Big Guys in Black Shirts

Copyright 2007 by Shea Oakley

All rights reserved

I recently attended a concert at a large evangelical church here in New Jersey. The concert itself was wonderful. What wasn’t quite as wonderful was what I encountered at this particular church before the show began. Circulating among us both outside and inside the imposing lobby were identically dressed security men. Each had a black shirt with “SECURITY” marked on it. Some were carrying handcuffs. Most were physically imposing and all wore expressions of what I took to be mild arrogance. They reminded me of the “bouncers” you sometimes see standing outside of secular nightclubs here in the United States.

Their presence made me uneasy. I instantly did not feel welcome in this church. In fact the combination of these guards and an elaborate, chandeliered lobby that looked like it belonged in an upscale hotel made me feel like I was not in a church at all. The place and these people did not strike me, at least at first impression, as having anything to do with a Man who was poor, lowly and anything but arrogant.

Now I may not in a position to judge the authenticity of this specific institution. My own church has a “No Trespassing” sign posted on the property (although that may just be to prevent our parking lot from being used as overflow for the shopping center next door.) In a large church a small security contingent might not be an altogether awful idea. The presence of sexual predators in our society, for instance, might be a good reason to have such a contingent, especially if the welfare of our children is taken into account.

But the bottom line is that I felt something other than the presence of the Holy Spirit in these particular individuals on this particular evening. The church of Christ is supposed to be a place that is hospitable to people who desperately need to hear the gospel of His love. Such seekers should not have to fear being approached by a big guy in a black shirt with cuffs who might have something in mind other than forbearing kindness and trust in divine rather than human protection.

It has been said that one of the problems with the new breed of large American churches is that they ape the world in their attempt to be “relevant”. This has been manifested in things like having a MacDonald’s restaurant in the building or having nothing present, such as a cross, that obviously conveys the fact that the place is a Christian church. So was the church I attended for the concert really trying to look like a nightclub or a hotel? Not consciously I’m sure. However that is what came across, at least to me.

It may be that this is the trend in American Christianity. Maybe everything has to get bigger, more “sophisticated” and more like the surrounding culture to attract conversion growth. But as I watched the men in the black shirts keep an eye on me that night something seemed very wrong.

And I think Jesus would think so too…