I was out of town this past week to be with family after the death of my wife's father. I had the opportunity to speak with the pastor of a much larger church than the one I pastor (hence the possibility that I am just jealous), but I am curious how others might see one comment he made. While I can't remember the exact words, his comment was essentially this, "all the growing churches provide great worship experiences". He did offer one exception, a church he knew of that has a very famous pastor, but as a whole he felt the worship experience was of utmost importance if a church is to grow.
I realize how you define "worship experience" could have great impact how this comment is understood. However, I would love to have some feedback on this topic, such as:
Is this emphasis on "worship experience" what we see emphasized in the Bible for church growth?
Does the emphasis on "worship experience" potentially de-emphasize other important things such as learning the word, commitment to the fellowship, service to the body and evangelizing the lost?
What makes the worship of our Lord meaningful, is it something visible/external or invisible/internal?
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People want to be entertained and church is no different. I have met a nnumber of church goers who actually rate a church's praise team when considering whether to attend. Many of those same people also could not remember or accurately communicate what the sermon was about. Praising Him in song is apart of the bigger worship experience and we should be in a spirit of worship even if no melody is playing in the background. Most churches offer "something for everyone" so if the praise and worship doesn't hook em, maybe the children's ministry will... Thus why critics continue to discount us as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most Christians today are just in church because thats what they do. They have not been nutured and matured into 'adult christians'. Babes left uneducated and simple creatures just want to play and be happy-hence the 'dramatic, entertaining music'. Just as baby doesn't like to hear things that make them unhappy, a baby christian doesn't like hearing the things they are doing are wrong. We need to look beyound America's church and learn from those that are just beginning to hear the word. They crave the word, not entertainment from missionaries. Woe be unto all of us that just seek out a church for entertainment value. That's just a big slap in the face to our Heavenly Father.
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