Tag Archives: excellence

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

03 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by in Church, Theology, Travel

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The next stop in the Cathedral of Learning was the Austrian room.

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As you might expect from Austria, everything in the room was gorgeous.  I’ve been to Salzburg, and let’s just say it’s one of my all time favorite cities.  It’s elegant, it’s confident, and yet you don’t feel judged either.

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Oh, and did I mention that Austrian culture is big on art too?  The artwork was all over this room – enhancing the beauty.

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Lesson for church:  Beauty is a good thing.  We don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  There is nothing wrong with using beautiful things in the service of worshiping God.  The idea is to do things excellently. That’s not the same as perfection.  Those are two different things.  Excellence in church isn’t about being perfect.  Excellence is about using the resources you have in the best way possible.  It’s about utilizing the talents of the people in the church in the best way possible.  It’s about even utilizing children in worship and in the larger life of the congregation as well in the best way possible.  Pursuing excellence in church isn’t about the best and the brightest only being highlighted.  It’s so much more than that.  It’s expressing the beauty that is in our midst.  And sometimes the most beautiful things in our churches are our children, as they squirm and make noise, our teens as they find their place in the world, our parents as they seek help with their families, our elderly as they seek healing, our visitors as they seek, our outcasts as they seek a place of welcome.

What if your church were like the Y?

13 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by in Church, Health, Organizational theory, Theology

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I’ve been going to our local YMCA just about every week day for a few weeks now, and had been going occasionally before that.  On my internship, I made it a point to go the Y in the town were living in pretty regularly too.  It’s been great – I work out, I’m healthier, I’ve dropped some of the extra weight.  I have more energy.  I’ve combined this with eating better (mostly).  I’m seeing results and I’m committed.  This is the whole reason I started going – to be healthier.

I wonder if we could replace the Y with church?

I’m not suggesting that a church become a work out facility.  I’m talking about something much deeper – at the core.

The Y is great for a few reasons.  It’s approachable.  I have never met anyone afraid to go to the Y.  Even the Village People are happy to go to the Y and try to recruit others to go too! (You know you’re going to have YMCA in your head for a while now – sorry about that.)  If you don’t know how to use a piece of equipment, you just ask.  No one shames you for this, they are happy to help – both employees and people working out too.  Does this happen in your church?  Or are people afraid to ask questions?  Who’s doing the helping – only the pastor, or others who are a part of the church too?

The Y is enjoyable – as enjoyable as doing something difficult can be.  Working out isn’t easy – it’s not supposed to be.  It’s work.  Yet, I don’t see anyone there that really doesn’t want to be there.  They aren’t looking to be entertained or to have someone else do the heavy lifting.  People come for their own reasons, they work out, sometimes they get help, they talk with other people there, and they leave.  They are healthier and as a result, when they leave the Y and go back into the regular world, they are better prepared for living in the world.  What if church were like this?  Following Jesus was never meant to be easy (remember that whole pick up your cross and follow me bit).  The reason we go to church is to be fed so we can go back out into the world to live differently.

The Y is relevant – It seems like the Y has no problem letting go of older programs that just don’t make sense any more.  The same goes for equipment and facilities.  I’ve never heard anyone at the Y talk about how their treadmill was being used by someone else, or how one of the machines was moved and how upsetting it was.  I’ve never heard anyone at the Y say that a machine couldn’t be replaced because Mrs. Smith’s great-grandfather had built it (even though it was falling apart).  Do I even need to say more on this in relation to church?  I think you see where I’m going here.

Of course the Y isn’t church and vice versa.  They are different.  But I have to wonder – are there some things that church can learn from the Y?

Things like:

  • Know why you exist as an organization.  The Y knows what it’s purpose is and sticks to it and it works.
  • Commitment.  There are all sorts of people who come to the Y.  Over the course of this week, we’ll start to see those who aren’t all that committed to a New Year’s resolution stop coming.  There won’t be panic at the Y though.  People come, people go.  The Y stays true to who it is and what it is about.  People will come when they are ready.
  • Excellence.  The Y I go to is in an old building.  It’s not the state-of-the-art.  Yet, the Y has great programs and does them well.  Excellence doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune and have the latest, greatest thing.  It means you have a commitment to doing what you do well and you know what your purpose is.
  • Seekers.  People come to the Y to seek something.  Maybe it’s health.  Maybe it’s community.  Maybe it’s just to get out of the house.  Regardless, people are seeking something – they have a hole to fill.  The Y offers them something to fill that hole with.  But again, it does it in a way that makes sense.  The Y doesn’t try to be all things to all people.  It doesn’t over try.
  • People want to work.  People come expecting to do some heavy lifting.  They know it produces results.  Before we get into heavy theology here, (works righteousness vs. grace, etc) keep it simple.  There is an expectation.  People are going to do something, not just sit and be a spectator.  People even pay for the privilege of being active.

Imagine if your church took on these lessons.  What would happen?  Maybe you are in a church that is already like this.  Great.  Share your experience in the comment section.  I look forward to hearing from you.

 

What is church?

27 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Church

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I recently read an awesome article by Thom Schultz about a church’s obsession with Sunday.  This got me thinking about the relationship of the church with Sunday.

There’s a great deal of history behind church having worship on Sunday – I’m not going to get into all of that here.  There is literally enough history to fill a semester class in seminary.

Some churches go to great length to make Sunday a great show, as Thom talks about in his article.  I am left wondering how much effort is put into being church the rest of the week.

Now don’t get me wrong – I love the liturgy and church.  I wouldn’t be a Lutheran seminarian if I didn’t.  And let me tell you, there’s a huge difference between worship that is done with excellence and worship that is well, less than excellent.  Excellent doesn’t have to be high church either.

So where am I going with all this?  Here’s my list of what makes for a great Sunday worship (or Saturday evening if your church has that option).

1. Intentionality – what’s the point of the worship?  Is it clear that this is leading somewhere?  Or are we just gathering to have some fun or do what we always do because we have always done it this way?

2. Points to the rest of the week – Sunday worship is the kickoff of a weekly game, so to speak.  The game is life and there are seven days to it.  You can’t just stop playing part way through the week – life won’t let you.  Church can be a help for people to get through the week.

3. Excellence – this looks different for each congregation.  Are you using the skills and talents of the people who are a part of the church to really offer up the best praise to God?  Everyone has value and something that they can offer – sometimes you just have to dig a bit to find out what it is.

4. Context – This speaks to the previous point.  Know your context.  Worship should match the people attending for one simple reason – it’s their offering of praise up to God.  It ought to be authentic.  If it is, then it will also be…

5. Relevant – Yes, I know it’s a word that probably gets overused.  However, I can’t think of a better term.  If church and worship aren’t relevant to the people attending, why on earth do you think they will continue to show up?  Church should connect with people’s lives.  Church has something special to offer people – hope, grace, love, forgiveness, among other things.  People desperately need these things.  Even unchurched people search for these things.  Does worship point to these things and how God is active all week-long in offering these desperately needed things in the world?