“If the kingdom of God had departments, we’d want to work in research and development. … We felt like Jesus didn’t hang out at the synagogue, he hung out at wells. Coffeehouses are postmodern wells. Let’s not wait for people to come to us, let’s go to them.” –Mark Batterson (New York Times)
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Mark Batterson on Research
April 16, 2013 by Kevin D. Hendricks
Kevin D. Hendricks
When Kevin isn't busy as the editor of Church Marketing Sucks, he runs his own writing and editing company, Monkey Outta Nowhere. Kevin has been blogging since 1998, runs the hyperlocal site West St. Paul Reader, and has published several books, including 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading, The Stephanies and all of our church communication books.
2 Responses to “Mark Batterson on Research”
bakbakkar
April 16, 2013
Nice quote, love the heart, but the briefest of searches in the Gospels would reveal that Jesus spent a good bit of time in synagogues. Mark’s point still stands – go to the people as Jesus did, but recognize the synagogues were included in the places Jesus went to reach people.
Matt Hulgan
April 18, 2013
I agree with bakbakkar- Jesus was a perfect Jew as well as our savior. He taught in the synagog, worshipped in the temple and observed the holy days in addition to spending time in “normal” places.
Properly applied faith is pervasive, not categorized.
There is no place where He is irrelevant.
Yes, Jesus came to heal the sick not the well (Mat 9:12-13) but if your church is anything like mine there’s plenty for Him to cure there. The gym? Plenty for Him to cure. My home? Plenty for Him to cure.
Until the end of the age, we don’t get a day off. We don’t have a place to set our witness aside. We are His witnesses everywhere, every day and compartmentalization is an illusion that makes us a bland, lousy witness.
The desperation to create “relevant” churches underestimates Christ’s relevance in EVERY context.
* I don’t intend this to be a slam on Mark Batterson he is proclaiming the gospel after all! It’s hard to say something off-the-cuff that’s theologically water-proof. He probably meant something slightly different from what he actually said. Something like “Jesus’ teaching wasn’t confined to religious sites.”