Guest Blog - Scott Williams
Unstereotypical
We live in a world that’s all about labels, assumptions, and stereotypes. Ministry’s not exempt. Picture a stereotypical contemporary church pastor. What does he look like? His age, his clothes, his hairstyle? Do you have someone in mind? Absolutely! You likely envision a white; relatively young, hip guy; trendy jeans; stylish hair (or no hair); and an overall “cool? vibe. How about a black megachurch pastor? Absolutely! You likely picture a black megachurch pastor who looks like T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, or Eddie Long, with a nicely tailored suit.
Pastors are becoming stereotypical. And it’s not just the pastors, but the Church overall. Webster defines stereotypical as “lacking spontaneity, originality, individuality or conforming to an image. Is that who we’ve become? Christ followers who want to fit into our church’s “demographic, so we dress alike, talk alike, act alike…even look alike? I’m not saying that style and culture aren’t important. I’m simply saying we shouldn’t take it so far that we lose our individuality and originality.
Stereotype doesn’t just mean dress, look, and style. It covers a broad spectrum of churchisms. I happen to be African-American. I am therefore an unstereotypical contemporary church pastor, one who doesn’t fit into any stereotypical pastor categories. God has called us, “The Church and Its Pastors, to be unstereotypical.
Is it just me, or was Jesus very unstereotypical? (BTW, I just made up that word.) 
What about you? How has your church become stereotypical? How can we, the Church, become unstereotypical?
Visit 
Wow Scott! Where to begin? I could write ALL day…but I won’t!
All I keep thinking of is… Why, Why, WHY… are we constantly putting God in a SUNDAY MORNING BOX? Do we really think God wants to be in it?
WE want to be comfortable…so we create it and push that persona of comfort all throughout our American churches. (Country club mentality) Is this wise? I would say NO! Church is a place in which you SHOULD be able to be authentic, but it should also be a place of real change through scriptural challenges and WORKS! Thank you LifeChurch and Scott for the challenge! Let’s get out of that BOX!!!!!
Forgot to mention… that I LOVE the fact that Lifechurch.tv is constantly thinking outside the BOX!!! Awesome!
Insightful post. Our church is the stereotypical blended church. Golfer-type attire [our websites even says that we have a business casual dress code...yikes!]. All white. 1.5 kids. Solidly middle-class.
We just hired a new pastor that I’m very excited about. He looks like he’ll fit it our perfect stereotype, but his ideas sound more Acts29. Hopefully, we’ll be moving toward being unstereotypical.
BTW. Is there a link to read more about who Scott Williams is? Sounds like a smart fellow and I’d like to get to know more about him.
One of our values is “open” amd it means that we want to be aggressive about extending our lives to those we would normally tolerate.
We struggle to maintain that cultural value.
OK Scott, since it’s you, I’ll comment here one last time (grin).
I can almost here God saying; “If you’re fitting what I gave you in a box, somebody’s pulled a fast one on you.”
Two fast examples: Example1: swerve. I love it. I read it every day. I use to wait with baited breath for the non-leadership version of swerve. Now I just sweep the cobwebs off my expectations once in awhile, sigh, and move on. I know; y’all have your reasons.
Example2: LIFECHURCH.TV Internet Blog. Do you guys even read each other’s stuff on how to write a blog? Maybe I’m missing the point or the focus of this Blog. What is the point?
Criticism sucks. I hate it myself. Why I even want to care what “contains” you, I’m not sure anymore. In fact, would you all please become much more stereotypical so I can get bored and just stop reading your freaking godblogs?
a few thoughts… though I’m not sure how popular they will be (Which BTW- forms a kind of pressure not innovate in these ways)
1. Innovation means not only rethinking our methods and models, but our core values as well. We must be willing to rethink our core values and adjust them when we are on the wrong track. (Chris Argyris calls this Double Loop Learning- Google it)
2. We must be honest about what we what we don’t know about God, and realize that our understandings of God always fall short. This should create tremendous humility about our various theologies and willingness to do theology in the real world, not in a vacuum. Theology is done as we engage life as it really is, and who believe God to be. This means theology is fluid. This will create diversity in our churches.
2a. Church leaders must learn to understand context. The world is becoming both global and local. the is a need not only to connect with the universal ideas you as a leader hold to, but the uniqueness of the particular context.
