045 | Transcending Church

Transcend Human

Jan 11

Written By Daryl McMullen

January 11, 2021

Minute of Transparency: Have Yourself a Very COVID Christmas...

This Week's Topic: Transcending Church

In this episode:

Pick Your Poison (Traditional vs. Megachurch)
What Makes Church, Church?
The COVID-19 Effect
2021 and Beyond
You Do You

// 1. PICK YOUR POISON

When it comes to church, or church attendance - each of us has a slightly different experience.

Some of you grew up in church, some of you found church later in life and still others have never stepped foot in a church.

For me - church has been part of my life for as long as I can remember - which is back to around 1st Grade:

I remember going to church in Hinsdale, IL at that time, being taken to a room for kids my age and sitting in pews eating Cheerios and coloring during the sermon
I remember living in Powell, WY for the next 7 years attending a small rural church with 60 people. Again, hanging out with the few kids my age - then sitting in pews with my parents while the sermon droned on, and signing to the old piano played by an elderly lady who tried her best...
Freshman and Sophomore year in high school we were back in Hinsdale, IL at the same church I attended in 1st Grade
Junior and Senior years I was at a boarding academy in La Fox, IL - and attended church on campus there
I went to college in Berrien Springs, MI and attended the campus church there for the 4 years of my undergrad degree - then for another couple years while getting my Master's degree in Social Work
After college - I found work regionally - in South Bend, IN and started attending a growing church in the area. I got married and started our family while attending this church
In 2016 we moved across the country to Irvine, CA and began attending a large church there
And since then we've either been at that church or other churches in the area

So looking back over my church experience - I can see two very distinct differences between the churches I attended. Some of the churches I attended, I would consider Traditional churches, and the rest I would consider Megachurches.

And I believe these two distinctions still exist, and will exist for a long time to come:

Traditional:
- Part of a larger, mainstream denomination - and part of the organizational structure for that denomination
- Typically smaller churches - though there are some pretty large traditional churches
- Typically have a defined Statement of Faith and take a stand on most moral issues
- The worship style is typically traditional - using pianos, organs, hymnals, etc.
- Sermons tend to be Bible based, with a heavy use of scripture during the message portion of the service
Megachurch:
- Not always part of a larger denomination. The church we attended in Indiana started out as a United Methodist church, but eventually broke away in order to be independent
- Often referred to as "Community Churches," or "Bible Churches" or "Non-denominational Churches"
- Many follow a tried and true formula based on successful churches like Saddleback Church (started by Rick Warren) or Willow Creek Church (started by Dave Holmbo & Bill Hybels). And at the core of these churches is often a strategy stemming from the book Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
- These churches are often fairly "light" on their Statements of Faith - tending to list some of the larger, more global beliefs and allowing attendees to bring their own beliefs to the table on everything else
- These churches often adopt a more progressive style of worship in order to attract new people
- Pianos and Organs are often traded in for full bands and large screens
- Pop culture elements are referenced on a regular basis in order to make the newcomer feel welcome and included
- Sermons tend to include more pop culture references and stories with some Bible verses thrown in to support the message
- Now I know some of these are starting to be stereotypes - so I'll stop while I'm ahead...
- But you get the idea...

So obviously - when I look back on my life - I can see those distinctions.

I attended fairly Traditional churches from birth until I graduated from college. Then I moved into the Megachurch world and have been there ever since.

Again - this is only my story - my experience with church. My wife wasn't really a church going person until we met. And she's never really attended a Traditional style church. So her church experience has been largely Megachurch. Similarly, our kids have been raised in Megachurches since birth and have little to no experience with what Traditional church is like.

The truth of the matter is this: In the US - these two styles of church are the most common. And if you are a church going person there is a 99% chance you will be in one of these two camps.

// 2. WHAT MAKES CHURCH, CHURCH?

To be clear, this episode isn't about pitting the two against each other. And it isn't going to tell you if one is better than the other, or if one is right and one is wrong.

We'll just leave that alone - and say that there are amazing people in both settings. And there are some less than amazing people in both settings. Sound familiar? It's a direct reflection of the world in general right? There are good people in the world and there are bad people in the world - and you get to choose which side you want to be on...

However, in both settings we are using the word "church" - so we probably need to get clear on what exactly that means...

If you ask Webster, Church is:

…a building for public and especially Christian worship
…the clergy or officialdom of a religious body
…a body or organization of religious believers
…a denomination, like the Presbyterian Church
…a public divine worship service

That's all well and good. I mean it sounds right on paper, but it's just a high-level definition.

What about elements that make up church and help define it? In other words - when someone says, "I'm part of a church." what does that mean exactly? Are there certain things that need to be present in order to call it church?

