{"id":490,"date":"2008-08-06T20:46:36","date_gmt":"2008-08-07T00:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stonescryout.org\/?p=490"},"modified":"2008-08-06T20:46:36","modified_gmt":"2008-08-07T00:46:36","slug":"a-wake-up-call-for-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stonescryout.org\/?p=490","title":{"rendered":"A Wake Up Call For Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a post entitled Why I Walked Out of Church<\/a>, writer\/artist Julie Neidlinger assesses what’s wrong with many of today’s churches (hat tip: WorldMagBlog<\/a>):<\/p>\n

A recent cover story at World Magazine about “NextGen Worship” inspired a strong desire to smack the pastors depicted in the article and in the photos. The cover photo alone enraged me<\/a>, with the pastor wearing baggy jeans and untucked button-up shirt with flip flops and an ear microphone. Later, the same guy is shown out front of a church holding a paper Starbucks-like cup of coffee. Could he try any harder to be lame?<\/p>\n

I’d have liked to have taken that cup of coffee and dumped it on his head. But it’s nothing personal against that guy or his beliefs or sincerity. It’s an anger at something else.<\/p>\n

I’m not going to be one of those starched-collar Christians who, based on personal preference, say that this is a sign we’re going to hell in a handbasket and that all things are wrong unless they are done as they were with the Puritans. What I’m saying is that I can’t stand the phoniness, or trendiness, or sameness — or whatever I’m trying to say here — that the church seems to catch onto at the tail end, not even aware of how lame it is. The fact that this is not only actually successful in appealing to people, but attracts them, also disgusts me.<\/p>\n

It makes me want to throw up.<\/p>\n

It’s buying into some kind of lie or substitution of cool culture as being relevant when it isn’t.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The entire article is worth reading very carefully as Julie has a lot to say. No doubt there are many other people that feel the same way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a post entitled Why I Walked Out of Church, writer\/artist Julie Neidlinger assesses what’s wrong with many of today’s churches (hat tip: WorldMagBlog): A recent cover story at World Magazine about “NextGen Worship” inspired a strong desire to smack the pastors depicted in the article and in the photos. The cover photo alone enraged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-tom"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t