Why I Don't Do Gas Buy-downs
By Jonathan Dodson | April 29th, 2008 | Category: Missional Church | 20 commentsAs a church plant, we don’t do gas buy-downs, block parties, or candy-bar handouts. These attractional events are common fare in planting, so I realize we are going against the stream in not doing these things. We are a missional-incarnational church; however, this is not an attractional vs. incarnational post. Jesus did a lot of things that were attractional and incarnational. What I am concerned with is the kind of attractional events that we engage in as a church. How do we determine what attractional events we choose, like whether or not to participate in a gas buy-down or as someone recently suggested a coffee buy-down?
As I see it, there are theological and missiological principles that guide our discernment in what kind of attractional events to engage in. For instance, the gas buy-down is theologically and philosophically problematic for us for four main reasons:
1) Stewardship: we want to use our resources in a way that doesnt reinforce poor budgeting, consumerism, or indifference to the environment. Paying for people’s gas that they can otherwise afford is not the best stewardship. This rationale would also apply to buying a bunch of give-away stuff like XBoxes and Gift Cards for a block party. Instead, we would advocate using that money in more strategic attractional events like buying food for the homeless or paying for a baby shower or planting trees in our city.
2) Anti-Consumerism/Counter Empire: we want to avoid buying a bunch of superfluous stuff and giving it away because we don’t want to reinforce the consumeristic impulse. We want to deconstruct the unspoken notion that “you are what you buy.”
3) Love: We want our attractional events to be people-enriching and city-renewing. So we are up for paying to showcase a starving artist but not down with giving away Xboxes. Attractional events should pass the test of stewardship, anti-consumerism, and love.
4) God: Are attracting people to God or to our church? We want our attractional events to ultimately attract people to God, to his character, not to coming to a church service. However, we certainly hope that in attracting people to God, that they are attracted to Jesus in us–the church.
Missiological Rationale:
1) Contextualized: Gas-buy downs tend to be sub-urban events; we are an urban church. Buying bus tickets or something would be better.
2) Cynical City Culture: Urbanites can smell a buy-off a mile away. This is theological and missiological issue. The last thing we want to communicate to our fellow citizens is that they can be bought off or that we want to buy them off. Instead, we want to serve them and the city, not promote our church or cheapen them.
*Ironically, our country is approaching a gas crisis, in which case a gas buy down could become a city-renewing, people-loving thing to do, especially if gas prices shoot up more.
So tell me if I have this right Jonathan. I personally don’t see these events as “attractional.” They are in the culture, for the culture, etc. But they are attractional, in your understanding, because the goal of the event is attractional: to get people to visit the church. In other words, they essentially serve as costly advertisements for the church without really being relational. Is that how you see them?
I think it’s a great post, man. Well thought through. And I think your assessment of the energy crisis and how that might change things (especially in the burbs where the price of gas really hurts right now) is helpful to distinguish consumerism from real need.
Exactly Steve. The goal of the event is not to build relationships, redemptively engage the culture, serve a social need, or engage someone in a spiritual conversation. It’s pure advertisement.
I recently heard that 44% of Americans believe that gas prices are a serious issue. We are having to cut back in budget items as a family in order to redirect funds towards gas, and we dont drive a ton. So, I do think that a case could be made for a redemptive gas buy-down in these times. But this is a atypical circumstance in these kind of attractional outreach events.
I know you dont like the word attraction to describe the event. However, I would use it to describe our strategic social partnership with the Austin Children’s Shelter…it is missional-incarnational but has an attractional element to it. This is probably where you are being confused by my broader use of the word. However, I am not the first to use it that way. I recall Driscoll using it that way in Confessions…
Nevertheless, I appreciate your seeing through my inexact language to affirm the point.
Great post!
These expensive lures seem to be more common in Texas than in Colorado. (I live in CO & visit TX for my job.)
I appreciate your deeper thinking on the issue. I pastor a small rural church in a poor town and I am trying to see a 70 year old church become part of the community again. I am seeing more and more that it is almost like a church plant (other than I have to start with entrenched people who may not even be saved) by redefining and becoming missional.
I have been juggling the idea of a gas buy down for about a year and now it seems to be the popular thing. I tend to agree with your arguments and I am just looking for ways to get us out in the town and build relationships and see people transformed by the power of God.
