What’s Up With Worship
February 26, 2010 by kirby
Filed under Staff Blog
I am the kind of guy who is always trying to make sense out of trends. Trends help me as a leader to identify what is dying in the organism we call the congregation and what forms of new life are taking seed. I have learned the hard way that you have to allow certain expressions of ministry to die. Rather than investing huge amounts of energy trying to bring something back to life it is far more effective to invest in areas of new vitality. This approach to ministry means you spend less time looking backwards and more time trying to look ahead.
Here are some trends.
1.) We continue to attract visitors and new members
2.) We are seeing an increase in the number of giving units and amount pledged.
3.) We are raising up new and highly committed leaders
4.) We are ministering to more people than ever before through our outreach ministries
5.) Support for special appeals continues to express great generosity
6.) We continue to receive by far a majority of positive comments about the preaching, music and special services – advent, lent, baptism, weddings, and funerals.
Then along comes worship attendance and it is trending downward at all three services. The reason the trend has caught my attention is that it appears to be running against the grain of the overall movement at SMLC. I am not sure what it means and I want to invite your observations.
My own hunch is what we are experiencing is a growing generation of households that are comprised of very active people who struggle to juggle the many opportunities that are worthy of their time and investment.
In February I cited in my sermon a group of highly involved, deeply committed lay leaders who are giving generously of their time and talents. Only two were present in church that day and I am confident that had good reasons why there were not.
It is too soon to know how to respond to this trend. It is not earth shattering at this point but it is an indication that there is some seismic activity taking place. I think we have to live with it for awhile before we discover whether the church is taking on a new shape.
Share with me what you think this trend means and what you think the church will look like as we enter a new decade.
My family and I have had many in-depth discussions concerning St. Matthew’s and have a very strong belief that this Church is exactly where God wants us to be. I have heard much discussion concerning many individuals concern about Luther’s table. Most seem to feel that they will get behind it 100% emotionally and financially. The final comment is that it is strange to see God’s money going toward opening a tavern BUT, this could be exactly what should happen. IF God is behind it, and we give it our best it will be a success. If this is not doing the work of the Holy Spirit, this will be revealed.
I have also heard much discussion concerning Homosexuals. Most whom I have talked, feel it is a sin…and/but we all sin. It is not THE sin that will keep a person from Eternal Life. Thus, we open our arms and our hearts to all people. It truly would be wrong to not do so. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to work in a person’s heart and in their lives. We love our brothers and sisters as Jesus loves us. Not difficult. Suddenly, with very little discussion openly we hear that the Lutheran Church is permitting “Gay Pastors”. In context with the passages in the Bible, this is very hard to understand. It is easier for people to simply move to another church than to make a stand on this issue.
Thus, what seems to be happening from my point of view is that people are starting to shop for a new church home. The questions I hear are, “Does God really want us to have gay pastors and use His money to build a tavern?” The fellowship of the believers backed by the church community coupled with solid bible study keeps us grounded. This, in my opinion is necessary to survive in a world that does not know what it is like to have the Holy Spirit. It is my hope and prayer that I will always be able to stand as Joshua did in Joshua 24:15. To my family, St. Matthew’s is where we are planted.
Steve,
Thanks for your response. What is a blog without comments!
If I understand you correctly you are suggesting some people are leaving or have left SMLC because we are supporting a new mission site known as Luther’s Table where beer and wine will be served. And some people cannot reconcile how a church body can ordain a openly gay or lesbian person in a committed relationship. There is no doubt such actions will cause some to leave.
What it doesn’t explain is how at the same time we are seeing increased giving, a crop of new leaders, and multiple ministries expressing vitality. I would expect the same fall off in these areas as in worship.
The issue of ordaining gays has been debated for over two decades. The stance we have taken at SMLC is that highly committed people with strong Biblical backgrounds can arrive at very different positions on this issue. This is true for divorce, ordaining women pastors and whether it is OK to use white wine for communion. We have people that line up along the whole spectrum. You will hear me say over and over again, “My hunch is (because Lutherans know our understanding is always tainted by our sin) is that Jesus cares far more about how we treat one another when we hold opposing points of view than he does about who is right on the debate.
We are living in such a highly polarized world that it is increasingly important for us to try to live together in community with people of various stripes.
When it comes to Luther’s Table I will argue that Jesus was condemned for trying the same thing. He was often seen eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. We hope to have anything but a Tavern atmosphere at Luther’s Table. In fact we hope it has an atmosphere that reflects more the home of Martin and Katie Luther who invited University students and faculty into their home for deep theological questions around the the family table. Katie was famous for her brew which was served on such occasions.
Others, I invite you to chime in on your observation about the worship trend.
I haven’t been at St. Matthew’s long – just about 10 years and I know my attendance fluctuates with my schedule and I do allow the temptation to “sleep in” keep me away. I always come back and when I do I walk away with a feeling of calm and peace.
I think there will always be issues that drive people away. The huge issues like the acceptance of gay church members and clergy will (in my opinion) sadly probably not ever stop being a show stopper for folks.
I agree with Steve that for people who equate drinking with sin Luther’s Table is a challenging concept to get behind. I, for one, am excited about it and am confident that the ‘vibe’ of the place will be more of a neighborhood hangout than “boozy joint.” Luther’s Table, as a ministry, is a mighty big swing from potlucks and clothing drives, but I can see it really working as a complimentary effort to reach people where they live. If the people won’t come to St Matthews, lets bring St. Matthews to the people! I hope the people of St. Matthews will incorporate Luther’s Table into their actual lives. I personally can’t wait to see what I can do to be a part of it.
Similar to how people will watch the ‘brand’ of news that fits their view of the world the best I think people gravitate to churches that matches the tone of worship they are comfortable with. I was pleased to find a church where the message that I take away is “God wants you to be the best person you can be” rather than “you’re a good person because you attend.” If people don’t like what they hear they will vote with their feet. But I’m not sure that is a bad thing – they aren’t wrong for needing their spirituality wrapped up in a certain way.
I may be naive, but I hope the trend of empty pews is more about time management than a philosophy shift. Sleeping in is nice, but I’ll be there Sunday.
So, you and I are sitting in Luther’s Table. Our bibles are open and we are eating a thick stew and drinking a mug of beer. Just as Luther would sit and debate with his friends whether priests should marry or if there really is a purgatory, you and I are debating Gay Ministers or do Non Christians go to heaven. Suddenly, with the kind of passion Martin Luther had, one of us pounds the table top and says, “I do not care what the bishop says, this is what the bible says!” We write it all down and then nail our comments to the inside of the thick oak door. Then, we gather a couple of bystanders and walk to the piano and sing a rousing chorus of “A mighty fortress is our God”. I would totally support this vision. What I am also hearing is that this is a place where people will stop before going to the theatre. This is a place for all people but we will have to be careful not to offend anyone. I see you and I drinking a glass of wine and discussing rotary. We can hardly hear each other because the background music is playing overhead. When our meal arrives, we do not say a blessing because we do not want to offend anyone. Suddenly, Luther’s table looks like Starbucks with beer and wine.
I do not know why Sunday service attendance is down. I do know that every function I attend has people discussing the subjects I stated in my last comments and many are asking if this is what God wants for this church.