Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Feed Your Flock

Video is down at Vimeo... try this link FEED YOUR FLOCK

It is a funny and great commercial, so bad on so many levels, and yet I find myself extremely sad after watching it... because the truth is, we are not so far from replacing the Sacrament with something we all find more desirable or tasty.  As Lutheran churches increasingly abandon a Eucharistic piety in which Christ of the bread and cup is the center of our faith and life, we are left with an unembodied piety that soon leads to an unembodied God and a faith resident only in our thoughts, feelings, and spiritualized identities.  Certainly the Eucharist is the means God has given us to keep our faith in the Incarnate One whose incarnation is mirrored every Sunday when we come and kneel at His Table to receive His flesh and blood hidden in forms of bread and wine...

8 comments:

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

While sad - this is a fantastic tool, because right now our parishoners aren't to the point where they would think this is a good idea. So, when they go, "Well, maybe we should..." you can say, "Oh, something like this?" Kind of drives the point home.

And as the video shows, of course the only reason we want new members is to pay off invoices.

Anonymous said...

"And as the video shows, of course the only reason we want new members is to pay off invoices."


Who are the "we" in that statement?

As a lay person, I don't feel that way.

Anonymous said...

it won't let me read it due to it being password protected it says! boo hoo!

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

"We" being anyone in the Church - that was sarcasm on my part that didn't get conveyed well. My apologies.

Rev. Allen Bergstrazer said...

Humor usually doesn't work unless there's truth to it. The advertiser's rightly caught on to the 'do whatever it takes to get people in the door' mentality of American Evangelicalism. And not to just pick on the evangelicals either; in the past I've seen the Episcopalians have clown masses, and a Lutheran have a Star Wars themed Bible study (including a man on the street dressed in a Chewbacca costume inviting people to the study). So it wouldn't at all surprise me to pick up the Sunday paper and read in the religion section about a pastor who served Doritos and Pepsi as the eucharist. I can hear it now; 'if Jesus were to have the last supper today, this might be what he'd serve to his disciples.'

Anonymous said...

We found the 60 second version that America may see on Superbowl - here is the link: http://www.mwvp.com/index.php/blog/detail/fyf

futtes said...

I was terrible offended as well...for a Catholic the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life! And what is the video saying...God isn't good enough? Worship Pepsi and Doritos!! how sad!
As I read the posts, have any of you ever considered Roman Catholicism....I attend a Eucharistic Adoration service weekly with young adults...it is so powerful! My priest used to be Lutheran and is now Catholic. I do have some Lutheran family members and they are faithful, but it would be great if we could all be one again??? I know there was a time for reformation, but look what has come from it? This isn't what Luther wanted is it??? Anyhow, I hope you consider Catholicism, you are welcome here, and there is such a depth of Eucharistic teachings and practices to fill a life time. God Bless you!

Chris Kuechenmeister, Frito-Lay said...

I work for Frito-Lay and wanted to clarify that the above-discussed video was a consumer-created entry in the Crash the Super Bowl contest where consumers were asked to submit ads for Doritos or Pepsi MAX with the chance of airing on the Super Bowl broadcast. The video was not created by Doritos or Pepsi MAX.

We received over 5,600 entries. As you can imagine, with such a significant number of submissions, you get a pretty wide range of concepts.

We announced our 10 finalists this morning, and I wanted to let you know that the above video is not included in the finalist group. This means that it will not air during the Super Bowl and will not be a part of any other Doritos or Pepsi MAX marketing programs in the future.