In the comments section of what has become the most discussed and most controversial post in Echo Hub’s two-month history, one person questioned the way Salem Lutheran Church invested its resources. Why invest money and man-hours in a production when those resources could’ve been allocated to hungry mouths that need to be fed? This line of thinking, taken to its logical extreme, can become something I call the ‘How Dare You?’ game:
How dare you ________ when there are so many ________?
Applied to churches, the game looks like this:
- How dare you own HD projectors when there are so many hungry mouths that need to be fed?
- How dare you own SD projectors …
- How dare you buy a new lightbulb for your old-school overheard projector …
- How dare you own HD projectors when there are so many hungry mouths that need to be fed?
- How dare you own SD projectors …
- How dare you buy a new lightbulb for your old-school overheard projector …
- How dare you upgrade your website …
- How dare you have a website at all …
- How dare you build a new building …
- How dare you renovate this old building …
- How dare you pay rent to this school or movie theater …
- How dare you have a full-time media professional on staff …
- How dare you spend $15 on a sermon illustration video …
- How dare you own nice choir robes …
- How dare you pay to have the old choir robes dry cleaned …
- How dare you waste your time creating something …
- How dare you waste your time commenting on a blog …
That’s probably enough. My point is that if you’re going to ask, “How dare you?” about one thing, you have to ask it about everything. And if you’re consistent enough to ask that question about everything — including your personal time management and finances — you’ll find yourself chronically disappointed. No church will be good enough for you. Nobody will be good enough for you, not even yourself.
Every time you sit down at the end of the day to watch TV, you’re failing to live up to your own standards. How dare you even own a TV when there are hungry mouths to feed? How dare you relax, even for a moment, when there are hungry mouths to feed?
While I call it the ‘How Dare You?’ game, I realize it’s not really a game. First of all, it’s not any fun. But more important, trap is a much better label than game. It’s the trap of thinking that feeding people is the Church’s primary calling (it’s not). It’s the trap of thinking that art and expression are wasteful indulgences (they’re not). It’s the trap of appointing yourself Heaven’s accountant on Earth (you’re not).
Ask “How dare you?” if you must, but be sure to go all the way with it. Trample your own frivolous joy, not just the frivolous joy of others. But when you bottom out — and I believe you will — please consider balance. Please consider what it might mean to be both generous and committed to artful expression. Please consider what it might mean to serve a God who called His people to both serve those in need and build Him a tabernacle featuring gold, silver, bronze, and the work of craftsmen He infused with the Spirit and with mad skills.
As far as this little corner of the Internet is concerned, and as far as this unique tribe of church leaders is concerned, I’d rather not ask, “How dare you?” I’d rather encourage and support one another wherever possible, spurring one another on toward love and good deeds as the writer of Hebrews puts it. When differences of opinion arise, let’s handle them well, shall we? After all, most of claim to be communications professionals in some form or another.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. Thank you for reading and being a part of this thing we call Echo Hub — we do it for you.
