Here's another one of the typical responses to change that Leith Anderson writes about. I see a lot of these tendencies within our fellowship as well. Actually, I see a lot of these tendencies within every fellowship...
"Don't work harder. Work smarter," is common advice given to everyone from employees to marriage partners, parents, schools, businesses, and churches.
The Try Harder Church genuinely wants to related to the world today. It wants to win the world, not resist the world. Specific actions that seem more like yesterday than today are motivated by a desire to be Christ's church in more effective ways. The Try Harder Church is devoted to doing the same things better rather than trying to be better by doing different things.
Often this logic grows out of previous successes. If earlier efforts at house-to-house visitation, Sunday school contests, and prophetic conferences were successful, this church atttempts to visit more homes, promote bigger contests, and get flashier prophecy teachers.
What they do not realize is that yesterday's methods can be counterproductive. In some suburban communities, house-to-house visitation is not welcome. It may even by forbidden or illegal in many apartment complexes and in certian communities. Sunday school contests to increase attendance and reach new people were very effective in teh 1950s when the Sunday school was the primary entry point to the church. Today Sunday school may be the last program a newcomer joins. Entry points are special interest groups, weekday activities, Christmas Eve services, athletic programs, and Sunday worship services. The popular prophecy conferences of the 1960s and 1970s don't attract much interest in the 1990s. Instead, baby boomers are drawn to conferences teaching on marriage and the family.
It is painful to see well-meaning people give themselves and their resources to improving and promoting products few customers want. It is a little like selling prettier manual typewriters to a market that wants word processors.
Some other examples of what Leith is talking about . . . gospel meetings and VBS. How many churches have you seen "trying harder" to improve these events? They were great and effective, at one time, but are they still? Same with Sunday school. In most churches it ministers to about 50% of the congregation and yet it's still the primary program for discipleship. If you recommend trying something different the response is usually..."we just need better teachers, better topics, different curriculum, more promotion, perhaps a new meeting time." In other words, "work harder." Maybe it's time to "work smarter."
Monday, January 14, 2008
Try Harder Church
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8 comments:
Russ,
It is true that some of our old methods are no longer as productive as they once were. The trouble is that in most cases there is nothing new yet to replace them that packs the same punch today as the old methods packed back then. at least I haven't seen them yet.
Gary
It seems that our problems in the church mirror those that are being brought to light by the presidental race, especially in the case of Barack Obama.
There are a very large block of voters out there who want change, they don't think the current system can be fixed. I am not sure Obama would actually be able to do it, but he is getting people excited becasue of a promise of a new system. Especially younger voters are ready to disregard Hillary Clinton becasue they see her as someone who may have some of the same ideas, but she wants to work within the current system to bring that change.
I think our society as a whole faces one of the greatest divides in philosophy and trust from one gerneration to another than it has in a while. I was speaking with a 40 something attorney the other day about an issue in the church and he said he did his best to speak with a 60 something elder ( and good friend) about the issue but it was like they were speaking two totally different languages.
Many, even theologically progressive thinkers in the church are addressing issues within the paradiagm of church, and their interpetation of what it should look like. What happens when the people being led don't connect with that vision? What happens when I don't value church buildings, and sermons, traditional worship, and traditional roles of leadership?
How can a church reach a group of people they don't even know?
Sorry so long, I just have been meeting with a bunch of 20 and 30 somethings lately and realize we are in big trouble, more so than I had even once thought.
garyneat, Maybe one of the reasons you feel like you've yet to see anything you like is that very few churches are actually doing something new and out of the box. Most are simply re-vamping or re-packaging old programs.
shump, You take it one step further. Even among the churches that are doing new things, most of them are still doing it within the context of the old paradigm. The younger generations aren't rethinking programs. They're rethinking church in general. Home church vs. Traditional buildings? Established ministers vs bi-vocational ministers? Structured small groups vs authentic community? That stuff is all a little unsettling to me. Maybe I'm already part of the "old guard" and don't realize it! :)
I agree that you have to change to grow and you have to re-vamp but in that I think you are losing what is really important: "the younger generations aren't rethinking programs. They're rethinking church in general." I think that is why alot of people(me included) are so afraid when people start talking about "re"-vamping or "re"-thinking...because if you really stop and think about it is that not exactly what we are talking about doing..rethinking Church???