3. We must give up our labels we attach to ourselves. Being a consultant, I read a lot of Job Descriptions, or ads for new pastors. It’s amazing to hear how many people are looking for “Out of the Box thinkers who are purpose driven or reformed, or seeker- sensitive, or emerging or whatever. You can really only be so out of the box within the models.
4. We need to let folks like Peter Rollins (Ikon Church in Belfast) to lead the way in engaging postmodern ministry.
Just some thoughts. I’m guessing there will be push back. But I could be wrong.
first off - you forgot the thick rimmed glasses. i went to the catalyst conference this year and the discription worked across the board + thick rimmed glasses though.
but i agree - a church should be whatever God calls that church to be in that context and community. so many times we look to a church that is “successful” and want to copy and paste everything about that church and thus become stereotypical. that is natural, i think. it is easier to see what is successful for other people - than to try and fail in your own situation.
but i have no problem with changing stereotypes. what if the stereotypical christian and church loved people unconditionally, served their community, and advanced the gospel? what if the stereotype was honorable? because lets face it - WE are known more for what we stand against and who we don’t like than for standing for Jesus and loving people. i could be on the wrong track - let me know if i am.
[...] Blogging in Church Diversity, Ministry I posted a guest blog on Swerve today entitled: “Unstereotypical.” Check it out and post your comments [...]
Scott, glad to see you blogging on Swerve, and what an awesome post!
All I can say is Amen! We have a few originals that set a trend or blaze a trail and then it seems that the rest fall in line. Trend setters/Trailblazers find something that works and then we copy it hoping to replicate the success.
This isn’t alway a bad thing, but if we lose our individuality in the process I think we insult God and do a disservice to our communities and churches.
Craig said it in a message, “Don’t insult God by trying to be someone else.” And that statement has really challenged me this year to be who God called me to be. It is great that we share resources and what not, but it must be filtered through our own unique personalities and giftedness. God didn’t create us to be clones.
Jesus was anything but stereotypical, He offended the religious, embraced the sinner, and called the unqualified.
Jesus took chances, He was out on the edge, and if we want to avoid falling into the trap of being stereotypical, then we need to follow His lead and get out on the edge and be radical in our love for the lost of our communities.
But I must confess I do have a shaved head.
Hey, Scott! Great thought…
For better or worse, I know that my church home does reflect some of the current trends. We also got to witness over 1,000 people come to Christ in 2007! I suspect that - though they may seem “cookie cutter” - some characteristics that are common to many growing, dynamic churches are innocuous. By that, I mean that they create an initial portal for someone who does not know Christ, without diluting the truth of the Gospel.
I think the most God-honoring way a pastor/church can avoid the waywardness of trend-following is to have an unshakeable grasp on accurate, Biblical teaching and a vibrant relationship with Christ. Equally is important is a vision that is in complete alignment with God’s creation and redemption intent, and the revolutionary life of Christ.
Don’t forget the Diesel shoes to complete the trendy look!
shaved head….check
thick rimmed glasses….check
contemporary minister….check
love hip hop….hmmmm
african-american….oops
Well, Scott, YOU are definitely UNSTEREOTYPICAL!! And I’m so glad!! (Love your new word)
Jesus didn’t care what others thought. He was secure in WHO he was. I think that is the reason we have to dress/look a certain way. We care too much what others think or that we won’t come across the right/cool way. But, I’m still thankful this generation has pulled us away from “church clothes”!!
Scott M - Scott Williams is just a cool guy….you’ll have to start reading his blog regularly, or even stop by his campus and spend a few minutes with him. I guarantee you’ll be challenged!
you also forgot the spikey hair that sticks out everywhere
Seriously, I think I churches try to copy a “style” instead of a mindset. Therefore they begin to look like everyone else, thus looking stereotypical. I think churches need to find what God has called them to do and do it with all their heart. So what if your church looks different than everyone else? Two claps for you. You are stepping outside the box and letting God lead you instead of copying someone else’s style.
scott,
great thoughts here. i think our lean towards “stereotypical” is…well, typical.
we’re so driven by success and wish it so badly in our own context that often we’re willing to go to any length to attain it. the problem is that most of us want it fast and now and thus look for shortcut routes to make it happen.
our obsession with the surface leads us to rip off dress styles, music styles, preaching styles, design styles, etc. from other contexts and try to make them work in our own. and, this kind of information is more available now than ever before thanks to blogs, websites, podcasts, facebook, etc. most of us have learned that there is no replacement for hearing from God, having your ear to the ground in the culture where you live, and bringing the two together to form a unique culture.
the challenge for all of us is not to obsess over how we look, preach, lead, etc. compared to the next guy or the next church, but to obsess over how are we compared to God’s perfect design for us as leaders and as churches. That’s MUCH easier said for me than actually done, but it is the personal challenge I step into everyday.
sorry for the long comment. great post!
anyone have some used lifechurch uniforms for sale? you know, the little square toe casual shoes, the boy band hair cuts (with appropriate highlites), untucked shirts with the curley Q designs, and the jokes - let’s lay off the girl body part jokes for awhile shall we?
Jenn- “Why, Why, Why, you are right it’s to be comfortable!”
Riddle- Thanks for the push, the ideas, the challenge. I am not familiar w/ everything that you shared; however I will check them out and get back to you. Idefinitely think that we always need to re-think methods and models.
John- That’s right! “The Gospel doesn’t change; the way that we deliver the Gospel does change.” The delivery is evolving! 
Adam- How did I forget the shoes! LOL
Scott- Thanks for the feedback, BTW where is your church? You can check out my blog http://www.BigIsTheNewSmall.com
Dave- “Extending our lives towards those that we would normally tolerate” Hmmmm… I enjoy the confrontation of embracing vs. tolerating.
Jimmy- Great questions and thanks for commenting. BTW your comment many months ago was part of the inspiration for the term “unstereotypical.”
Blake- I think it definitely applies many of the aspects that you have listed. “Many times people know what we are against, rather than what we are for.”
Clif- Thanks! “Don’t insult God by trying to be someone else.” That is where I really try to live!
David- My Man! LOL
Robin- Thanks for the kind words, you are awesome, I love your heart!
Carrie- “Copy style instead of mindset!” Thanks for the quote, that’s money!
Jay- Amen, who knows you could be the next “trend setter.” Thanks for your heart!
Tony- Tucked or untucked, it depends on how I feel. Highlites, not so much… Jokes, if they are funny, I will laugh! There is some beauty in unique.
actually Scott And John, I’d argue that the gospel does change, not simply the delivery… but that’s a conversation for another day.
by the way, the delivery does influence the gospel as well…
the gospel is always contextual or contextualized and as such changes, which means what church looks like changes and is unstereotypical.
perhaps that’s another post in the future… but i think it’s connected.
otherwise we should just get back to being great leaders… because that’s what authors, speakers and important pastors tell me is popular these days.
and i guess i have one more thought…
if we believe those who say leadership is influence,(which I’m not assuming we all do) then what does it mean when everyone is dressing like andy stanley or rob bell or whoever.
Perhaps these leaders all have a nice aesthetic style. I’m sure that’s true of some of them. or perhaps they are good at copying other leaders… which would as least make me ask, “How many of these pastor are really leaders?”
I personally think We need fewer copy-driven churches, with fewer copy-driven pastors.
but that’s just me…
Now I’m off to J-crew
riddle ~ hmmm…i suspect we disagree on that; but, you’re right that it is a topic for another day…:). maybe this blog will take us there sometime soon…
Fear is a big deal as to why I think we fall into stereotypes. We see this great idea that someone else has done, tried, perfected and then we try it. We have tested it with another church and found it safe. If we cannot do things without a risk of failure we are in the wrong business. This goes way beyond job security and life and death, this is about peoples eternal souls and figureing out what will spread the gospel. I know that I am encouraged to be “unstereotypical” but it is still a struggle, but it is only me struggling with the thought of failure.
I think its interesting when churches become so worried about being stereotypical or like other churches that they often change things just because they don’t want to look like a church. In doing so, sometimes they miss the mark just as much or even worse than the church who fits into the stereotypical mold. God can use any church whether it seems stereotypical, whether it is a copy of another church, or whether the pastor dresses like a brad pitt, and wears his hair like he just got out of the shower, topped off with some black rim glasses. Believe it or not change can sometimes mean you are being unoriginal and conforming to another image/church/model. That may sound crazy but I think we should change only on the merits of being able to show people Jesus more effectively. If not….then we have become stereotypical. Now don’t get me wrong…….I welcome change more than anyone I know……but not because I don’t want to be stereotyped or labeled.
