Bringing Sexy Back?

Cornerstone Church in Chandler, AZ claims that its current sermon series is "Bringing Sexy Back".

Huh?!

Since when is the Church of Jesus Christ called upon to "Bring Sexy Back?". This is just the latest example of a church using SEX to increase attendance.

Sadly, members of Cornerstone who normally attend the prime time Sunday services were told to attend church at different times in order to make room for all the "un-churched people" who would be drawn to church by their billboard and marketing campaign.

Cornerstone has even taken out a website entitled "How Sexy Am I?"

We suggest they spend some time asking themselves "How Sinful Am I" because Jesus didn't die on the cross so that people can have great sex lives. Jesus died for our sins.

These churches which have bought into using SEX to grow their churches need to consider bringing Jesus back.

***Bonus Content***

Blogger Chris Elrod has an over the top parody piece that addresses the issue of using sex to grow your church. Warning this is NOT a family friendly link. This may be a case of the cure being worse than the illness. Click Here to See It.

Comments

[Jim W]

Yes, that "cure" was worse than the illness. Even worse than the not-very-funny so-called satire it is supposed to be is the attitude of the person who wrote it. Some pastor.

[Mrs. Pilgrim]

"Bringing Sexy Back"?

When did it leave? If anything, I can't seem to get away from it. Every time I turn around, some woman is exposing herself to my husband...(I mean via media! We don't live in Flasher Central.)

Just out of curiosity, I took the "10-Question Survey" and got classed as "Slightly Sexier than Spam." Oh, thanks for your open mind there, Cornerstone. Fortunately, Mr. Pilgrim feels quite differently.

The above is a perfect example of words vs. intent. I read the "details" of their sermon series, and it looks like most of what they'll offer is pretty conservative of bent--but this is undermined by the "Mrs. Pilgrim is not sexy" result of the survey, and the advertising campaign. Talk about speaking with a forked tongue...

And, finally, the following quote from their site: "We’re not afraid to talk about it. In fact we believe sex is all too often ignored or just plain not handled well in the church."
What planet have they been holding services on for the last twenty years? If anything, sex has been a major preoccupation of "seeker-sensitive churches"! Every week it seems like I'm reading about some other church jumping on the "sex sermons" bandwagon...

[Lee]

Note that two of the feet on the billboard make an "H." Maybe its a subliminal message that this series was hatched in HELL? :)

[merry]

I just threw up.

[merry]

Okay, Mrs. Pilgrim. I took that quiz you were talking about. The first time I took it I chose the answers the most honestly I could (which was a little hard . . .) and came up the result "You Are Slightly Sexier Than Grandma." My first reaction was "Gee, thanks guys!!" Then later, in a more rational state of mind, I re-took the quiz many times, using as many different combinations of answers that I could think of. The three results I kept getting were: "You Are Slightly Sexier Than Grandma," "You Are Slightly Sexier Than Spam," and "You Are Slightly Sexier Than Bubble Wrap." I came to the conclusion that those were the only answers there were.

So I would not take it too personally if I were you. I've taken quizzes before where all the results possible were negative. I think they are just messing with people's minds. I don't know if they're trying to make people feel bad or what, but it was the stupidest thing I've seen. And this is a CHURCH!?!?!?!?!

I suppose they'd just tell me to get a sense of humor.

I'd like to suggest that they get a more wholesome sense of humor.

[Kim K]

The Elrod piece was a peice of biting satire. But I really hate it when it's a pastor that writes that way. And his response to criticism was hardly humble. It's got to cheapen whatever else comes out of his mouth.

[Joe Case]

Does this verse sound familiar to any of you guys who write the way you do on this site? ...
Matthew 21:32 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Jesus, HIMSELF, was criticized for hanging out with the sinners/ungodly. You need to read my post on "Predestination", because I really think it fits here.
Quit casting judgment on a brother who is being "creative" to reach people for Jesus, and spend time trying to do that yourselves.
I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but I believe this is the type of attitude that Jesus hates.
J.

[Chris Rosebrough]

Joe,

This sermon series cannot in ANY WAY be considered synonymous with Jesus' hanging out with prostitutes.

The sermon series is about teaching people how to have a more fulfilling sex life and the Best Sex Ever.

