the encounter

Jeff Elkins shares about a recent experience visiting an attractional model of church ::

Recently my family and I had an incredible experience at a church in Baltimore. The church did everything perfectly.

• The front door was held open for us by a gentleman with a kind smile. I immediately felt welcomed.
• The layout of the entry way was awesome. Even though it was my first time at the church, and there were a ton of people coming in and out, the natural flow of traffic let me know exactly where to go.
• The welcome desk was well labeled and prominent on the left hand side of the entry way. It was staffed with friendly helpful people; and there were no lack of easy to approach greeters with clearly visible nametags standing around expectantly hoping someone would ask them a question.
• Beyond the Welcome desk there was a room full of breakfast treats and the smell of coffee was in the air (a huge plus for me).
• A greeter identified us as visitors and led us to the Children’s check in area.
• The Children’s Sunday School Check-In Desk was also extremely easy to find. Check-in there was great. One of the workers escorted us to the classrooms, explained to us the security procedures, and answered any and all the questions we could possibly have.
• The worship service was impeccably pulled off. The music was sincere, not showy in anyway. There were multiple worship leaders, but it was extremely smooth and enjoyable. The songs were relevant, fresh, and easy to pick up for someone who might not know them. They did a great job of trying to help people engage Christ without terrifying those that might be new the the church experience.
• The sermon was clear, relevant, and engaging. The pastor’s points were well thought out and communicated. My attention was held the entire time. There were no unnecessary rabbit trails or rants. It was challenging but not offensive, informative but not burdensome, fun but not ridiculous. It was a good message.
• After the service we went to get our kids and they were beaming. Yes…that’s right…our kids loved Sunday School there. Usually a new church experience will send them all into tears, but not this time. They couldn’t stop sharing stories about how much fun they had.

This church is a well oiled machine. They have it down. They do all the things church growth authors say should be done to create a wonderful church experience. They pull off an excellent attractional worship service.

Jeff goes on and admits that he’s been very active in this attractional based way of church for some time.

But he concludes in suggesting that no matter how great your Sunday morning gathering may be — it will never change a community ::

In an attractional church, the primary activity of the body, the front door where people are introduced to the church, is focused on being comfortable and exciting. It therefore, unintentionally, feeds the consumer attitude already present in our society.

Now, I don’t know yet how to fix this, but here are a few things I have come to believe firmly in the last year…

We have to stop making our front door (where people come to check us out) a worship service; we need to make it our lives. People should not be encountering the Holy Spirit for the first time by watching believers worship. They should be introduced to the Holy Spirit through the insane, crazy, wild, reckless, sacrificial love of Jesus that defines everything we do, every conversation we have, every breath we take.

We should not be known for our music, our teaching, our environments, or our kids programs. We should be known for our humility, our brokenness, our passion for the poor, our acceptance of the outcast, our forgiving justice, our non-judgemental righteousness, and our generous giving of ourselves to others.

We must stop making the tools the point. We have to recapture what Jesus meant when He said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” If we continue to make our worship service, our programs, our small groups, our activities, our spiritual disciplines the defining focus of what we do we will find ourselves loosing Jesus on the journey.

Let it be said that we carry in us the attitude of Jesus. That we are people defined by our love for God and our love for others. Let the world be amazed at how wildly we give of ourselves, at how recklessly we serve, at how humbly we live, and at how unsafely we love. Let it be said that when you encounter one of us you never before felt so valued and cared for. Let membership in our community not be defined by the where we are from 9:30 to Noon on a Sunday, but rather by our reputation in the community as people that live differently.

May this be said of not only encounter — but the Church body as a whole. May we be known by our love and may our love affirm the life and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

Tags: attractional, catalyst, church, Jeff Elkins, review