Christian music artists and pastors have weighed in after a senior staffer at Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church in North Carolina revealed the megachurch doesn’t use words like “resurrection,” “Calvary” or the “blood of Jesus” in their Easter invitations for fear of alienating potential non-Christian attendees.
Nicki Shearer, Elevation Church’s digital content director, recently spoke with Pro Church Tools and said the church, which has 20 locations, avoids using language that “immediately makes someone feel like an outsider.”
“When I think about how I’m going to talk about Easter, I’m thinking about how I’m going to talk to people far from God, because that’s the thing that matters most to us,” Shearer said, adding the church wants to reach the “un-churched” and churched alike.
Shearer, who Pro Church Tools said is “responsible for what Elevation says and how they say it,” said Easter and Christmas are the only two events of the year that are “actually wrapped around a particular passage in the Bible.”
“I'm putting a lot of my focus, energy, time, resources toward what I would call the ‘cold audience,’ people far from God,” she reiterated. “I'm not going to say the word ‘Calvary,’ not going to say the word ‘resurrection,’ I'm not going to say the ‘blood of Jesus,' I'm not going to say any of these words that make someone feel like an outsider. This is really an important guide for how we develop language. Anyone can be a part of our church; it might not be for everyone, everyone might not like it, but anyone can come.”
“[It] doesn’t matter how amazing your message might be if it’s not accessible to the people you’re trying to reach,” interviewer Brady Shearer of Pro Church Tools said.
On its website, Elevation made available an Easter message that can be copied and pasted to send to potential attendees.
"Hey, do you have plans for Easter Sunday?" The message reads. "I'm heading to Easter at Elevation. Would you like to join me? The music and the message are always incredible. It's honestly one of my favorite ways to celebrate the holiday. I'd love to have you as my guest this year!"
Nicki Shearer’s comments sparked controversy among some on social media, with critics accusing Elevation Church of diluting Christian messages for the sake of inclusivity.
“This is woke-ism,” Shane Idleman, pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Southern California, said. “'I don’t want to offend others.' Well, you just offended God. … I want to say, listen, you can market the Gospel; just say, ‘Come and see what Christ has done. … I'm not embarrassed of the Gospel, Calvary is a wonderful thing. He shed His blood on Calvary and has set me free and He has risen again.’”
“You might want to get up and go and find a place where you're not offended because the Gospel offends us,” he added. “It breaks us, it humbles us. I'm here because of God, not because of you. … When did the Church become for non-believers? We are to welcome them, reach them, love them and understand them. But at the end of the day, I'm here because of God, and I will not apologize, if that's a little too strong.”
This is a classic example of mega-churches trying to merge Christianity with the world. We are called to be IN the world, but not OF the world. (John 17:16)
One of Steven Furtick's mentors is TD Jakes. TD Jakes is friends with Oprah, Obama, and has also been known to attend the parties of P. Diddy... who is currently being investigated for human trafficking.
"Who I am as a preacher is defined by my failure to become Bishop T.D. Jakes."
This quote should concern believers. His standard of greatness should be Christ, and NOT TD Jakes.