I don’t think you can become unstereotypical. People will always stereotype us as something. As individuals we should strive not to stereotype others, but it is human nature. As a church to try to become unstereotypical is trying to be all things to all people. That’s not going to be healthy to the chruch and it lends itself to being stereotyped in its own right. Decide who you are going to be, be who you decide you are while letting others be who they are. And know that you will be stereotyped as something.
Mr. Williams,
Thanks for the link. I’m not a loyal subscriber. I lead worship for The Fellowship @ Celebration Baptist Church. Our name is a monumental example of our church trying to move from one stereotype [as described in my earlier post] to another [like the stereotypical church planter]. Our site is http://www.cbcjax.org.
The good news agout all this is that we’re about to go through a revisioning process over the next 6-8 months which will bring about a new name [hopefully shorter] and a new website [boy! we need one!].
I meant to say that I’m NOW a loyal subscriber. Sorry for the disrespectful typo.
Great job Scott! You’re amazing! Thanks for teaching me it’s okay to be unstereotypical!
Riddle- Thanks again for the comments and feedback!
Matt- Fear and Struggles….. Ouch! That sounds like a common theme for many..
Justin- I don’t think that we limit ourselves for the sake of being unstereotypical. I am simply saying that God has called us to more than the box that “We” put ourselves in. Not only are we many times in the box, but we see other people, churches and pastors wrapping paper and want the same thing. Seek God and set the trend!
Travis- Actually quite the contrary: “definitely not all things to all people” but rather seeking who God has called you to be and that may not always the current, trendy, sexy, happening thing. God may have plans for you to define those things and not follow them.
Scott- Thanks!
Anna- Yes Maam, you are awesome and definitely unstereotypical!
Speaking of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah seeing into the future says…
I must have attended at least 100 churches across the US, and have met leaders and representatives from many more than that…
Things that are in:
Horned rim glasses, and bleach blond hair…
Casual dress, in stylish trends fashions and buildings…
Big audio and video systems…
Catchy, and witty media presentations in the middle of sermons…
Personal comfort, relativism, subjectivism, and worldliness…
Things that are out:
Serious study of God’s word and the teaching to take it seriously and obey it daily…
Serious commitment to sharing the gospel personally with others and training them to… (not including inviting people to church, thats not the gospel)
Absolutes that are to be conformed to rather than debated, or acknowledged but not enforced…
Personal costs and promised sufferings for those who live godly in Christ Jesus…
I think the new trend is the opposite of what the prophet Isaiah said about Jesus…
I think the new trends are all about the appearance of diversity, the appearance of wisdom, and the appearance of godliness but void of Jesus…
Jesus as Isaiah declared was more about God, and less about beauty and majesty of worldly kingdoms, churches, and trends, and temmporary measures of success…
I think the only real way to be like Jesus, who was the Lord of Diversity, Pluralism, and Unity based in Truth, is to be in Him…
In Christ there is no Hebrew, Greek, Male, Female, Black, White etc…etc…
In Christ there is only One Lord, One Way, and One Truth…
Its His way… more about God and less about us… More about lving Godly.. even then it is about being popular, or even reaching others…
The only way to really be different is to be like Jesus…
His short 33 years on earth changed the face of the globe…
but His personal ministry was unattractive, unpopular, and if you consider that only twelve really followed Him for his earthly ministry, then a failure in most people’s measurements…and even made most people angry… enough even to crucify Him…
Scott I think things are changing though… maybe…
So when you ask:
Is it just me, or was Jesus very unstereotypical? (BTW, I just made up that word.)
What about you? How has your church become stereotypical? How can we, the Church, become unstereotypical?
I think Jesus was very unsteretypical… in fact I know He was… that is why He made such in impact…
I think the church will inevitably become more unsteretypical as it really, and truly follows after Christ, and sees Him in truth and in reality… and at the same time those who are just playing church, and treating treating it like a business or pretending to follow “The Way”, and treating it like a hobby or like a suggestion… will follow suit and become either unsteroetypically radical followers after God’s heart like Jesus was no matter what the cost, or they will be just like everyone else and become stereotypically trendy, seeking appearances, temporary successes, and overall spiritually superficial…at the same time calling things that are fixed, absolute, and true, arrogant, negative, and outdated…
Thats what the bible teaches anyway…
One final thought…
You can’t put God in a box…
But you shouldn’t take him out of the one He put Himself in so we could understand Him…
That’s not small minded.. thats huge minded… small minded people won’t get the simplicity of God’s genious… they can’t think that big… How can you limit God even if He packaged Himself for our understanding…?