This sermon series is NOT about telling unbelievers about their sins and their need for a savior. This is about using SEX as a gimick to get them into church.

This type of series turns Jesus into to Dr. Ruth and Christianity into a religion that helps you have a more fulfilling sex life.

Have you taken their "How Sexy Am I Survey" yet?

Yeah, Jesus was all about helping people feel sexy.

[Joe Case]

So, I guess you must have missed the stories in Scripture about Jesus turning water into wine...walking on water...healing a blind man. I bet people were talking about that around the well the next day, and wanting to know more about this Jesus.
Sorry dude, but you probably never sat through that sermon series on sex. I'll tell you this, as a pastor, I speak about everything that God's Word talks about. Guess what, it talks about SEX, too!!!
C'mon, quick acting like pharisees!!

[Simon]

So the Bible talks about HELL too. Which is an eternal issue. What is with these liberal cult churches. Dont they get it? People are going to HELL everyday and they want to major on sexual issues????
Get with the program and Joe? Pharisees are we? What are you more into hustler than your Bible? Please do not be so blatantly ignorant. The Bible also talks abotu suicide? shall we suggest they have a seminar on that as well?

[Mrs. Pilgrim]

Joe, you assume that some of us weren't "tax collectors and prostitutes." I know firsthand whereof that Scripture speaks, because I--a witch, an adulteress, a dishonorer of my parents, a thief, a liar, a God-denier, a murderer in my heart, covetous, lewd, and altogether ungodly--have entered the Kingdom of Heaven before the self-righteous, who try to whitewash their sins and their "strange fire" with a glib "I'm doing it for Jesus" or a "come on, it's not all that bad."

I was a "psychic for Jesus." The ends don't justify the means. Trust me.

[BK]

Is the church obligated to talk about hell every week!? I think not. Why can't a church approach sex in a relevant way that speaks to the community and not to a bunch of people speaking only "Christianese"? Did the book of Solomon not approach the issue of sex and sexuality in a way that brought glory to God? I believe it did...and to the point that Jewish men would not allow their children to read that book until they were older because of its graphic content.

If you even took a moment to watch the podcast of the day that their pastor prepared the church for the series you would understand why it is such a big deal...all the way to the stats he gave about Chandler, AZ being #3 in the country for searching for porn online.

They take the approach that "sexy" has been redefined by society as something shallow, cheap and without consequence. Cornerstone is bold enough to approach this and spin it back toward glorifying God with the idea that sex, as a gift from God, was not intended to be any of those things.

Did Jesus die on the cross so that we might experience sex in a better way...absolutely because sex was designed by God to glorify God.

Before you spend time bashing other churches take 180 seconds to get to the root of the reasons.

This whole site is an irony to me because it was created to mock, gossip and preach the negativity of churches attempting to do things differently. And to think, the subtitle of this site is "This Is What Happens When the Church Fails to Remain Faithful to the Correct Preaching and Teaching of God's Word". What is not faithful about preaching on how sex was designed by God for us to glorify Him? What is incorrect about talking very openly about how sex has been warped and cheapened? Where do they fail?

[Mrs. Pilgrim]

BK, if you're going to comment on a blog, you might do people the courtesy of reading the other comments first. Then you might look more like a participant in the discussion than a teenager throwing a tantrum.

Tantrums are never relevant, you know.

[Mrs. Pilgrim]

Btw, if you think my list of sins was exaggerated--it wasn't. Only "adulteress" and "murderer" were in a figurative sense, as Jesus explained them.

[April]

Hey guys....this is getting out of hand. The attitudes on here make me extremely sad. There is definitely much to criticize in the church today, but those of us that are pointing out these heresies and errors need to constantly be aware of the state of our own hearts. Contending for truth does not give us license to ridicule, slander, or put down other Christians. What we should be doing instead is weeping and praying for those who are veering off track. Always speak the truth in love and humility. Otherwise, we are indeed no better than the Pharisees.

Peace in Christ....

[lor]

I didn't get the impression that BK was throwing a tantrum at all. Seemed to be asking very relevant questions to me. Truly, the church has an obligation to convey to people the truth of what God intends for sex to be, a gift to be shared by two married people who love one another, instead of what society has turned it into. Why else would the Song of Solomon exist except to give us guidance as to how to treat it with the respect it deserves?

