The Father's Day Stunt That Missed The Real Target

Father's Day should be one of the easiest opportunities of the year for churches to speak into one of the greatest crises facing our culture. Across North America, fatherlessness is devastating families. Children are growing up without strong male role models. Marriages are crumbling. Men are increasingly disconnected from their biblical responsibilities as husbands, fathers, and spiritual leaders.

That is why a recent Father's Day service at Church by the Glades in Coral Springs, Florida, deserves careful reflection.

According to reports, the church staged an elaborate production that featured worship pastor Lucas Gomes suspended upside down while spinning as a participant fired a paintball gun at targets attached to him. The service also included a performance of George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" and continued the church's well-known emphasis on high-energy entertainment and theatrical presentations.

Church by the Glades has long embraced a philosophy articulated by Pastor David Hughes: "We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don't know Christ."

On the surface, many Christians may find it difficult to criticize such efforts. After all, reaching lost people is a worthy goal. Most churches would love to see more visitors walk through their doors. Most pastors genuinely desire to connect with people who might never otherwise attend a service.

The motivation may be noble.

The method is where the concern begins.

The question Christians should ask is not merely, "Does it attract a crowd?" The more important question is, "What are people being attracted to?"

If people come primarily for spectacle, entertainment, and novelty, then the church will constantly face pressure to provide even bigger spectacles, greater entertainment, and more elaborate productions. What begins as a creative outreach strategy can quickly become an endless cycle of trying to outdo last week's show.

In that environment, the church slowly adopts the logic of the entertainment industry.

The congregation becomes an audience.

The sanctuary becomes a stage.

The worship service becomes a production.

And the pastor increasingly resembles a motivational speaker tasked with keeping people engaged.

None of this means that creativity is wrong. Scripture itself contains vivid imagery, dramatic narratives, and powerful illustrations. Jesus often used stories and object lessons to communicate truth.

But Jesus never allowed the illustration to overshadow the message.

The signs pointed to the truth.

They were never the truth itself.

Sadly, much of modern church culture appears to be reversing that order. The production increasingly becomes the attraction while biblical teaching becomes secondary.

That should especially concern us when addressing men and fathers.

What do fathers actually need from the church?

They do not need to be entertained.

They do not need another adrenaline rush.

They do not need a church experience that competes with Netflix, professional sports, or a rock concert.

What fathers desperately need is the Word of God.

They need pastors willing to tell them that biblical manhood is not toxic. It is essential.

They need to hear that God calls husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.

They need to hear that children require discipline, instruction, and spiritual leadership.

They need to hear that their first ministry is not their career, their hobbies, or their social status--but their family.

They need to hear that masculinity is not defined by cultural trends but by God's design.

They need to hear that sacrifice, responsibility, courage, integrity, and servant leadership remain virtues worth pursuing.

Most importantly, they need to hear the Gospel.

The greatest need of every father is reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. A man cannot lead his family spiritually if he has never surrendered his own life to Christ.

Imagine the impact if Father's Day services across America focused less on entertaining dads and more on equipping them.

Imagine fathers challenged to become prayer warriors for their families.

Imagine men called to repentance for spiritual passivity.

Imagine husbands encouraged to love their wives sacrificially.

Imagine fathers urged to open their Bibles, disciple their children, and establish Christ as the center of their homes.

That message may not generate viral social media clips.

It may not produce dramatic headlines.

It may not be as exciting as paintball guns, stage stunts, or elaborate productions.

But it is precisely what fathers need.

Church history repeatedly demonstrates that genuine revival is not born through entertainment. It comes through the preaching of God's Word, conviction of sin, repentance, prayer, and transformed lives.

The Church has something the world cannot offer. It possesses the truth of God's Word and the life-changing power of the Gospel. When churches attempt to compete with the world's entertainment, they inevitably lose because the world will always produce bigger and better spectacles.

But when the Church faithfully proclaims Christ, it offers something infinitely greater.

The challenge for pastors today is not whether they can attract a crowd.

The challenge is whether they are making disciples.

This Father's Day, men did not need a paintball show.

They needed a call to biblical manhood.

And that is a message that will never go out of style.