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And yet.

Why would a church—a place that is supposed to be characterized by genuineness and humility—ask a group of "savvy professionals" to help it? Isn't there something in the New Testament about the gospel subverting the wisdom of the wise? Is it possible for "savvy professionals" to understand what a church is really about?

Is worship that is practiced "secretly," with the goal of "assessing" the "experience on a very objective and non-emotional level" really worship of God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? Can one truly enter into a worshipping community objectively, secretly, and without emotion? Worship is not about judging the "worship experience," but about putting oneself humbly before God to be judged and forgiven by him.

Furthermore, to enter into the community of God—that is, to grasp the essence of that unique experience—one must come as an identified individual, who is willing to lay his secrets before God and to some degree before others (confessing sins to one another, as James says), who gives himself, body and soul, to the love of God, and who does so with emotional freedom. To try to worship while suppressing these vital and warm human elements is surely to fail to grasp what you are doing.

Should churches really make it a goal to "boost your retention rate and make your church grow"? Is that not a product of other things, like faithful worship, meaningful biblical teaching, and sacrificial love for one another and the neighbor? What has happened to a church that makes "boosting your retention rate" a focus, instead of these other things?

Do churches really want to create an institution "whose guests can't stop talking about" it? Isn't the point of the church to get people thinking and talking about Jesus Christ?

And what would make us think that "Americans are getting less and less dogmatic about their religion, and it's becoming more difficult for churches to keep their guests," when study after study shows that "dogmatic" churches are the only ones who can "keep their guests"?

All in all, marketing resources like Church Check only exacerbate the fundamental and tragic lie that infects the hearts and minds of so many churches and "guests" today—that church is about us and our experience.

In most instances, I try to be open and charitable about any service that can help a church be the church. But more and more, I'm thinking that a tool whose veins run with the blood of marketing is the exception that proves the rule. No, flee from the devil, and run fastest when he comes disguised as an angel of light.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. He will reply to comments here and on his blog, where this column has been cross-posted.

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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December (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 53