Are there not many sinful behaviors which exist solely due to the way we have warped God's plan for sex in our lives? Sinful behaviors that require repentence and forgiveness? People will go to hell for a multitude of sins, including sexual sins. How can pastors address sin without including sexual sins? To not address it would be worse, particularly in a society such as ours where it's so prevalent.

There are so many people out there who don't even think there's anything wrong with how sex is twisted to meet our needs rather than God's. Why wouldn't the church want to reach people in this sinful state and teach them about God's better way? And how are they going to hear it if they don't come into church?

As long as it's tasteful and biblically based, I think it's important to address the subject.

[Jonothan]

If you ask me, I think churches should do "series" on books of the Bible rather than series on sex or family life or dysfunctional relationships over Easter or the "spiritual questions" in secular movies today or on classic rock bands. Well, why doesn't the church stick to the Bible?

Well, because they don't want to offend the seekers.

Seekers?

Doesn't Romans 3:10-18 say:
"As it is written:
'There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
NO ONE WHO SEEKS GOD.
All HAVE TURNED AWAY,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.'
'Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.'
'The poison of vipers is on their lips.'
'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.'
'Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.'
'There is NO FEAR OF GOD before their eyes.'"

I think that pretty much answers the question as to whether there are "seekers" or not. If the church would teach from the Bible, people could actually be *gasp* saved from their sins.

[Brandon Giromini]

I did some research and the title "bringing sexy back" could be a play on the lyrics from one of Justin Timberlake's more recent songs, "Sexy Back." I found the lyrics online and it says "I'm bringing sexy back" several times.

[Frostra]

I think it is very good that churches talk about sexuality on Sunday because that is all too often an issue that is not discussed and bible talks so much about it. Too many times churches portray it as a taboo topic when the bible never did. In fact Solomon wrote a great deal about it. I honestly disagree with the billboards but i think calling it heresy is way over the top also over the top is questioning the salvation of these people. The idea of whether putting this billboard up or not is a proper thing to do is non essential theology meaning what someone thinks about this issue does not affect their salvation. If this was wrong then they made a mistake and honestly I want to know if the makes of these blogs talk to these churches they attack first before making it public like the bible instructs us to. The if they don't respond do you try to talk with them with someone else? When I read how Christians are supposed to solve disputes with one other and compare it to what this website is doing it seems like this website is flagrantly disobeying that part of scripture. I would love to hear response on this is since I am human and I could be misunderstanding something

[Mike D.]

I tried to take the "sexy test", but my filter at work blocked it. Hmmmmm. Interesting. Why would my company's internet filter have to block something that is from a church?

To Joe Case and BK... in case you glossed over Chris Rosebrough's comment, this is the issue we're dealing with (not whether or not the Bible speaks about sex):

"This sermon series is NOT about telling unbelievers about their sins and their need for a savior. This is about using SEX as a gimmick to get them into church. This type of series turns Jesus into to Dr. Ruth and Christianity into a religion that helps you have a more fulfilling sex life."

In Him,
Mike D.

[Frostra]

Mike D,

I think it is important to know that God wants us to have the highest quality of life possible to be clear i am not saying that means health and wealth or even great sex but that everyhting we do be absolutely fulfilling God invented sex and I think he like everything in life and that is talked about in the bible He designed a way to have it be the most fulfilling as possible. For instance Paul writes for Husband and wives to meet each others sexual needs, he wants married couples to have fulfilling sex lives within the marriage because he hard wired us to be fulfilled by that. Many Christians do not understand that biblical truth so it is good to talk about also many non Christians have an incorrect idea that being Christian means giving up everything that is pleasurable when that is not what God wants for us at all. God wants us to truly enjoy sex in a marriage. Following Jesus is about an eternity in heaven after we die but it is also about having a fulfilling meaningful life now. As we follow Jesus and His commands regarding everything we were find joy and fulfillment here on earth as well as later in heaven.

