Evangelism a la Chef Boyardee

Have you seen that commercial? You know, the one with the kid eating Beef Ravioli while the mom tries to keep the dad from saying what the voice over tells us, "There's a full serving of vegetables in every bowl of Chef Boyardee. Just don't tell them."

The implication is, of course, that if the kid knew it was good for him he wouldn't eat it. A further implication is that if a parent wants her kid to have a healthy diet, she has be be sneaky about it.

I can't help but notice that this is the same approach to evangelism that the pop evangelical church is taking on our day. We can't just tell people the good news of the gospel- that humanity's biggest problem is sin, and that belief in Christ's death and resurrection is the only way to resolve this problem. Instead, we need to repackage Jesus as the one who can cure your loneliness, relieve your anxiety, save your marriage, and assist you with any other felt need you may have. The hope is that, as long as your coming for the tasty ravioli, some of the good nutrients will sneak there way in.

Though well intentioned, the problem is that the real need facing humanity is sometimes never discussed. A different "Jesus" is presented, but he is not all that different than what is being offered by Oprah, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, Scientology, or the corner bar where "everybody knows your name." The Bible may be used as a "quote book" and referenced in an effort to sanitize the teaching, but the focus is still on "what's in it for me," when it should be on God.

Such actions betray a lack of faith among pop evangelicalism - a lack of faith in both the sufficiency and efficiency of God, His Spirit, and His Word. People are being introduced to Christ without hearing of their need to "repent, turn to God, and do works in keeping with repentance." I fear the result may be, in the last day, that these people who ere active in church and thought they were "right with God" will instead hear, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

The churches repackaging Jesus to meet felt needs justify their actions with the numbers that they are producing. (One church of 7000 in Charlotte boasted about 500 people getting saved one weekend last month). Yet there is little evidence of changed livest and little evidence of spiritual impact on the community.

From what I understand about the Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli claim to having "a full serving of vegetables in every bowl," this is technically true. But in order to get that one must also take in a lot of empty calories, sodium, and even sacrifice the natural vitamin C that was in the tomatoes originally. (And yes, tomatoes are a fruit, but Chef Boyardee must be using them as a vegetable in this case.) Same is true in the church. The little bit of truth about Jesus and the Gospel is surrounded by so much other junk that, in the end, you may be no better off...