Worship Goes Big-Screen

I read this article in today's online edition of the Washington Post: "Worship Goes Big-Screen and Hi-Fi, With Direct-Deposit Tithing"

There's nothing new here. However, it is yet another brick in the wall that turns worship into entertainment, confuses evangelism with new member recruitment, and equates church growth with making disciples. The line that jumped off the page for me is,

"But mostly, leaders are hoping that all the high-tech equipment will help lure more people to their pews and make their places of worship more interactive and user-friendly."

We've come to a very trying place when a writer will, in all seriousness, put conjoin "worship" and "user-friendly." As if the worship of the living and holy God, the crucified and risen Lord of the Universe could or, ever should be, "user-friendly." This makes me grieve for the church that has apparently lost nearly all consciousness of the mission of God for the world and replaced it with marketing and church growth strategies.