Pimp My Church?

Yet another way for a church to be blasphemously relevant.

Comments

[prodigal]

I don't like the word pimp. It brings an image in my mind of a man who has been parasitically feeding off of a prostitute(s), all the while forcing said prostitute into essentially what is sex slavery. This is my conotation. But the word pimp does not carry the same meaning universally. In some ethnic context calling a man a pimp is used as an encouragement. The culture and word use trends in this country change almost weekly. This church has chosen, very poorly in my opinion, to use this phrase. But it's intrinsic meaning may not be blasphemy in their eyes or in the eyes of God, who knows everyone's heart.

[A Slave Of Christ]

God tells me that all men's hearts are evil....

"The heart is deceitful above all else, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?"
Jer. 17:9

[Sarah]

The main issue is not the meaning of "pimp," but the way in which many churches are trying to draw the crowds with man-centered, foolish ideas. Is there any mention of Jesus or the gospel in the add? I think not. And that's the point ....

[Lola]

Hmmmm . . . why do I get the feeling this church has already been "pimped"?

[Christy]

"The Connection is a place where life & faith meet, connecting people to God and to one another. We believe we experience our best life by applying Jesus' message everyday."

This is what I got when I clicked (after a little digging into their site) on "What We Believe." Nowhere on that site did I see a mention of the cross, except for "Jesus loved us to the point of giving His own life, and we ought to lay down our lives in like manner - loving completely," found in the "Love completely" section.

[Brian]

The "pimp" in the slogan, while hideous enough, is by far the lesser of two evils.

Isn't the point of the show this little campaign is based on to take an old wreck, change it, then happily surprise the owner with it at the end?

So, I imagine they excitedly work to "pimp" Christ's Church with all their own neat, little changes.

The problem is, The Owner will be neither surprised nor happy about it. I think He liked His Church the Way He left it.

[walksbyf8h]

Too bad they could not get Jesus' 'message' into their Statement of Faith.

[Benjamin C]

What next, a "pastor" who comes in with his shirt over his head and says, "I need TP for my bunghole"?

[Jenn]

You GOTTA be kidding me! :(

[Rev. Matthew Thompson]

Wesley would not be pleased.

[Belle]

I truly believe that if I was not already a Christian, I would want to stay as far from Christianity as possible. This stuff would turn me off so bad. Can we imagine how many "unchurched" are turned off by this kind of nonsense? I honestly think it takes a truly saved individual or a true atheist to see through what most churches push as "Christian" these days. All "in betweeners" seem to love this stuff. Gag me.

Maybe this is what God meant when He said we are to be hot or cold, all lukewarm (in betweeners) would be spewed from Him.

Any thoughts?

[Shma]

Good point Belle. There is such a lack of discerment in the churches of today. Pastors are lacking it & thus not teaching it to their congerations. That is how all the false doctrin is coming into the church.

It's interesting all anyone has to do is say "it's christian" & the sheeple just jump right in. They don't even take the time to look & think.

[Ezequiel Luna]

FYI:

Even within those "ethnic contexts" mentioned in another comment, calling someone a pimp gives the same connotations as the "traditional" understanding of the word. Calling someone a "pimp" is an encouragement because it brings up the imagery of a man with lots of women he controls and whose bodies he profits from. As an example: a young man who is good with the ladies..."that's my pimp!" or a person who is flashy in dress/style or who has lots of money "you're a pimp!"

I grew up around this kind of trash and trust me, no matter how popular or how "pop culture" the phrase becomes...it still means the same thing. So that church is misleading itself if it does not grasp this. And hopefully this is the case rather than them willfully choosing to ignore it.

[Brady]

Perfectly appropriate for churches that are prostituting themselves before the world, to become popular, attract numbers, and increase donations. They are pimps in every sense of the word.

[The Prodigal Son]

Ezequiel Luna is absolutely correct. The cultural meaning is filthy and cannot be overlooked. I thought it might be helpful to have the definition of the word; just because people have maintained the poor habit of using words out of context for slang purposes does not mean that the actual meaning has changed. Once this is established perhaps then we should consider if it [the word “pimp”] is appropriate, in any context or connotation, for a house of worship or a truly spirit-led prayer?

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Pimp

12 dictionary results for: pimp
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pimp pɪmp[pimp] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1. a person, esp. a man, who solicits customers for a prostitute or a brothel, usually in return for a share of the earnings; pander; procurer.
2. a despicable person.
3. Australia and New Zealand. an informer; stool pigeon.
–verb (used without object)
4. to act as a pimp.
–verb (used with object)
5. to act as a pimp for.
6. to exploit.
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[Origin: 1630–40; orig. uncert. ]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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