[Sly Fox]

The Perils of 'Wannabe Cool' Christianity

By BRETT MCCRACKEN

'How can we stop the oil gusher?" may have been the question of the summer for most Americans. Yet for many evangelical pastors and leaders, the leaking well is nothing compared to the threat posed by an ongoing gusher of a different sort: Young people pouring out of their churches, never to return.

As a 27-year-old evangelical myself, I understand the concern. My peers, many of whom grew up in the church, are losing interest in the Christian establishment.

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As someone who has been involved in church marketing I bristle at some of his points but they have validity.

[SuperJon]

This is a book that I really wanna read.

[ALUmnus]

Churches and the people who run them have been consistantly losing faith in the fact that God is enough for a while now. These are all just symptoms of that.

[Sly Fox]

For the record, losing the 18-to-30-year-olds is hardly a new proposition for the church. It has been an issue for generations. Typically they tend to begin migrating back in their 30s when they have their own children and recognize the need for a spiritual compass. Most megachurches live off attracting and retaining those in their 30s & 40s who are looking for longterm stability. That's why churches market the way that they do toward that demographic. It is why churches invest so much more money proportionally in childrens ministries than anything else because the kids bring the parents who are the group most likely attracted to message of Evangelicals. Obviously everybody is wanted in the church, but typically there is a sweet spot that each church tends to attract.

Church plants typically skew younger and build momentum before plateauing. Most megachurches went through a similar cycle 10-20 years ago. The problem is that church tend to reach a point where they focus too much on serving themselves and not those around them. That's why so many churches have a sea of gray & blue hair and no growth. They have tailored their churches to meet the needs of their current congregation. It is the rare church that is able to avoid the comfort zone.

[Sly Fox]

Apparently this article in the WSJ has caused major ripples and responses from the Hipster corner. One of the Hipster church gurus that I follow on Twitter has posted his response ...

Hipster vs Polyester Christianity and the Cultural Trap

Every church movement in America, and around the world for that matter, has its share of critics. Friday morning I read a Wall Street Journal article by Brett McCracken on the perils of what he entitles “Hipster Christianity” . In this summary of his recently-released book, which I have not yet read, Mr. McCracken condemns Christian leaders for trying too hard “to rebrand Christianity as hip, countercultural, relevant.” He even names a few churches as examples of what he calls “cool churches,” saying at the close of his article that “as a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don’t want cool as much as we want real.” I’m glad Mr. McCracken knows what he and his generation want, but whose job is to define what a “real” church looks like? Mr. McCracken and his generation of anti-hipsters? The Baby Boomers and their love of big churches? Program-driven denominational leaders?

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