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January 2005 |
Introducing Christ:
Popular culture helps put people in pews
GRANGER, Ind. - People fill the 650 seats in the auditorium. Chatting among themselves, they wait for the clock to hit 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday.
Instrumental music plays quietly. Advertisements for various ministries flash one after another on two video screens.
At 5:30, the first of five weekend services will begin at Granger Community Church, the 33rd fastest growing mega church in the country, according to the Megachurch Research Center in Bolivar, Mo.
However, it's not so much GCC's size that defines it as its use of popular culture to introduce newcomers to Christianity.
At the same time the church believes many aspects of the modern world are out of sync with Christian morality, making a life with purpose more important.
The auditorium suddenly darkens. Spotlights in reds, greens and blues illuminate the band on stage.
"Yeah, when you're a celebrity, it's adios reality," the singer twangs the words of country singer Brad Paisley. "No matter what you do, people think you're cool. Just because you're on TV ..."
The musicians use the basic props of modern entertainment to chide reality TV.
Then four women playing the roles of former sorority sisters replace the band on stage to perform a drama.
One of the women confesses that she is dating a married man. She begins to cry when she realizes that her friends are right; it isn't a healthy relationship.
A soloist takes the spotlight and croons an Avril Lavigne song about lost love.
Then the Rev. Mark Beeson arrives on stage dressed in a black suit.
"Well, there's good news for us," Beeson, the founder and head pastor of the church, says calmly. An aura of charisma surrounds his tall and sturdy form.
"There is a place for us to go. There is one who comes for us," Beeson continues. "There is a home that is calling. There is a God who cares, who loves you right where you are."
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Each service is designed with the newcomer in mind. |
He asks the congregation to bow their heads in prayer.
"Lord, give us a sense of what truth is, what the reality really is," Beeson prays.
For six weeks this past fall, Beeson used reality television to teach his growing flock about Christian attitudes toward sex, money, relationships, religion, success and their church.
At Easter 2004, Beeson used the movie "The Matrix" to teach about Christ's message of rebirth. This past summer he used the character Spiderman to teach about identity.
On the surface, this approach contains as much irony as a music star on stage making fun of celebrity. After all, this is a United Methodist Church, an institution founded on Scripture as its core.
Designed for unchurched
But these weekend services are designed for people who don't attend church on a regular basis. In fact, they cater to people who have never been to church, Beeson explains.
That's why rather than reading from the Bible and singing hymns, the church uses the images, sounds and language of popular culture, Beeson says.
To reach these people, whom Beeson calls "unchurched," he has to communicate in "culturally relevant ways," he explains. "Basic change theory demands minimal overlap between what is and what can be. You can't communicate unless you overlap," he says, employing the lingo of communication studies.
"We don't compromise the message. We use the culture to most clearly communicate the message," he says.
Approaches like Beeson's make sense and are growing in popularity in an age when, according to many theologians, Protestantism is declining, says Scott Thumma, a scholar at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research who studies mega-churches and the interplay between religion and the Internet.
The branch of religion founded on the principle of allegiance to the Bible is looking for other ways to convey Jesus' message, Thumma says.
"Most folks in the modern world are not biblically literate," Thumma said in a telephone interview from Connecticut. "It makes more sense to put a spiritual spin on Star Wars than to teach people there was this guy named Daniel ..."
Began in 1986 with three
Beeson points to the numbers to prove he has succeeded in introducing people to Jesus: When he started the church in 1986, the only people present at a service in his living room were his wife and three children. Now, about 5,200 people attend weekend services every week, he says.
'People don't know how much they matter to God'
Beeson says his goal has always been to reach people who were not attending church. Even while growing up in Greenfield, Ind., he recalls, he was constantly inviting friends to his church youth group.
"I have always been concerned that people don't know how much they matter to God," he said. "They don't know that they are precious and loved. And I think if they knew what a treasure they were, it would change their outlook, their family. They would have hope. Jesus does that."
When deciding where to open a new church that would eventually become GCC, "I did the same research that any expanding business leader would do," he recalls.
"I studied the demographics and psychographics of the growing communities across Indiana, and Michiana was a hot spot." (Here, again, Beeson speaks in terminology derived from the business world; psychographics refers to people's lifestyles, values and behaviors.)
The church has never put its United Methodist affiliation on its sign, Beeson says. While GCC members eventually learn about United Methodism, displaying this label would not help further the goal of getting people into the church so they can learn about Jesus, he says.
"In marketing you have to pay attention to value added," he explains. "Because everyone is asking, how will this benefit me?"
When someone's daughter is depressed and their son is on drugs, "they are not asking for a denominational brand," Beeson says. "They are asking for help."
Indiana Area United Methodist Bishop Michael Coyner says that "minimizing the usage of confusing denominational labels" helps GCC reach its goal of bringing in people not familiar with church.
Beeson and Coyner both said, those who attend GCC learn in a series of classes for new members that the church is United Methodist and study Methodism.
"Rev. Mark Beeson and his staff do a wonderful job of helping people become a part of our denomination as well as that local church," Coyner says.
Coyner says he is "delighted" with the "phenomenal growth" of GCC.
Slick and modern
In addition to the language, images and sounds used in the service, the facility itself appears slick and modern. Outside the auditorium is the Connection Cafe, which offers lattes, chai teas and caffe mochas like those sold at a Starbucks.
The commons and the auditorium are equipped with wireless Internet access. People may bring their laptops into the 7:30 p.m. service on Saturdays.
The expansion now underway will add a food court, video cafe, more themed classrooms for children and additional parking.
Beeson and other pastors wear suits rather than robes in an effort to remain a tuned to modern dress trends.
"If I stood up in a robe, well, the last time they saw a fairly large man in a black robe was superior court," Beeson says. "So I dress the way they see business professionals dress."
Other churches reluctant to address issues
Beeson says "we're in a fallen world in every aspect." He talks about societal changes in the 1960s that broke the family and allowed for more sexual freedom. Households went from "two-parent families to blended families to Cuisinart families," which are so mixed up that children don't know who their parents are, he says.
Things have spun out of control, he says. "Now, sex can kill you," he says, referring to AIDS. He says that many churches are reluctant to address these issues in the context of the culture.
Beeson's goal is to introduce people to Jesus so He can guide people to "live a life of purpose" in this "fallen world."
And the only way to capture the attention of people surrounded by loud music, and digital images is to use some pieces of this cacophony to tell them about Jesus, he says.
"We use the arts to raise the issues, and we use the scriptures to lovingly address the issues," Beeson says.
"What we're doing is not a new thing. Jesus would illustrate in the style of the culture." It just so happened that in the first century A.D., people were occupied with farm animals and land, not cars and movies, he says.
Staff gets pop culture
Granger Community Church employs a full-time staff of eight to plan how to incorporate images and sounds of popular culture into services.
To collect ideas for artistic elements, they immerse themselves in popular culture and entertainment, says Karen Schuelke, pastor of programming arts. (Schuelke is not an ordained minister.)
The staff attends movies together and even travels to Chicago to see performances such as the Blue Man Group, she says. In July, the staff went to Las Vegas, where they saw Elton John in concert and soaked up ideas for future services, she says.
Each service is designed with the newcomer in mind, she says. Almost every service begins with a song that raises a question. Then there is a drama that explores the issue. Then the minister presents a sermon, which GCC calls "the message."
Schuelke's least-favorite aspect of her job is turning away musicians during auditions. Each year, several times the 45 artists needed try out to be part of GCC's band, she says.
"It's kind of like American Idol," she says.
This story first appeared in the Oct. 21, 2004, issue of the South Bend Tribune. Used by permission.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008