"Help Me Obi-Wan..." (Pastors in 3-D now?)

"You're my only hope"

I was in the MLK Chapel Library today talking with some folks about my research fellowship with FTE (probably haven't mentioned this yet; it's a travel grant so I can research Strategies for Ministry to Youth in the Context of Oppression (for reasons of Class, Race, Sexuality, Gender, or any combination of a bunch of stuff). Someone starts talking about Buckhead Church and their mega youth ministry (imagine a more hip Willow Creek). Apparently they have about 15 churches all started by the same guy.

Man, it must be tough to be the pastor of 15 different churches...hmmm...PROBLEM SOLVED.

Instead of choosing another pastor, I'll use a HOLOGRAM. It'll look like I'm there...

Slate Magazine covered the article early last year. Excellent read, and there are a number of good entry points for dialogue here. Check it out for yourself.

http://www.slate.com/id/2197166/?GT1=28001

We can discuss it, but I think it's a TERRIBLE IDEA and absolutely destroys the concept of Church.

1. There's something right about the concept of many pastors sharing the same vision, or working for the same purpose. I'm not crazy about early church history (and especially its engagement and coalition with the State), but hundreds of years earlier the APOSTLES did something RIGHT. This is a BODY of Christ, all with different gifts and values (c. Ephesians)
2. Diversity is RUINED.
3. We'll come very close to creating demigods here, or to having pastors competing for churches. Tough to explain here, but when I read "he's shooting for 60 churches by 2010"...something about "shooting for" a church puts his success on social and cultural terms more than what is happening SPIRITUALLY in each of these churches. Then again, this is the Emergent Church. And they do two things incredibly well...borrow from culture and start new churches.

FEEL FREE TO DISAGREE WITH ME HERE. I need to hear the other side of this.

Lov