The Theology of Knock Off Apple Stores

Posted August 3rd, 2011 by Shawn Barden

 “Knock offs,” fake consumer products marketed as the real thing, are nothing new.  It has always been possible to get a Gucci handbag, a Polo shirt, or a Rolex watch for a fraction of the price provided you are not too concerned about quality and don’t examine them too closely.  At a tertiary level knock offs can pass for the real thing. 

Recently, some businesses in China have taken knock off’s to a whole new level.  Large scale knock offs are popping up all over China.  Like fake Apple Stores that look identical to the real thing, staffed by blue shirted experts who actually think they are working for Apple, is well…creepy. 

IKEA is the latest company to get hit by the Chinese knock off craze, with massive yellow and blue stores filled with fake IKEA furniture.  (And can I just say I would love to hear how  a Chinese customer asks an employee where the “Svelguukv armchair is?”)

My point is knock off fakes, posing as the real thing, are an increasing problem in our culture.   

So I was thinking this week about the church, and how we are not immune to the knock off trend.  What I mean is it’s not difficult to find a building that looks like a church on the surface, is staffed by people who wear the uniform, it has got the right logo and symbols, but dig a little deeper and you find what is offered is a cheap imitation to what Christ envisioned the church to be.

I started thinking of this after receiving an email this week from a person I’ve never met from my community.  She wanted to know our church’s position on a particular denomination and if they were indeed “Christians or not.”  Mercifully, we do not take official “positions” on denominations, so I wouldn’t give her the “thumbs up or thumbs down answer” she was looking for. 

However I did outline some of what the Bible says a church is so she can make her own biblically-informed opinion.

So for the next couple of blog posts, I’ll share some thoughts on what I think the essential elements of a true church are.  I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts as well. 

While the church may come in various expressions, and look different in different cultural traditions, authentic biblical churches all have these unifying characteristics:

•it’s members have personally put their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior

•it gathers to hear the Word of God preached, and responds in acts of worship

•the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion are regularly performed

•it is a missional community “where the gospel of Jesus is constantly made visible by its preaching, its witness of its members, and it Spirit-empowered life of love”[1]

•its members are pursuing godliness in their lives, living in loving unity with one another, and are being built up to serve God through serving each other and the larger community.

•it is lead by competent and qualified leadership

•it lives, pursues, and proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ 

What do you think belongs on this list?

Hoping you accept no substitution

Pastor Shawn