The Super Bowl Commercial that isn't supposed to make it...

So there's a commercial that you're not supposed to see on Super Bowl Sunday.  Apparently, it's already been pulled by the people at the companies involved (including the marketing company who created it).  Here it is, and then some commentary below.



Are you offended by said video?

I generally do not get offended by this kind of thing.  We Christian-types, especially ministers and pastors, have done plenty to deserve the ribbing and satire, be it good-natured or ill-willed.  This one irked me a little.  Here are the two things that offended me.

First, I hate that it belittled Communion.  My wife and I were in San Antonio when she was in graduate school and members of a church that served Communion every week.  I thought, on the front of our time there, that taking Communion every week would dilute the meaning.  It didn't.  It made it even more special.  That's why at Heritage Park, we celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of every month and have had seasons where we celebrate it weekly.  It's important and its message is vital to the health of the church.  You might have guessed that one.

But second, I don't like that it hit home a little too closely on one issue.  We've been guilty, as the evangelical church in America, of being willing to do anything and try anything to get people in the doors.  The problem with that is memorialized in an old saying:  You keep 'em like you catch 'em.  If the draw is Doritos and PepsiMax, you better have that every week and in an increasing quantity.  If the draw is lights and coolness and hip pastors, you better have those in spades and then work to never lose them and improve them week in and week out.  If the draw is killer kid's programs with Wii's on the Children's Ministry hall, then you better have plenty of them and shell out the $$ for the Wii v.2 when it comes out.

You see the issue?  The church can't keep up with the culture.  It changes too rapidly and too dramatically, often too immorally to even parody.  The good news (pun intended) is that we're not supposed to keep up with the trends but stay faithful to the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus reigns over everything.  Yes, by all means, say it in a way that makes sense.  It should be put in a context that helps people understand it.

But the Gospel isn't ever going to be cool or hip.  It's too Real to be a fad.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...