Authenticity On A Sunday (sort of…)

Being in a city there are a number of churches which have larger gathered congregations. (I should here qualify what I mean by ‘gathered’ in this context as some have asked me. I am talking about worshipping, generally Sunday congregations which are, rather than being made up of predominantly local people, gather together people from across a wide area.) But my anxiety, as an aside, is a distraction.

There is a strong argument to be made that this is just the way that things are going, that this kind of gathered congregation is merely the church adapting to new social norms, seeking to cater to specific demographics, combined with how the fewer church attendees there are the more the geographical distance between worshipping members increases. In part I agree, particularly regarding the social norms, and I certainly will not condemn churches which hold to and practice this model. My concerns grow when we start to think about how these churches identify themselves and where a lot of the energy is at least perceived to go.

It is generally easier, when it comes to Sunday services, to gain a picture of the identity of the worshipping community quicker with a smaller congregation. Once it reaches the hundreds it is harder to figure out just by stepping through the doors on a Sunday. Now this will not be news to some, but just think about it for a minute. The midweek toddler group, the foodbank, the parenting group, the meetings in the nursing home, all and more are part of the life of your church. Any church. The variety in the socio-economic positions of those engaging with your church, the ages… Are these represented in some way on a Sunday morning? Do you want them to be? Should they be? Does it matter if they are?

This sparks a deeper question, where should our focus be as church? Is our Sunday service a window display where we sell our wares to visitors? We are called to be disciples who make disciples. The way that works out in practice will inevitably differ from person to person and church to church, but that’s the base call on the life of every Christian. The Sunday gathering, while offering the opportunity for hospitality and occasionally mission when welcoming newcomers, is not primarily positioned to be missional. It is positioned to be the space, place and time when the members of the church gather together for encouragement, teaching, edification, praise and to share in communion. Of course, anyone should be welcome and we should absolutely hold a radical posture of hospitality, but I do think Sunday services need to stop being implicitly treated like a shop window. We should not capitulate to a consumer culture in our desire to grow.

This is why, when I wrote Pick-A-Church, I suggested finding your local church (which showed signs of a heartbeat…) instead of using the Sunday morning service as a shopping trip. When people show up, welcome them into your gathered family, as that is what you are. You don’t need a shiny gloss, instead invite them to join you on the journey you are on as a church. Welcome someone as they would be welcomed into your home, as that is what you’re doing. It doesn’t matter who they are or how messy your house is, your community is not a display in a window, it is a real family, and everyone is welcome. Be who you are, don’t try to be what they are looking for. And if you are visiting don’t shrink away if what you find doesn’t match your expectation or previous church experience. Don’t just look for what the church has to offer in the form of music, age range, lights etc. Remember that this Sunday service you’ve come to is just one part of this family’s life and get stuck in, become part of the family that you find yourself near, even if they don’t all live nearby.

I haven’t written much about how to be authentic as gathered church, instead I have tried to suggest that by treating our worship gatherings, as big or small as they may be, as extended family events rather than shop window displays (to broadly categorise and stereotype!) we will move closer to having *actually* authentic, simpler worship gatherings.

While the worship gathering is, of course, a crucial part of the life of the church, the reality is that when we are working to reach the unchurched our primary focus as a body needs to shift, particularly when it comes to the gathered church interacting with local community and resource deployment. This will be the subject of my next post.

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Funny Instructions/Blurbs #1

I found this on the back of a ‘3 in 1 Universal Clip Camera Lens Kit’.

I particularly like how the fish eye world of images are unrealistic…

Apparently it will also…

Pick-A-Church

It’s the question that plagues the mind of so many Christians when they move to a new area. Maybe you’re a student moving away from home for the first time, perhaps you’ve found a new job or have been promoted. Maybe you’re newly married and are starting a fresh life together. We all have asked it at some stage in our lives though,

‘Which church shall I join?’

For years I have been asked this question and have generally offered the same advice, that is to look around and find one in which you are welcomed and feel comfortable. For many this advice has proved to be fruitful. Unfortunately I fear that I have settled into providing advice which served one of the key problems that many perceive within the evangelicalism (particularly the charismatic variety) that’s proving so attractive to many today: ‘seeker-friendly’.

I used to love that phrase, it filled me with such hope. There were churches willing to open themselves up. They use words like ‘authentic’, ‘real’ and ‘normal’. It sounds great right? I’ve used similar words and phrases, heck I still do. We often assume that first impressions are the most important thing with a Sunday service, and to some extent they are. We obviously want people to feel welcome, that makes sense and is certainly fair! Unfortunately the first impression many churches give isn’t necessarily representative of the church itself. ‘Seeker-friendly’ and generally big churches offer a warm welcome. A number of friends who have visited Hillsong campuses have spoken of feeling very welcomed. These churches then gain a reputation in cities, towns etc for being ‘the’ churches. They’re where people first visit. They’re at the top of your Google search results.

I will say this now. These churches are not in the wrong. They faithfully follow where they believe God has called them to minister and often do a great job, resourcing outreach ministries etc. But the approach that visitors have towards them could do with some consideration.

As our networks shift and the way we connect changes there has been a much-publicised move towards social groupings within churches based on work, hobbies, age, family make-up etc. My feelings towards this are becoming increasingly mixed, but this is the subject for another post. The point I need to make here is that we are increasingly losing our witness to the local community (though there are of course some very good exceptions to this trend, people and communities who are silently reversing it). In part this is understandable, at least in some communities as it just isn’t the way many of us millennials engage with community. However, it has contributed to the decrease in a desire to commit locally. We are perfectly happy to travel a couple of miles to the church which best suits our sensibilities.

So, which church should you join?

Well, what I will now suggest is to find your local church. At least the one which has signs of a heartbeat… Don’t just visit it once, go for 6 months. Get to know people, invest yourself. Don’t just be a visitor for the whole time, it’s not a trial period. That way instead of learning just what their first impression is and making a decision based on that, you are more likely to learn the rhythm of their heart. If after 6 months it isn’t working out, try somewhere else. It might be intimidating, you might end up somewhere you never expected to be but you’ll learn the heart of people you otherwise would never have met. The other thing you will take away is the ability to move to a new town or city, say 3 years down the line when you finish your studies (if you’re a new student), and get stuck in to a local church which probably doesn’t look or feel like your previous one.

I hope this advice helps. I’m not trying to put anyone down. I thank God for every church in my city, old, new and not yet. What I want to see, at least in part, is a resurgence in the commitment of my own generation to local community. Commitment which shines the light of Jesus, which sees disciples making disciples, building church where we are.

If you’re part of a gathered church or have recently joined one, don’t leave just yet! I will write more during the week about what I believe large, gathered churches can do to engage with their local community and beyond. I’ll also be writing about moving on, and how you might be able to invest in a local church that you’re new to.

We are all of blood and bones.

– Ben

When in Rome…

Whenever you go to a BBQ or social gathering where you don’t know many people, seek out a conversation that will make a difference.

A Change Of Character

If you follow Of Blood And Bones or have dipped in and out you may have noticed something of a change of aesthetic character over the last couple of days. I’ve settled on a theme now. I hope this will be more readable, as well as effectively reflecting the variety of posts I’ll be making in the future.

I am looking forward to this blog’s resurrection!

– Ben