Searching for the Un-Cool Church
Love this piece from Rachel Held Evans’ blog:
People sometimes assume that because I’m a progressive 30-year-old who enjoys Mumford and Sons and has no children, I must want a super-hip church—you know, the kind that’s called “Thrive” or “Be” and which boasts “an awesome worship experience,” a fair-trade coffee bar, its own iPhone app, and a pastor who looks like a Jonas Brother.
While none of these features are inherently wrong, (and can of course be used by good people to do good things), these days I find myself longing for a church with a cool factor of about 0.
That’s right.
I want a church that includes fussy kids, old liturgy, bad sound, weird congregants, and…brace yourself…painfully amateur “special music” now and then.
Why?
Well, for one thing, when the gospel story is accompanied by a fog machine and light show, I always get this creeped-out feeling like someone’s trying to sell me something. It’s as though we’re all compensating for the fact that Christianity’s not good enough to stand on its own so we’re adding snacks.
But more importantly, I want to be part of an un-cool church because I want to be part of a community that shares the reputation of Jesus, and like it or not, Jesus’ favorite people in the world were not cool. They were mostly sinners, misfits, outcasts, weirdos, poor people, sick people, and crazy people.
(Go here for the full article.)
That is definitely my kinda church! Don’t need cool funny video clips. (And by “don’t need” read “can’t stand.” those are something baby boomers love but justify by saying that younger people love them.) Don’t need hours and hours spent producing a big Sunday show. Don’t need a high-paid gunslinger who handles everything. Dont wanna go there. Imagine Jesus would walk out.
Wow! She just described my church in that final sentence. (I’m not joking. It’s a church that focuses on bringing the urban poor into contact with Christ.)
I guess the worship at my church is back in style because we NEVER went even close to the kind of stuff RHEs is talking about. I’ve been to congregations that have that kind of worship style, (minus fog machines & strobe lighting) but it was kind of refreshing after the 3 songs & a prayer, yada yada yada that our congregation incorporates week in, week out, to infinity & beyond. I’ve been places where it’s a wonderful medium & I still maintain it can be done if congregants & shepherds are willing ON BOTH SIDES & IN THE MIDDLE to mix it up every single week—focusing on reverence & jubilant praise to God, Christ, & letting the Holy Spirit MOVE in us—all in the same hour-ish. It’s not happening at my congregation, but if RHE says we are cool, then I guess I’ll stick with it. I do love my fellow misfits there…….
Funny how things swing back and forth. It just goes to show you that how we package things is not nearly as important as the content of the package. If people see genuine kindness, love, compassion and a place where they can learn about and grow closer to God they are likely to stick around even if other things are a little out of sorts.
On the basis of the first 11 chapters or so of Peterson’s memoir, _The Pastor_, my guess is that EP would heartily agree. I know I do.
qb
On a side note: Mike, I have your book and I’m taking it with me everywhere I go in Abilene this week in case I run into you. After we exchange insurance info, I’ll ask you to sign the book.
A friend once told me that I was one of those people who like a variety of worship styles. And I think she’s right. So “cool” or “uncool”, large or small, drums or no drums, snappy videos or amateur testimonials all can and do move me to worship as long as they point me to God. I’ve found that when Jesus is the focus the other things don’t matter so much. And if the focus is on the church, on doctrine or knowledge, or even the Bible then old-fashioned or tech savvy will make no difference in my opinion.
My background is also the “uncool” church. I am now part of a “cool” church of about 20K that uses lots of fog. Being part of the leadership I’ve seen the “sinners, misfits, outcasts, weirdos, poor people, sick people, and crazy people” be ministered to and become ministers just as much as non-fog using churches. Jesus meets everyone everywhere.
Well that’s good to hear since most of us serve “un-cool” churches. And let’s face it, the more we try and keep up in the cool-church race the more the gospel seems to hide under a bushel-basket.