In the first article we examined how that church and the travel industry served a utilitarian function. Utilitarian function gave way to jet airlines and churches became destinations than vehicles. This has led to methodologies of attraction of irreligious consumers that require bigger and bigger everything. The mega-church began and is here to stay. Consider this statistic, in 1970 only 500,000 people took a cruise and there were only ten mega-churches. In 2010 there were 14 million passengers on cruise ships and there were 1500 meg-church options.

If statistical comparisons helps to see the trajectory of the cruise industry and the church, then what are some of the inherent flaws that get overlooked?. Cruise ships today are designed with unbelievable amenities, such as roller0coasters, water theme parks, golf courses, tree-lined boulevards within the ship, and so forth. There are so many amenities within the ship you literally can stay inside for days and never see the main attraction on being on the ship in the first place – THE SEA!

The church can learn something from this delusion: Relevance backfires when it overlooks your uniqueness. Not every church has succumbed to this temptation. Some churches feel the accolades of relevance too affirming and the pressure to fill thousands of seats every weekend too demanding. The allure to relevance is that many of the sacred icons of the faith are replaced. Crosses, pews, hymns, and even liturgies give way to auditoriums, bands, and coffee houses. Is it possible that an attender can become so enthralled by the experience that we forget scriptural purposes? Barna research has pointed out that the primary reason that millennial’s (30 years of age and under) want to come to church is so they can get closer to God and learn more about Him. Imagine that! Perhaps all of the digital glitz and bling may be a hinderance to those we are attempting to influence.

Let us accept an important truth: No matter how much money, effort and innovation that churches possess, they will never be as cool as the culture. Relevance is a race the church cannot win! Our passion to compete with culture is costing us to loose sight of the only thing of value the church can offer the world – JESSU CHRIST! Take up your cross and follow Christ is still an appropriate challenge to all who come to faith in Christ.