red hot sex

Did that post title grab your attention? No telling what it'll do to my google ads. I'll have to keep an eye on that. Anyway, Red Hot Sex is the title of the current sermon series at The Gathering, a church near the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. CNN did a piece about the mailer they sent out. Link to the video here. HT MMI.

I've been to this church. I've met the pastor seen on the CNN video. I know a couple of folks there. When I visited this church, I was very impressed. My initial reaction was that they seemed to have a good thing going.

But here's my question: Did they take things too far by mailing out the Red Hot Sex flyer? On one hand, Pastor Gene would say it worked (their website reports 87 salvations last Sunday). He also says that if he had it to do over again he would. In the meantime, some from the community are put-off by the mailing. They found it offensive and over-the-top.

What do you think? Can churches sometimes go too far in their efforts to grab attention and/or be relevant? Did The Gathering go too far? If NewPointe sent out a flyer like that one, what would you think?