I am from Austin (sadly separated for 10 years now) and I am glad to see a surge of people trying to reach my beloved city. I will be back as soon as the Lord lets me.
The thing that resonated with me most is how such events can placate to our consumeristic senses. What if we rallied the people in our communities around something money cannot buy…
Thanks, very thought-provoking. I was part of an evangelicalistic outreach one time that paid for the next $70 worth of coffee at a Starbucks – looking for an opportunity to start conversations. At the time, I thought it was creative and intriguing, but now I am re-thinking. I might still encourage people to open a coffee shop but …
[...] start things off, check out this blog on Why I Don’t Do Gas Buy-Downs. How does this shape what we do to reach people for Christ in our suburban life? Jonathan has some [...]
jonathan,
serving in Pflugerville and wanted to say I think you are right on with this. As a youth pastor, I feel the same way about the way we do some things in student ministry that cheapen (if not negate) our intent to redeem, engage, and build relationships. (Matt’s thoughts on Starbucks ring a bell…)
Helps me to rethink some things. Blessings on your ministry here in a great city!
Thanks Tom. Grace to you as you seek to redemptively engage Plfugerville!
I get the buy-down and hand-out, but you didn’t comment on the block parties. Interested to hear your negative (or at least wasteful) experiences with block parties.
It depends on how the block party is approached and in what context the block party is held. Again, these are personal opinions regarding Austin City Life, so it’s not a one size fits all kind of answer or opinion.
If the block party is sponsored by the church with signage, cards, info booth and food, jumping houses, Xbox/prize give-aways and hoopla I am not very supportive for many of the reasons listed above….consumerism, buying people off, etc.
However, if the block party is orchestrated through an HOA because you serve on the HOA and are cultivating community in your neighborhood in ways that are not to just get people in the door of your church, that is better. What I am even more supportive of is having a block party in partnership with a social non-profit and fundraising for that cause, promoting that cause, developing relationships, and not advertising the church all over the place. Church doesnt need to be hidden but doesnt need to dominate. Relationships and cultivating community comes before building up my church numbers.
What do you think Zac?
I appreciate your comments. I’m beginning to understand more and more how we, as church planters, are beginning to feed the consumerism that is overtaking our culture. With gas buy downs, egg drops, Game System give-aways, and now some are throwing the idea around of car give-aways; we are creating nothing but a consumer church-goer mindset.
It’s almost like giving someone a beer to attempt to get them to come to an AA meeting. Do the ends justify the means? Do the means we are using create a mindset that causes it to be almost impossible to get the means that the Gospel demands?
We don’t understand that building an army of 100 people who are committed to the demands of a missional lifestyle is better than 1000 who are simply there to consume their need for significance.
I’m just throwing around thoughts here…
this is a great post, we need to be careful when saying “whatever it takes” to get them to church. God does have a way that He wants to do it and i don’t believe appealing to American materialism is one of those ways.
Jonathan, you continue to integrate theology so well into your communities actions. I think it honors God deeply to think so critically. Thanks for keeping me sharp.
We did a block party for our neighborhood when we planted our simple church. Instead of games and give-aways, we hosted it as more of an open house with free food and a seasonal theme (it was in December). It allowed us to actually sit with our neighbors and share conversations over a meal. I think the goal is to engage the people, and not to feed their desire for more stuff. Jesus even said to use your money to make worldy friends.
Good thoughts, Jonathan. Focus your resources on building kingdom relationships, and not just enabling our consumeristic desires to be fulfilled.
Great post!
This is such a tough tension. I think many people don’t understand that evangelism must be rooted in proper theology. It’s not just about being creative.
I want people to understand the murdered Jesus who calls us to give up our lives and follow him. That may sound harsh-but I think we need to up-the-anti a bit. Our communities are looking for a redemptive hope that can bring personal and corporate transformation.
This is why we (Vista) canceled out Easter Egg Hunt. The whole church world decided to do a helicopter drop. I just felt so uncomfortable spending so much money on an event that primarily entertains.
Now…I still respect folks that are doing these types of events. I know they are trying hard and just wanting to connect in suburbia, which is quite hard on many levels.
[...] book, “101 Ways To Reach Your Community” by Steve Sjogren with Jonathan Dodson’s appropriate cautions. A lot of Steve’s suggested, especially introductory servant evangelism events are [...]
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