This posting is a continuation of a post entitled Church: One Man Show?
Why is it that so many churches use the word "experience" to label what makes their church unique? I recently heard in a church I attended ; "Please grab your seats for the 'Worship Experience' will begin in 2 minutes. It almost makes the church a spectacle...or even a venue or event that one needs to purchase tickets to. Is church just that? Is it merely a spectator sport? Now I understand what the pastor was saying but still I believe it can convey a wrong definition of what church really is. Is church something that we go to and experience and then go to home/work. Then the next week we go back and experience it some more....and then go on our normal lives. I believe that many pastors (myself included) have given a false expectation and definition of what the Body of Christ does when it gathers.
Now don't get me wrong. I love a great worship service. I feel that for myself I can best 'worship' or tune in when the service speaks my language. I love the worship band, the screen, videos, visuals, etc. All that stuff is great and healthy. All of that can help a person connect to God. I have nothing wrong with theses mediums for a worship service. But when we convey that church is only about experiencing "worship" and helping once a month to change diapers in the nursery....then we are missing the point.
Many churches spend thousands and thousands of dollars on the "Experience". Many churches have falsely thought they are doing the Great Commission because they can gather a great crowd. But are the crowds there for the "Experience" or are they there for the "Great Show". What if pastors spent a little less time on the details of the "Show/Experience" and spent more time mobilizing the crowds for service in the world. As a pastor I have been guilty of that. I have been so consumed about every detail about the service (lights, camera, action) that to a larger degree my own brothers and sisters have suffered. Also what happens when you have an "attractional" paradigm of doing church is that you always have to reinvent yourself. You have to "out due" the last worship experience. Without knowing it...one falls into a trap of doing what you can to keep the crowd coming. Pastor's have to keep upping the anty to beat what they did before. After all...who wants to see the same movie twice?
How many people are going to our churches in and out every week sitting, soaking and souring? Yes they might be heavily and genuinely moved by a great service/song/sermon; but their faith venture doesn't continue until the next service.
It goes without saying that the modern church is dying. The statistics are staggering. It is estimated that 4,000 American churches close their doors every year! According to George Barna, "There has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years. In 1991 there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million currently. (2004)"
Hmmmm.....It seems to me that we are losing ground, no? Ssomething must be done and the answer is not to be "cooler and hipper". We have to get down to the core issues of what makes a church a church. Thank God for those who have been reached by attending an "Experience". But please o please church...WAKE UP...don't let it stop there. Church is not just an experience. The Church are people who are living out the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to a lost and dying world. The Church is made up of people who are deeply committed to each other and to God.
I have been in the "Experience Mode" way too long. I asked the tough questions and found some tough answers. The Bible says that Jesus purchased the Church with His own blood. I can't sit here as I type this and think that Jesus died so I can have a cool worship experience. Because if church to you is just about the lights, camera and action...then that's what you have just limited Jesus' sacrificial death to. Jesus is above the smoke and the mirrors.
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