\n

3. Wear shirts that fit. Don’t raid Ed Young, Jr.’s wardrobe. Please. Heck, put on a freakin<\/span>‘ suit if you need to. And, if you like those tight shirts, lose weight.<\/p>\n

17. Offer some snacks and coffee, but don’t brag about it. Wow! You have
\nStarbucks. I will now come to your church. I mean, you just saved me
\n$2.00 per week. What a bargain. Conversely, if you have fair trade (and
\nyou should!), let us know. And, don’t just offer fattening donuts. You
\nare a church and gluttony is a sin.<\/p>\n

21. If you actually value the place of women in your church, give them
\nsomething to do besides greeter, nursery or back up singer. Your words
\nbetray you.<\/p>\n

And last… stop trying to make your church seem so cool. It is
\nnot. It is church. Church does not equal cool. Your marketing should be
\nhonest, not an attempt to show how cool and “with it” you are. The more
\nyou try, the worse you look. Just tell us who you are and invite us
\nalong for the ride. I have seen too many churches trying to be cool and
\nbeing inauthentic. If you are a suburb church, don’t act like a city
\nchurch. If you are all suburbanites, we will notice when you move your
\nchurch into the city to be edgy and then drive home to suburbia. If you
\ndon’t like poor people, justice and art do not fake it just to make us
\ncome to your church. You have turned important things into marketing
\npoints and propaganda<\/span>. We notice when you are faking it, probably before you do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think that Rick Bennett is one of the most under-appreciated emergbloggers around.  Today he’s decided to dole out some advice to pastors.  He and his family have been looking for a church, so he knows of what he speaks.  A few of my faves: 3. Wear shirts that fit. Don’t raid Ed Young, Jr.’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church"],"yoast_head":"\nRick Advises Pastors - The New Christians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/03\/rick-advises-pastors.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rick Advises Pastors - The New Christians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I think that Rick Bennett is one of the most under-appreciated emergbloggers around.  Today he’s decided to dole out some advice to pastors.  He and his family have been looking for a church, so he knows of what he speaks.  A few of my faves: 3. 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