[Felix]

Look, let's quit pretending that the issue here is the church talking about sex, or about losing its focus or its mission to save souls. It's regrettable that some are freaked about a church using an effective ad campaign to get people who wouldn't normally come to hear a salvation message into the seats. But the content itself is NOT at issue, as you would know if you watched the vids or just listened to the podcosts:
1> The Church has ALWAYS preached that sex is ordained and commanded and approved by God, provided that it is between man and wife, under the covenant of marriage.
2> The Church has ALWAYS preached against self-destructive immoral behaviors such as illicit sex, affairs outside of marriage, viewing porn, or even passing on dirty jokes. These things that are in this series have all been aired, countless times, in probably every Christian Church in the land.
3> The Church as ALWAYS told people that, if they were sinning, that they should repent, and that repentence and confession and contrition and turning away from their sin, together with asking Jesus to be their savior, is the only way to salvation and eternal life with him (some churches add other requirements for salvation -- frankly, THOSE are the churches you need to be concerned about, for they are straying from what the Word of God says)
4> The Church as ALWAYS preached that God wants us to have full and abundant lives as Christians, and to be or become examples and "lights on a hill" to unbelievers who may be looking for a way out of the mess their lives have become.
5> Churches everywhere have done outreach campaigns intended to attract non-believers into their Churches, in hopes that they will hear the Truth, and thus be set free.

What is perhaps unfortunate about this series is the controversial nature of the Ad Campaign, and not the subject matter. Part of the Ad Campaign is the titles of the individual sermon series, such as "The best sex ever", and that wretched "can't win" so-called test for "sexiness". There are a whole lot of people IN the Church who are not going to look past these things and watch the messages themselves to judge the content.

That's the sad part here, the unfortunate part, with, frankly, equal blame shared by the Church (Cornerstone, in this case) pushing the envelope of taste, and either non-church people taking shots, or (worst) Christians with the attitude that all sermons out to be for the saved, for the body, and blinding themselves to the Great Commission of finding ways to bring Jesus and his words to those who would not normally listen. Some do that with bullhorns on street corners, perhaps the worst method in the history of the world. Others fulfill this requirement (from Jesus himself) through quirky ad campaigns and by pretending that they're going to talk about "the best sex ever", which ends up actually being the rather non-controversial message that "Sex outside of marriage", and various other behaviors (porn, watching movies rated R for sex or nudity, addictions of just about every sort, etc) will diminish your entire life, including your sex life, and that returning to purity and turning your back on sin will re-awaken and revitalize your life, including your sex life.

It's nothing really racy, nothing about some special "church technique", just the fairly standard stuff about admitting that you're addicted and getting help, not starting bad behaviors if you aren't yet or stopping them if you are, and looking to Jesus for your salvation and answers, rather than to the world and what it says.

So, to the mockers and scoffers out there who are now calling Cornerstone or any seeker sensitive Churches "cults", or decrying that they don't just teach sermon series on the focus and meaning of one book out of the bible each week, come to a service and watch, at the end, where HUNDREDS or people each weekend are coming down to the front to confess, often to their spouses, parents, or Church friends (and that takes guts), and to get prayer, counseling, and other help, and to accept Jesus, either for the first time or to renew their commitment... then maybe you will get it. This is not about some narrow view you may have of what church is, this is about the whole reason Jesus came in the first place -- saving the lost, and offering salvation and redemption from sin to all who need it, and perhaps pointing out to some for the first time that they need it, and that this, THIS, is what they've been searching for.

The issue is not the content, or the fact that a Church is talking about sex. ALL Churches, from time to time, have sermons or series about sin, sexual sin, and turning away from it. The issue here is, unfortunately, the ad campaign itself. And before you simply dismiss it as garbage or straying from the true path or whatever, ask yourself if it is saving souls? If it is preaching salvation? If it is effective outreach into the community, and getting many who would not otherwise hear the Word in to hear it? And then, ask yourself, have I been anywhere NEAR as effective in leading souls to Jesus, and in turning the people around me away from sin, and toward a more fulfilling and happy life?

Later, --felix

[Jeff]

"5> Churches everywhere have done outreach campaigns intended to attract non-believers into their Churches, in hopes that they will hear the Truth, and thus be set free."

Where is the biblical justification for trying to draw sinners into the church? I think the biblical model is to equip believers to go out into the world and evangelize the lost. Once saved, they come into the church to get equipped.

Filling your church with the unsaved is not the biblical model, and results in an environment that is detrimental to the maturation process of the saved.

[Ministry Addict]

I wonder if this could be preached at Cornerstone: http://sermon.net/c/rolwc/

[Joshua]

http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/?p=594

mentions this "church" 's easter service was just as bad.