Is this parody of the modern Church service just a jab, or have we boiled Church services down to a “proven formula”?
Hasn’t the Church always had a fairly uniform way of conducting a Church service?
Just because we like to use stage lighting, appreciate a good communicator and a enjoy an engaging Bible teacher, doesn’t mean we’re fake and shallow, does it?
Would love to hear your thoughts on this video!
[tentblogger-youtube 3RJBd8zE48A]
After you’re done laughing or fuming, I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
🙂
Joanna says
Earlier this year I moved from a pentecostal church with very contemporary services (with some similarities to that video) to an evangelical Anglican church with quite traditional services. While style wasn’t my motivation for moving, I’ve done a fair bit of thinking about it since then.
Something I occasionally hear in my new church is that people wish we didn’t have so much liturgy and structure in our services. Making the change from a church with a different way of doing thing I’ve come to realize that my old church was just as set in its ways. It was different, it wasn’t written down in a prayer book but the structure was there. People knew when to sit and stand, there was a pattern to how the different elements are arranged. Every church has their patterns and structures and liturgy, even the most contemporary church. The video is a good example. It’s just a matter of if people are conscious of it and if it is a helpful structuring. Some aspects of contemporary church structure seem helpful enough, some maybe not so much
I’ve also come to wonder if there is something to be said for church not looking and sounding like everything else out there. It isn’t at all that I don’t like much modern stuff- I own a lot of praise and worship CDs and I went to a Hillsong conference earlier this year. That said, I have found the more traditional services helpful. Because there is a quite different style and format to it, what I am hearing and taking part in stands out more rather than just blending in with the similar sounding media and music in the background of my life all week. It feels more set apart and meaningful. I find myself zoning out less.
Certainly the contemporary style is in some cases helpful for outreach. But in my experience, some of the non-Christians we are trying to reach expect church to be kinda different and find the idea of a cool, contemporary church confusing. I had a lot of trouble trying to explain my old church to some non-Christian friends.
Eric Dye says
Great thoughts and insights, Joanna. You really added value to this conversation. Thank you. 🙂
Micah says
I found the video a bit irritating. I attended a church of the more traditional type for most of my childhood and into my teenage years – thankfully, my parents saw that we were growing in our relationship with God there, and moved us to a church that had a more contemporary feel to it, but was also extremely engaging, provoking, and began to teach us some new things. I have now been there for 12 years. About 5 years ago, this church began to see that they were not reaching the next generation like they wanted to, so they made some additional changes, which included some really great worship and lighting changes. I will admit that if my pastor was as shallow as the one portrayed in the video I’d be more inclined to believe that this church was all style and little substance. I’m grateful to have a pastor that has remained steadfast and relatable, and our church is doing better than it ever has. I just find it irritating that people who see this video might think that every church that has a large attendance and is cooler than the high-steeple, few-people deep freezer down the street would see that church as shallow and not able to grow there. Because in my experience, that is certainly not the case. Most of the churches I look at that have awesome “contemporary” worship also have wonderful pastors. Steven Furtick, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Robert Morris, Willie George – all wonderful pastors with large and great churches.
Jonathan Gardner says
I completely agree. Here’s a good article I saw on ChurchLeaders.com on mega-churches, and the myths that many people have about them. http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-blogs/149051-another-look-at-megachurches.html
If mega-churches were really so shallow, people wouldn’t attend, give to, and volunteer at them. We humans naturally desire an authentic sense of community, and accomplishment, and if a lot of the contemporary churches these days weren’t offering that, people would catch on quickly, and leave. Several of the mega-church pastors whom you mentioned, have churches which are only about a decade old, yet have large numbers of people attending, and even more importantly giving, volunteering, and generally getting involved in their communities to reach and disciple be for Jesus.
I too follow Willie George’s Church On The Move, and I remember from their Seeds resource site (http://seeds.churchonthemove.com/blog/post/50) that it wasn’t until they started making things a bit more contemporary, that they started reaching new, and younger people. Until then they were on “cruise control” as they put it, just reaching the same group of people each week, with no growth, and stagnation in the congregation.
Eric Dye says
Great stuff, here, Jonathan. Thanks for sharing your insights and the links. Love ChurchLeaders.com!
Eric Dye says
Just because your cool, doesn’t mean you’re shallow. Totally agree.
UMJeremy says
This was a parody video done by Northpoint Church in an Atlanta suburb, influenced heavily by Christian funnyman Jon Acuff. I think it was done with full knowledge that their worship was predictable and manipulative and putting it out there to show that they are as human as anyone else. So more sad laughing than fuming.
Eric Dye says
Thanks for the background info, Jeremy.
Trent H. says
This video was used about a year ago at my church (North Point). I know some people who are in it and produced it. It was meant for humor, but also to see why we worship the way we do. It is quite interesting to see what websites are embedding the YouTube file. Any idea why this video is gaining so much traction in the past few months?
Eric Dye says
It is indeed, humorous. Like most humor, there’s a thread of truth in it, too. I think it’s getting a lot of traction because there’s truth in it that resonates with people — some positive, some negative.
Josh Wagner says
I thought this was more of a “Let’s poke fun at ourselves” moment than anything else. I’ve heard recently that we should take what we do very seriously, but not take ourselves very seriously. I laughed at this, because we fall into that trap of predictability. Takes a poke every now and then to keep us honest.
Eric Dye says
Good point.
Joel Walkley says
I think that worship is something we do; not something we watch. I’m always skeptical of these kind of services that very much limit the participation of the congregation to singing along or listening. The congregation is not the audience of worship, God is. Maybe I put too much emphasis on their use of the word stage.
Eric Dye says
Less is more. Turn down the band and let’s hear the congregation, eh?
Danny says
When I first saw the video, I laughed a lot because it looked like a typical service at many of the contemporary churches I’ve visited. I used to go to Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, and most of the service was exactly like what they did there, even the guy who did the welcome, who reminded me of Larry Hubatka, down to the glasses. (Steven Furtick, however, doesn’t do the bistro table and stool thing and is very biblical and dynamic.)
The only thing that bothered me was that it seemed to be a little judgmental, as if doing something with style and excellence means that it is also shallow and self-serving. But I think something Joanna said above is relevant. Hearing something in a different format can help something that felt stale suddenly seem fresh and powerful. That works both ways. For the person who has become numb to liturgy and the high church style, a contemporary style service may help them hear the old, old story and appreciate it again.
Eric Dye says
Great thoughts, Danny, thanks!