Phil. 2:15 that you may be blamelesand harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
Here is where I see the problem in re-vamping and re-thinking we seem to be bringing too much of the WORLD and its veiws into the "re"-vamping and "re"-thinking....
By the time our children get in the leadership roles are they going to know the difference between what we "re"-vamped and what is the reason for being apart of the Church itself?
Russ,
The church must honestly deal with the question of how much of what we do is culture and tradition, and how much of what we do is mandated by scripture?
In his book, “The Cultural Church” F LaGard Smith asked the question, "Is the church influencing culture, or is culture influencing the church?" (I’m sure that you can guess his answer)
"God put the church in culture and asks us to be an influence for good. Sometimes we lose sight of our mission and end up being the very ones who are changed! Instead of our permeating culture with the fragrance of Christ, or being counter culture where necessary, we ourselves become captive to culture. So much so, that we hardly recognize it when it happens. So much so, that we don’t even realize that we have begun to read the Bible through the lens of our culture rather than through the lens of faith." The Cultural Church, F LaGard Smith, Page 14.
Many are coming to the realization that in the past we have drawn lines and made rules that the Bible never intended. Now I fear that in response to that realization the pendulum may swing too far to the other extreme. A “Thus saith the Lord” may no longer be required – only what works, and what doesn’t.
Gary A
How much of what any church does is based on a "thus saith the Lord?" For example, the Lord said "go and make disciples," but he didn't add "and do it with gospel meetings and VBS." Those were simply a method for a specific time and place. Whether or not we continue them usually does come down to the question of "what works and what doesn't." I think the question of the influence of culture is more about the content of our teaching than our method.
But then again, I'm still speaking the language of programs & methods. Are we missing the larger issue that Shump raised about the younger generation? I think that they would say the modern church (in all its conservative and progressive forms) is no longer anything like the community that God originally envisioned. When they talk about "re-thinking" church they are actually talking about "re-storing" church. Away from the modern trappings of programs and buildings and methods and back to the simple community of God. Perhaps they are the true restorationists in our movement and yet, what they are saying still makes me nervous. Am I just too invested in the modern form of church to share their vision? Shump, you're right in the middle of this, what do you think??
Russ, The thinking I am seeing out of most colllege students I am around is exciting and scary all at the same time. These studens see an institution that does more harm than good. They see tons of money going into fancy buildings, salaries, and programs that they feel are out of date and don't have any real impact on the community or non-believers. Most of the times they are right, our budgets show us that more than half, most of the time 75% of what is given goes to pay bills to keep the lights on keeping the oragnaization going. Most do not conect with 40 min sermons or the way song serivces are conducted or worship in general. I asked my studens the other day if they feel all these things why do they come to church? The answers I got were becasue such and such comes and I want to be around my friends and I don't want to dissapoint my parents. We have a generation that has not bought into the system. And these are the ones that are still coming. We can look around at most of our churches and see no one is doing a good job connecting with the under 30 set.
I am energized by their desire to be more simple in organizaion and their desire to re-evaluate our treatment of others, especailly homosexuals. At the same time I am worried about a lack of sheperding and spiritual guidence that I think would follow if this pattern played out to its natural climax.
Whatever the case I can attest first hand to a wider generation gap in theology and philosophy than we have seen in a long time. Books like "Revolution" "Un-Christian" and "Organic Spirituality" are really playing themselves out on our college campuses, and if we as christians and especially the church of Christ don't start trying to re-evaluate, it is just a matter of years before our buidlings are relics of how church used to be done.
I feel tension just reading your observations. The problem is that the "old gaurd" (which I'm a part of according to their understanding) is way too invested in the modern forms of church. I also see some of your concerns in the areas of accountablity and spiritual leadership. But we need to be listening and thinking and praying and changing where needed. Even though what I really want to do is go stick my head in the sand and pretend that everything is fine. :)
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