This last weekend I had the opportunity to worship at three different churches. Two fairly large (over 2000) and one somewhat smaller. So far this summer, in all of the different worship services, I do not remember one hymn being sung. All choruses. Most of these choruses we knew but some were new and some we didn't. In the three churches this weekend, the congregations were all mixed as far as ages went and all seemed to be fully participating in worship.
There was nothing really fancy or unusual about the worship services. One did play a video of the old Batman TV series to demonstrate the use of the belt of truth, but that was only that church and only once. Although prayer was important for these churches, as evidenced by a variety of opportunities during the week, there was very little prayer during the service itself. So far, in these as well as some of the others, there has not been any special music other than the worship team, no skits, minimal use of the screen except to show the speaker and an occasional scripture reference. The more modern of the services this week did include an occasional invitation to "text" the pastor with questions about the message and then provided the number. In these three churches the consistent theme was the importance of scripture, which was stressed primarily in the preaching.
These churches had fellowship opportunities but nothing on that day. They had refreshments but only in a limited way and they provided special gifts for visitors. (My favorite one was a box of home made cookies.) They were friendly enough but despite my comments over the years about Berks County they were really no different than.
I did notice that it is awkward at best to go into a church you know little about and to worship with people you don't know. Keep that in mind the next time you see someone new at church. Most of them would love someone to come up and be their friend - even if only for 5 minutes. A few years ago one of our Stewards suggested a 5 minute rule. The idea was that for the first 5 minutes after the service you did not talk to anyone you already knew but went out of your way to find someone new. It's a good idea, even if I haven't seen it in practice at any of the places I've been.
About Me
- Pastor Bob
- I am the senior pastor of Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in Sinking Spring, PA.
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Journey to the Promised Land
9 comments:
It's interesting how many churches do not really seem to have a sure-fire can't-miss system for assimilating newcomers. Your posts have focussed on music and worship style in general, but i would say that the thing that lingers in anyone's memory about a church is how they were engaged by those around them. I think the 5-minute rule is a good one; though it would need some serious modeling in our church. However, more importantly than taking the time would be what is the goal of taking the time? What can the newcomer be encouraged toward w/r/t fellowship or programs or events or whatever is deemed appropriate?
Eric, I have read about that first 5 minutes, heard it in seminars and probably said it a few times too. But, in all of the churches so far, with the rare exception of one person, the first 5 were pretty dim.
More than anything, these places are making sure they communicate the vision and the doors for connection. Very few announcements, good websites, informative bulletins, accessible information centers but basically it is up to you to take the first steps. This seems to be consistent with some I read in Barna today, that most folks prefer some kind of follow up after the 2nd or 3rd visit. in other words after they have made up their mind.
Hey Pastor Bob! This is Katie Lauterback. Ann came through my line today at the grocery store and I saw baby pictures. They're so cute!
I don't have much to say about the post except that being a newcomer/visitor at a church can be really awkward, in my opinion. I went to a few services at different churches with a friend this weekend, some that I had never been to before and some that I have. When interacting with people, they sometimes assume that either you're new to the area or new to the whole church/God scene in general. I know that some people don't approve of "church hopping" but a lot of my friends (myself included) are trying to balance church with the family with figuring out what type of church they want to be a part of once they grow up and are out of the house.
And just as a P.S., I don't know if you've visited the Bridge on a Sunday night in Downingtown, but I went there with Steve and Janelle Coffey the other week. I think their mom kind of wanted to go, so we might go again. You could come with us sometime....
The 'search for authentic worship' continues… with new buzzwords like 'missional', ‘emerging’, and 'authentic worship', do you see any themes developing on what this looks like vis-a-vis reality? I suppose authentic requires by definition for everyone to determine what it means to their church.
Personally, I like the overhead to show maps, archeological sites, etc to enhance the learning experience rather than just show the pastor (no offense). But I also prefer hymns set to a more contemporary beat (i.e. how they are done in the 947 service) and scripture read to the congregation which sounds like I am not on the cutting edge of church worship.
Katie,
I'd love to do the Bridge with you guys. We have talking about going as a staff for a while. What parts of that service were different - good or bad? From what I have heard the Bridge seems like a younger contemporary or modern or seeker service.
