All though the day today, many of the people I follow on Twitter have spent the day badmouthing Christianity.  The essence of it is that they want Christians to stop interfering in other people’s business and start acting like, well, Christians.  They see the church as a place that is much more interested in politics (particularly gay marriage and abortion) than they do as a place that helps the poor and needy.  It also doesn’t happen when the Winnipeg Free Press is running a story as Jesus as Batman that is being told by a local Winnipeg church or that 15,000 people flock to a church in Texas to hear Tim Tebow speak. 

For many Easter is a weekend of musicals and big productions.  The idea is that if the production is big enough that people will come to hear a sermon that goes a long with it.  I know as I was a part of many of those kind of services growing up.  Here is how Willow Creek’s press release describes their weekend.

Willow Creek Community Church welcomed more than 40,000 to Easter Services on April 7/8. With eighteen services across six campuses, including Casa de Luz conducted entirely in Spanish, the Easter story celebrated the Resurrection using state-of-the-art multi-media elements, powerful visuals, live worship, and storytelling.

Despite the combined efforts of Batman, Tim Tebow, and Bill Hybels everyone will go back to their daily routines next Sunday and church attendance will be flat and in decline across North America and soon planning will start for the next big event (Kick off Sunday in the fall and then Christmas) where the same kind of energy will result in the same temporary result and the same kind of derision from the public at large who see a church fascinated with it’s ability to put on a show and constantly searching out the latest and newest fad while ignoring the realities of the poor and less fortunate in the cities and towns they live in and everyone sees it.  As John Wimber once said, those outside the church can see this clearer than Christians.  Then again, what do I know?  I am only a women in a man’s world where technology will save the day.