There is something to the clean-cut, intentional-seeming (hopefully more than just seeming) Sunday service, but even the most organized revolutions are going to have unexpected events. A power cable isn't going to work. The speaker is going to flub a word and say something funny, though unintentional. The projector is going to flash out for a second as the operator inhales so sharply those near him are afraid he'll suck all the air out of the room.
I think there is something cool about the feeling of "Anything Can Happen" when it comes to Sunday Morning. I think people are drawn to that. It makes them feel in on something; part of the experience; part of something.
How do you make people feel like they belong without making others feel like they don't belong? First, things need to be consistent. If you have a rough graffiti style look to your graphic design work, then you should consider having an unrehearsed feel (which is much different than "unrehearsed") to your service. I think churches should make more effort to include attendants in Sunday service.
Now, as I type this, I think an unrehearsed feel (while still having the readiness of rehearsal) can create camaraderie.
My friend, Mike Doornbos, likes to know where the rubber hits the road. Here are some ideas for creating an atmosphere that could lead to ad-libbing and community:
1. Just by getting them out of their chair. This can be done through communion things or calisthenics (which CG used to do with great success and laughter).
2. Just by getting them to laugh at something live. Laughing at a video is great and should by all means continue. However, laughing at something live creates a sense of being on the inside of an inside joke which builds community, I think. An example at CG is how Sean, Kevin, and I tell harmless jokes about each other on stage (i.e. Sean's love of food or Kevin's crazy hair)
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In one of my wikipedia journeys (which started with X-men and led me to gang warfare), I read the unsurprising news that gangs are attractive to youth (and I think older people, now, too) because they build a sense of family. Why aren't churches doing that? Where is Acts 2:42-47?
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4 comments:
First and foremost, Congrats on the baby!!!!!!
I'm sure you won't be reading this for a few weeks, but when you do, congrats!
There's so much in this post, I think I'll have to pull things out one at a time.
One thing I heard you say is to make sure that every part of your church is in line with itself. You even need your graphics and logos to be in sync with the vision of your church.
If you church is wild and crazy, then the logo should reflect that.
If this is what you are saying, I think that's awesome! That a church should have a very strong identity and that identity should infiltrate everything the church does.
Cool stuff.
As for the tension between spontaneity vs. planning. Now, the thing is that everyone who comes in the door, does come in with high expectations and everything in a service is unexpected to them, unless you do the same thing every Sunday.
The only thing that makes me nervous about too much spontaneity is that it can make people feel uncomfortable. A pastor friend of mine from Warrenton would often allow himself to be led by the Spirit during a service, but it would often lead to putting people on the spot, making them do weird things that they couldn't really say no to.
Like one Sunday he wanted everyone in the congregation to stop and pray with the 2 or 3 people around them. I started sweating. Or, he would ask me to randomly come up front to pray for something and again, I would start sweating. Things like that.
I think that changing the Sunday service pieces around so that people won't get into a rut, can be great. Also, making room for extra prayer, or allowing the worship team time for an extra song if they need it. But, I don't know about doing things randomly that put people on the spot.
I agree that getting people out of their chairs can be good, as long as you find a creative way and it doesn't put people on the spot. In highschool I went sometimes to this thing called young life. I hated it b/c you had to do embarrassing stuff in front of others and it made me feel silly. In church, I always think of those people who are in the crowd. If we tell people that they need to stand up and do something- will they feel awkward and start to sweat.
Just some things I think about.
I do love the concepts of making them feel a part of something bigger than themselves and making them feel a part of the church through inside jokes. That sounds awesome.
Catalyst for change>
I will say this. In Built to Last, the author talks about how great companies create cogs in their wheel to be continual catalysts for change. Our natural response is towards complacency, so we must unnaturally create change. One way a congregation could come to a church with expectancy is to constantly make decisions for change.
Even though the author makes me very angry!- I appreciated how Mark Driscoll, in Confessions of a Reformission REV: talks about how his church started getting complacent, so he would create a crisis that would cause growth.
I think that the heart of growth is change, so if we want people in a congregation to grow, they must learn how to make change an active part of their lives. Just wanted to add this to the discussion.
p.s. congrats again on the new baby!
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