Stan, you hit on something about authentic worship. "Personally I like" and "I prefer". That's really it. Worship is on the one hand dependent on who we are. The culture we come from, the differences in our personalities all are part of what God has used in our lives to make us who we are. Some folks are emotional, some visual, some like traditions and others like things new. There really is no one form that is correct. Scripture is very general when it comes to worship styles. The authentic part I believe comes from the heart. What the emerging generation has seen. What most emerging generations have seen is that far too often the hearts of the people are not really into their worship experience. They/we are too often seeing ourselves as the focal point of worship instead of God.
On the other hand, I have always felt that worship should be done according to the desires of the One being worshipped. What does He say about style?
I'm not sure that leaving a question like that at the end of your post was a wise choice. It encourages people like me to answer with our very non-seminarian opinions, such as:
I don't believe God advocates any style over the other in the same way that He doesn't advocate any one culture or language over another (well, maybe Hebrew but that depends on your theological persuasion!). Doesn't God look at the heart and not the outward appearance? The outward appearance is a manifestation of the heart, therefore one style may be righteous in one person and yet the same style be worthless in another person.
I wonder if what pleases God most is outward style of worship in daily living. Are these churches nurturing Christians who are different than the rest of the world? (Lifestyle is also worship). Do they love mercy and do they act justly toward others? Are their neighborhoods different because of who they are in Christ?
I'm reading "Things we couldn't say" by Diet Eman, about the young believers in the Netherlands who risked everything to hide the Jews during the Nazi occupation. History gave them an opportunity and privilege to suffer for God. (And He helped them persevere.) They certainly lived out their call to be "sheep." I'm frightened by how comfortable my life is. I don't suffer for Christ. I don't sacrifice much. Am I missing something? (I didn't say "we" even though I believe it's "we," because I'd rather sabotage myself in parentheses. It feels less confrontational.) Is this what the emergent church has clued into with its talk of "authentic this" and "authentic that"?
I don't think the Bridge was really very different from our church or alot of churches that I've been to-it's pretty casual in dress and there are alot-but not all-younger people there. We sang at the beginning and had a meet and greet time. I talked to a girl who turned out to go to Bloomsburg and be in Campus Crusade for Christ-I went a few times this year, but not as consistently as I would have liked to. So it was cool to make a new friend from there. Then we had a sermon followed by offering and more singing. At the end there was like an optional coffeehouse type thing or more singing or just going home.
I really liked the sermon. We talked about Hebews7:11-28. He had three main points. I really can't remember the middle one which irritates me everytime I try to tell someone about my night at the bridge. Maybe it will come back to me at some point. But anyways. The first point was that the old law wasn't made to be forever. He told us his favorite car was a hummer. And he went into much detail about how he would furnish this hummer and how cool it would be. And he could drive anywhere he wanted in it. But if he ever needed to cross the Chesapeke Bay or something, he wouldn't just modify the hummer or something. He's have to trade it in for something completely different. Because hummers are awesome, but they aren't made for water. (insert second point here.) His last point was why would you settle for a shadow of something when you can have the real thing? He walked about when he was pursuing his wife-to-be. They were in different countries for awhile. And then different states. And he had this picture frame that he brought up to the podium with him. And he showed us the pictures and talked about how important they were to him while the two were apart. But when they were together, he didn't even think about the picture frame because he would rather see her face than her picture.
So I REALLY liked the night that we were there. I'm the type of person who needs to ponder things for awhile until they sink in. It usually takes days. And for me it was an effective learning time because the stories he told helped me to remember the points long enough to ponder them. If that makes sense. So yeah, I really liked the bridge.
O yeah. And we stood for the reading of the scripture at the beginning of the sermon. My friend Justin does that when he teaches Sunday School too. I like doing it, but I was wondering, is there like a Biblical basis for that? Is it mostly a respect thing or is there something more to it??
Katie,
I suspect standing for scripture reading has its basis in Nehemiah 8:5. I has probably gotten more popular lately because of Joel Osteen at the Lakewood Church who has that practice, is somewhat popular and on TV.
In some ways it is like the practice of standing for the Hallelujah Chorus. It is just another way of showing respect for God. There are lots of good things to do like that in worship. One of my favorites is the practice some churches have of corporate confession right after the processional or first hymn. If we suddenly looked up and saw God, the first thing we would probably do is confess having become suddenly aware of our own sins. Like anything else, though, when you do it all the time, you stop thinking about it and it can become just something you do.
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