The Worship Conundrum
Last weeks post got me thinking about what I've come to think of as "The Worship Conundrum." The Conundrum is this: Worship is supposed to be about God- adoring, exalting, and dedicating time, attention & energy to God. But the reality is that strangers will only come to check us out in worship, and we need to attract strangers to survive. The normal way to get strangers to come is to find a need they have, then tell them how you meet that need. But once you attract people, you have to deliver on meeting those needs, and then worship can become about the people in the pew and not about God. Thus, the Conundrum: how to attract people who will only come to worship without compromising what worship is supposed to be.
My thought about how to navigate that conundrum is that we try to attract people to worshipping God. That instead of trying to attract people to worship by advertising that they'll be better parents, learn to manage finances or whatever, we try to attract people who want to worship God and do all those things that worship is supposed to do, but haven't found the right community to do that in.
That's not to say we don't try to meet other needs. That has to be part of it. We'll have a meal after every worship- that's right, every worship. We'll do that to help people connect so we can form clusters in which their other needs will be met. That meal will serve as the bridge to help who come to worship find ways to have their other needs met.
But the advertising is about the worship, what it will be like and how we will worship, rather than sermon topics and what people will learn. That's what I'm thinking, but I'm hoping to get some responses about this because I remain unsure. This is difficult water to navigate, and I am going to keep praying and see what else God has to say about this. I look forward to hearing what others have to say as well.
posted by River Pastor @ 6:13 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
While some people love meeting new folks and can be in any setting easily, it can be difficult for some people to try out new things. It's always been hard for me to go to a new church the first or second time. So, some people may feel more comfortable first meeting in a larger setting (like a large group worship time) than in a intimate setting (like a cluster gathering). Then as they feel comfortable, they may make the leap into a cluster.
In relation to your advertising, I think you are on track. Describing what a worship event looks like would draw my attention more than knowing a sermon topic. For those people uncomfortable with new things, it's helpful to know what to expect. :)
I think there are many people currently unchurched that will resonate with the opening sentence of Purpose Driven Life, "It's not all about you." Describing the worship opportunity will reinforce what many (most?) people instinctively know - that there is a higher power and something more important than themselves. Staying true to this does meet a need, a big need of many - although it may not be the specific symptom they are experiencing at the moment.
I think staying true to a service that facilitates worshipping in spirit and truth is exactly what many are looking for.
Great insight about Warren's book. So many worship advertisements are about what we get, but they resemble books, magazines, TV shows and all sorts of other stuff that offer the key to a better life. If that was our pitch, we'd have lots to compete with.
But no one around here is offering a chance to meet God in Spirit and in truth and truly worship. I think there is a need and hunger to do that, and if we can communicate that that is what we're doing, I'm thinking it'll resonate with a lot of people.
I'm with you on the Conundrum, and like where you are going with it in this post. The truth is, Christianity doesn't deliver great parenting skills or money management... what we can provide is an opportunity to reorient our lives from God's perspective.
What if your meal idea isn't as much about meeting people's needs as it is about connecting them with God by connecting them to a worshipping community?
Jake, you hit the nail on the head with the meal. That really is what it needs to be all about.
So we talked with the marketing company the other day. This was a concept that they struggled with. They kept talking "sermon series, sermon series, sermon series." This company has great references from friends, but this is going to be a challenge to get them to think this way.
You all have been great, helping me stay on track and keep the vision out front.
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