What The Church Can Learn From Jimmy Fallon



I read a great article this week by Tony Morgan, a church strategist and consultant about the success of the Tonight Show. Here are a few key statements of note:

TM - I couldn't tell you the last time I watched The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ("never" comes to mind). Do you know why I never thought about it? Very little. Why? Because The Tonight Show was not for me. It was irrelevant to me and my friends.

Someone very brilliant invested in hiring the right person to translate The Tonight Show to a whole new generation. I can't say I ever watched Jimmy Fallon's Late Show. I'm rarely up that late. And truth be told, I'm rarely up late enough to see Jimmy on at his new time. But do you know what? I can tell you just about every hit guest segment. I hear my peers starting sentences with "Have you seen the Jimmy Fallon lip-sync battle with so-and-so…?" I tell people about the funny things he said in the "Thank You" segment. I use Hulu to watch the show on a Saturday morning.

NBC invested in a person who could authentically speak to a different generation, who could make them laugh and make them want to share their laughs with a friend. Jay Leno couldn't have pulled off a hip hop through the decades bit with Justin Timberlake. No one would've bought it.

When it comes to reaching our city, I think we sometimes get too hung up on mimicking tactics, styles and past successes from other churches in other cities, or in past decades of glory years. What if we focused more on finding the right fit – connecting the right people, full of wisdom and grace, to the community and people we're currently pursuing? 

Just like Jimmy Fallon has connected with an entire previously untapped group of people, Renewal Church can connect with an entire previously unreached group of people for the Gospel of Christ here in the 14120 zip code. How will we do that? Authenticity, as NBC determined, is one must-haves. The Church should be better at authenticity than anyone else. 

Come gather with us Sunday at 10 at 530 Meadow Drive. 
No Perfect People Allowed.

Milo Wilson

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