That’s not a little box or a little God, that’s a Huge idea in a little box that few really know the potential of because they are too small minded…
Avery- Wow bro. I feel your passion! “I think the only real way to be like Jesus, who was the Lord of Diversity, Pluralism, and Unity based in Truth, is to be in Him…” I think I might use some of your comment in a future blog post.:-)
I don’t think the issue is that we should or should not be stereotypically like successful churches, the only issue is that we need to be like Christ, even stereotypically like Christ. And I don’t mean the stereotypical “Jesus freak” holding signs at busy intersections, but the Christ of the first 4 books of the NT. Paul said that he had “become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some”… let’s not focus on being unstereotypical, but becoming what people need from us in order to meet Christ.
Dusty… that brings up a great question…
What do people need from us in order to “meet Christ”!
I don’t know the answer to that?
Each person is different and will take a different approach.
How does God reach the 20something who listens to hardcore metal, hangs at bars, and finds no relevance in churches, even comtemporary seeker sensitive churches?
What kind of approach will reach the 75year old widow who spent most of her life in church and walked away from God after the death of her spouse?
Every style of church has its place and sphere of influence, and will do no better than another to reach those who don’t know Christ. The stereotypes won’t reach these people, or any other nonbeliever… its the genuine contact with believers, those who model Christ’s love, meeting people out in the world, not in church, who will be able to reach them.
The question would be.. who has God placed around you that He wants you to reach out to? How can you connect with that person?
Now thats radical… I think that the first step in being unstereotypical means our evangelism is connecting in our personal lives with people, and that means sharing the message before they get to the gathering…that means people excited about sharing the gospel personally, and leading people to connect with God before they ever get to church…
According to a gallup poll statistically 68% of people leave any institution, business, or church (including megachurches) because they percieve themselves as unwanted… whether its true or not, that’s the reality of their perception…
If the business of any institution is making people feel wanted and 68 % don’t feel wanted , business has to change… and that means going out and making people feel wanted and connecting with God… instead of inviting them in where statistically they generally don’t feel wanted…even if it has a built in Starbucks…
I agree Dusty… and signs on a street corner won’t do it… neither will inviting people to a place where they feel unwanted… where do we go from here…?
Didn’t mean to hijack this thread… I’ll let the professionals shed some light on it…and leave it at that…
Dusty- you stated: “I don’t think the issue is that we should or should not be stereotypically like successful churches” I never mentioned anything about “success or successful churches.” The fact that a church or pastor is “stereotypical,” doesn’t necessarily correlate to “success.” I agree that we need all types of churches, pastors, ministries….to reach people for Christ. Find your Chazown and roll w/ it; someone else’s Chazown might not be yours.
Avery, tsk tsk. Something is going to have to be done about you. Pointing out that Jesus wasn’t charismatic, was ugly, and an outcast. You are blowing the whole plan. Please, everyone just ignore this and go back to watching reality TV and dreaming about going on Survivor, BigBrother, American Idol, or if yer really really pretty and popular, America’s Next Top Model. Something better happen so they can start churning out those reality TV shows faster than ever! (grin)
Oh good, the ole “let’s get back to the church of Acts cause them first christians were cooler/more powerful than us” variation on the theme. They should get stuck on that formula for awhile. Whew! Close one. (grin)
If stereotypical means lacking spontaneity or originality or individuality, by all means please stay away from unstereotypical. Because it doesn’t mean the opposite. God isn’t the opposite of anything. Figure the rest out for yersleves. (grin)
jimmy,
now that is an interesting statement.
“God isn’t the opposite of anything”
I’m going to chew on that for a while.
Jimmy- It might just be be, but you are one of my favorite commenters.
You and your comments are generally unstereotypical. Thanks for being you!
great post Scott.
My church? My church is lifechurch, so…
But if you want to talk about unstereotypical, check out what Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, GA did last weekend:
http://yckg.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/sunday-recap-20/
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