The Church by the Glades has been in the news lately. First, a few days ago it was running near the top of the Squidoo’s list of most innovative churches. (At this moment it’s not even in the top 60.) Not that we know what Squidoo is, mind you. But you might want to pop over and nominate your church if you feel it’s deserving.
Anyhoo, second, we read in Gizmodo (via ) that the Church by the Glades pays you to attend its iServices. “What would convince your good selves to stop reading Gizmodo on a Sunday morning in favour of attending Holy Communion? A $15 iTunes voucher, you say? Church by the Glades, in Florida, hears you. In an effort to bribe new members, Church by the Glades will be handing out $15 iTunes vouchers to attendees of their iThemed services.”
We figure that the bribe is just the front-end of a mutually beneficial relationship between the church and future tithers.
What we don’t understand is why there are no Episcopal churches that have websites near as slick any you’ll find on the Squidoo list. Surely it’s not because of a cash flow problem. Isn’t just because the investment wouldn’t pay because the product behind the marketing is so poor?