February – March 2010

In September 2009, each Great Lakes Conference pastor received a copy of the book, IT, How Churches and Leaders Can Get IT and Keep IT by Craig Groeschel. Since then, pastors have been discussing IT in our Cluster Gatherings. For the winter issue of the Pacific and Midwest Conference newsletters, Bishop Perry Engle wrote the following article. With his permission, I include IT in this issue of our “The Connection” because I think IT is relevant to our focus on IT and because change is most likely at the beginning of the year.

In partnership in the pursuit of the relevance of Christ,
Bishop John

What’s the Buzz?

By Perry Engle

Since my three daughters travel around in church circles quite a bit, recently I asked them to describe the kind of churches they like to attend. Their responses reflect what a pastor friend of mine recently referred to as the buzz of a church – an intangible enthusiasm that energizes and motivates those who encounter it. Here are a few observations from some of our younger generation on what makes up the buzz of a local congregation.

The worship needs to be ENERGETIC. Sophie (12) my youngest daughter, says she likes attending a church where the worship “is like a room full of elephants and giraffes that are having a party and are having a good time dancing together.” In contrast, a church that doesn’t connect with her is like “a room full of sheep just standing around.”

The people need to be JOYFUL. A church Sophie said she wants to attend is one that invites you in with lively, joyful people (“they don’t have to be young, just lively”). Her description is of a group of people who love gathering together for worship, and love the other people that gather there as well. Personally, I find that worship is too often a tired and melancholy experience. It’s remarkable to me that people who serve a risen Savior and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ can seem so introverted and joyless on Sunday mornings.

The atmosphere needs to be REAL. In an interesting analogy, Sophie said she likes a church that is “more like a paper bag, and less like a plastic bag.” I take this fascinating word picture to mean that a paper bag is less processed, more natural, and more authentic. The younger generation is less interested in a worship experience that is well-packaged and more in one that is organic and creative in nature and connects with the real needs, joys and passions of people’s lives.

The sermon needs to be CULTURALLY-CONNECTED. Maddy (my eldest at 18) mentioned that at a recent chapel at college, the speaker took a Bible story and translated it, in my daughter’s words, “into Maddy language.” My experience is that too often those preaching the Word don’t take the time to interpret Scripture for the ‘Maddys’ in their audience. For me, if my sermon doesn’t connect with 16-year olds as well as 60-year-olds, then I haven’t done my job as an expositor and communicator of God’s Word.

The music needs to be NON-TRADITIONAL. All three of my daughters gave me similar variations on the theme of music. Katianne (16) said “traditional church music” doesn’t cut it for her; Sophia described her preference for music that’s on her iPod, or music she would want to put on her iPod. Maddy used the ‘c’-word (contemporary) to describe the style of hymnody that draws her in. All expressed their preference for an upbeat style of music as being a high priority for engaging them in worship.

What’s the solution? Churches need to create different worship venues for different ages and preferences. As much as we desire a singular worship experience that would create a buzz for all ages, my observation is that people steeped in traditional worship will most often not be satisfied with a contemporary experience. And new people and younger generations will almost always prefer a different style of worship than traditional folk.

It’s time for us to get creative, and stop imagining that uniformity in worship will lead to one big happy unified church family. When the pursuit of congregational unity gets in the way of creating an environment where lives are being engaged and changed, we have a problem. Sure, we can try keeping things the way they’ve always been, but as soon as our kids are old enough to decide for themselves where they will go to church - if they go to church at all - invariably they will find their way to a church with a buzz that will keep them coming back for more.

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