Where are the theologically progressive mega-churches? Should progressive Christians care whether there are progressive mega-churches? Why should progressive churches pay attention when Time magazine announces Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback church, "the most powerful minister in America?" Why should progressive Christians care about Willow Creek Church OR Willow Creek Association?
The reason we should care is that, while most theologically progressive Christian congregations dwindle and die, theologically conservative "seeker" churches reach the multitudes with user friendly rock music and powerpoint presentations. Whether you call it worship or not, seeker services give the religious right a powerful platform from which to disseminate their message of bigotry and hate.
Most progressive Christians that attend progressive churches practice traditional forms of liturgical worship with the clergy in robes, standing at a formal podium, speaking down to the congregation beneath them. The music usually comes from the denominational hymnal with approved politically correct lyrics and/or 18th century organ music. Many progressive Christians like traditional worship because it is what they grew up with and even though their congregations are dwindling, they see no reason to change since their own spiritual needs are being met. They are "mature" Christians that grew up in Bible classes or catechism or other means of orientation to church life. The routine and predictability of traditional worship may be comforting in a world that often seems full of noise and chaos.
Many seekers that did not spend their childhood in Sunday school and may not even have been in a church in the last twenty years would find much of traditional worship at least boring and possibly incomprehensible today. Even though a traditional service today in most U.S. churches will not be in a foreign language
like Latin, it might as well be since the stories are about people with names seekers don't know, living in places seekers have never heard of using language that is often open to interpretation and sometimes just hard to understand. They see clergy draped in robes and stoles and raised above the congregation at podiums. The songs are often obscure and too complicated to sing. The sermon rambles on for thirty minutes about people and places in long ago times and far away places and doesn't have much to do with every day life of the seeker today.
The Christian right understands how intimidating and/or baffling and/or boring traditional church can be for the "unchurched." They are not doing church based on what makes them most comfortable or what has the nostalgia of what church was when they were children. They do church for the seekers. They know they can't reach anyone if no one shows up. They do church based on scientific evidence of what works to reach seekers. Once they have them in the pews, they disseminate their message and have a system for integrating them into deeper levels of commitment. The Christian left needs to pay attention to the very successful evangelism efforts of the religious right. The religious right is NOT winning people over because of their bigotry. The religious right is winning people over because they speak the cultural language of the masses.They use the same kinds of rhythms that people listen to in their every day lives. They don't separate the clergy from the people with pompous robes, podiums and jargon. They are user-friendly (of course they prefer their users to be heterosexual).
Traditional worship might be fine for YOU but YOU are not all that it is about. Seeker worship is about making your guests, the newcomers and the outsiders, comfortable. It is about delivering a message in a compelling way. It is about change and alternatives. It is modern. It is fresh. It is spiritual. It is video. It is powerpoint. It is emotional.
Read Kimon Sergeant's definitive book "Promoting Traditional Religion in a Nontraditional way." Instead of promoting progressive religion in traditional ways, we need to also and probably more importantly, be promoting progressive religion in the nontraditional ways that Sargeant speaks of and in many other nontraditional and alternative ways that appeal to the masses. There is a culture war going on and progressive Christians must be at the front lines, not on the sidelines.
The reason we should care is that, while most theologically progressive Christian congregations dwindle and die, theologically conservative "seeker" churches reach the multitudes with user friendly rock music and powerpoint presentations. Whether you call it worship or not, seeker services give the religious right a powerful platform from which to disseminate their message of bigotry and hate.
Most progressive Christians that attend progressive churches practice traditional forms of liturgical worship with the clergy in robes, standing at a formal podium, speaking down to the congregation beneath them. The music usually comes from the denominational hymnal with approved politically correct lyrics and/or 18th century organ music. Many progressive Christians like traditional worship because it is what they grew up with and even though their congregations are dwindling, they see no reason to change since their own spiritual needs are being met. They are "mature" Christians that grew up in Bible classes or catechism or other means of orientation to church life. The routine and predictability of traditional worship may be comforting in a world that often seems full of noise and chaos.
Many seekers that did not spend their childhood in Sunday school and may not even have been in a church in the last twenty years would find much of traditional worship at least boring and possibly incomprehensible today. Even though a traditional service today in most U.S. churches will not be in a foreign language
like Latin, it might as well be since the stories are about people with names seekers don't know, living in places seekers have never heard of using language that is often open to interpretation and sometimes just hard to understand. They see clergy draped in robes and stoles and raised above the congregation at podiums. The songs are often obscure and too complicated to sing. The sermon rambles on for thirty minutes about people and places in long ago times and far away places and doesn't have much to do with every day life of the seeker today.
The Christian right understands how intimidating and/or baffling and/or boring traditional church can be for the "unchurched." They are not doing church based on what makes them most comfortable or what has the nostalgia of what church was when they were children. They do church for the seekers. They know they can't reach anyone if no one shows up. They do church based on scientific evidence of what works to reach seekers. Once they have them in the pews, they disseminate their message and have a system for integrating them into deeper levels of commitment. The Christian left needs to pay attention to the very successful evangelism efforts of the religious right. The religious right is NOT winning people over because of their bigotry. The religious right is winning people over because they speak the cultural language of the masses.They use the same kinds of rhythms that people listen to in their every day lives. They don't separate the clergy from the people with pompous robes, podiums and jargon. They are user-friendly (of course they prefer their users to be heterosexual).
Traditional worship might be fine for YOU but YOU are not all that it is about. Seeker worship is about making your guests, the newcomers and the outsiders, comfortable. It is about delivering a message in a compelling way. It is about change and alternatives. It is modern. It is fresh. It is spiritual. It is video. It is powerpoint. It is emotional.
Read Kimon Sergeant's definitive book "Promoting Traditional Religion in a Nontraditional way." Instead of promoting progressive religion in traditional ways, we need to also and probably more importantly, be promoting progressive religion in the nontraditional ways that Sargeant speaks of and in many other nontraditional and alternative ways that appeal to the masses. There is a culture war going on and progressive Christians must be at the front lines, not on the sidelines.
