The Lure of Plasma

So somebody passed along a flyer to me from a church up the road. This church is having a "Grand Re-Opening Month" and as a promotion to attract new people they are offering the chance to win a 42" plasma TV. One TV will be given away at each service, for the entire month. And there's something for the kids too: a Playstation Portable! If you bring a "first-time guest" both your "first-time guest" and you are eligible for these electronic rewards.

Am I the only one who has a problem with this?

Have we as a Church really sunk so low that we have to dangle door prizes to fill the pews on a Sunday morning? What's next? Should we auction off the beautiful women of the congregation? "Come to church this week and you could win a date with this hot Christian lady!"

Where is the line?

Consumerism is rampant enough as it is, we don't need the Church to perpetuate the problem. Eugene, you prophet, give us wisdom!

North American religion is basically a consumer religion. Americans see God as a product that will help them to live well, or to live better. Having seen that, they do what consumers do, shop for the best deal. Pastors, hardly realizing what we are doing, start making deals, packaging the God-product so that people will be attracted to it and then presenting it in ways that will beat out the competition. Religion has never been so taken up with public relations, image building, salesmanship, marketing techniques, and the competitive spirit.
--Eugene Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant