What You Win Them With Is What You Win Them To

The phrase that serves as the title for the post was coined by Randy Harris. He was explaining that there are "cruise ship churches" and "battleship churches." A cruise ship church's top priority is the satisfaction of the members. Therefore, the emphasis is on programs and activities that benefit and entertain the members, who are not unlike customers in the business that is institutional religion. I suspect most megachurches, with their seemingly endless self-focesed ministries, events, camps, cookouts, worship services, building programs, etc., fall into this category. A battleship church, on the other hand, focuses on what is happening outside its walls, on serving people that do not attend its services. In my experience, these are few and far between. These churches exist for the sake of the world, not for the entertainment and convenience of their own members. The priority then is not on keeping the members of the congregation satisfied, but on equipping them as disciples of Jesus to go do what Jesus commanded us to do, which is love, forgive, expose injustice, suffer alongside those who suffer, visit prisoners, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the sick and dying, and show hospitality to everyone that the religious establishment would label unworthy, immoral, or sinner.

I suspect a quick review of any church's budget will give you a good idea of what kind of church it is. And Randy Harris contends that it is virtually impossible to convert a cruise ship church into a battleship church, so do not bother trying. Having attended what I consider to be a cruise ship church for about nine years now, Randy's word of pessimism strikes me as very bad news because I would love to see my church become a battleship church where members are trained and expected and led to go into the dark places of the world and proclaim good news to the poor, release to the imprisoned, etc. But Randy says it's all but impossible to change.

The reason that a cruise ship church cannot be converted into a battleship church may be summed up with a simple, memorable phrase: "What you win them with is what you win them to." Therefore, if what attracts people to the church is its upbeat, entertaining worship services, or its fun-filled activity-a-week youth ministry, then the people will not be willing to do anything more than consume the services offered by the church. You can't attract people with good music and then expect them to sign up for difficult ministries. All they'll be willing to do is enjoy the music because that's why they showed up in the first place.

The problem here is that if you win people with entertaining worship, the novelty of that wears off pretty quick, and the members will be tempted to look elsewhere for an even more entertaining worship experience, which in my opinion is why so many folks have left the confines of denominational churches for the more free worship experiences offered by nondenominational churches. And if that's why people are leaving one church for another, you can't expect them to do any real work.

The solution? Randy Harris says you need to plant new churches that from their genesis have a battleship mentality. I am convinced that such churches will look nothing like traditional congregations in several respects, but one springs immediately to mind. There will be no building. As soon as a church invests in a building, it is responsible for something that must be paid for, cared for, and preserved. Much of the congregation's energy is directed toward its property. Plus, all of the sudden there are serious bills to pay. The church needs members to give money to pay those bills. Therefore, nothing should be done or said at the church that might lead to anyone leaving the pews and taking their money elsewhere. It becomes very important for everyone to feel comfortable. A church that meets in a building sacrifices a great deal of freedom. Thus, as soon as a battleship church gets into the building business, it has already taken a significant step toward being a cruise ship church.

So where will the church members gather? Apartments, bars, under bridges, and my personal favorite, in prisons. Churches that meet in such places retain a great deal of freedom to be what God calls them to be at any given moment. The church can boldly speak truth without worrying that people may get offended and leave. There may be 15 people or 150 present. The church is not dependent on filling pews. The church is free to exist for the good of the world, without worrying about perpetuating the life of the institution. It seems to me that this is church as it was intended to be.