Well, according to Rick Warren in his book, The Purpose Driven Church there are 5 essential purposes of a local church:

All of them come from two places in the Bible:
The Great Commandment & The The Great Commission (Matthew 22:37-40, and Matthew 28:19-20)
- "Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
- Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
And from these two verses you get the following purposes:
1. Worship: Loving God well
2. Ministry: Loving your neighbor well
3. Fellowship: Gathering together and identifying as the Church
4. Discipleship: Teach people how to follow God
5. Mission: Telling others about God

However, this isn’t the only description of how the church should run. Some people believe in the Acts 2 Church where different things are essential:

From Acts 2:42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
So an Acts 2 Church suggests these are the essential purposes of the church:
- The Apostles Teaching (Pastors, Ministers)
- Fellowship (Gathering together)
- Eating Together
- Prayer

Then, there are those who believe in the Romans 12 Church concept:

From Romans 12:1-2: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
So the r12 Church would suggest that these are the essential purposes of the church:
- Surrendered to God
- Separate from the world’s values
- Sober in self-assessment
- Serving in love
- Supernaturally responding to evil with good

And these are just three ideas on what it really means to do "church."

But I think in reading through them we're starting to get a picture of what "church" is to most people:

There is an element connecting us to God
There is an element connecting us to other people
And there is typically an element of growth or learning to live a certain way

// 3. THE COVID-19 EFFECT

So this was our world before COVID-19. This is what church looked like:

We could typically clump churches into the big buckets: Traditional or Megachurch
We understood things like the 5 Purposes of the Church, the Acts 2 Church and the Romans 12 Church mindset
For the most part - church was done the same way
We met in a building, sang songs, took up offerings, listened to sermons and then went home
You can call it tradition, doing what works, a tried and true method, or simply the way it has always been done
Whatever way you crack it - the egg spells comfort level - it's how we did it and we liked it that way

And then COVID hit...

Now for those of you who aren't involved in church, I'll need to explain a bit further. But for everyone else - you know exactly what I'm going to say next.

Church as we knew it ended...

Quarantining, sheltering in place, no gatherings of over 50 people, no gatherings of over 10 people...

It all amounted to one thing - there was going to be no church...

And even now - as they begin to allow churches to open at 25% capacity - it still isn't church the way church was done before...

Now there is this thing called Online Church. And while there typically weren't churches that were exclusively online, most larger churches offered their services online as either live streamed events, or as on demand content.

But COVID made them rethink everything. Suddenly the live stream was the most important thing they had. And churches that failed to do it well before COVID were now in a rush to bump up their platform so it didn't crash when more than 10 people were viewing it!

But it wasn't just the churches scrambling to exist in this new COVID world. It was all of us!

For the past 10 months I have been asking myself new questions like:

What exactly is church?
Do we have to meet in person?
Can I just watch a service online once a week and call it church?
And does it have to be the whole service? Or can I just watch the message?
And what is church going to look like in the future? Will it go back to 2019 normal? Or will there be a new normal?

// 4. 2021 AND BEYOND

As the new year rolls in, and as vaccines roll out, what does the future hold for the church?

My guess is we'll see three variations:

The Returners: Churches and attendees who can't see church done any other way. For them, the minute everything opens at 100% they're back to it - doing church once a week in the big box under the steeple with the big cross on top. They may or may not offer online services again - because the important thing to them is being back to normal...2019 style...
The Non-returners: My guess is that there will be churches out there who will have to close their doors. After this long with no in-person services, and maybe failed attempts at offering online content - they'll just have to fold. And along with these churches, my guess is there will be people who will not return to church. After 10 months of not having to go to church, new habits have formed, new routines put in place. And in-person church will again be a chore, something they would have to work back into the new schedule. And then there are those with health concerns. I'm sure some will stay away from church out of fear that there are too many people in one place. Some of these people may access online content - but others may just be done. Period...
The Evolvers: And finally, there are those who will look at COVID as a wakeup call. Churches that will take all of the research, and outcomes from this event and try something new. Maybe it's offering both in-person and a full lineup of online options. Maybe it is an entirely new strategy for engagement and discipleship. But these are the ones who don't want to go back to normal. They create a new normal. Both the churches, and the people who are along for the ride. This group is asking what I'm asking. What is church? And why has it always been done the same way?

Out of the three options above, I feel badly for the Non-returners. I'm nervous for the Returners. And I'm hopeful for the Evolvers.

One of the biggest questions that came out of the past 10 months is probably this:

When we were forced to move to online church - did we still do church?
I mean did it count as church?
Did we get our attendance points?
Or was it a feeble attempt at church?
Did it fall short of being actual church?

And I think that's what I've been struggling with.

Just using the 5 Purposes from Rick Warren as a reference point for what church really is: Worship, Ministry, Fellowship, Discipleship & Mission

Is this what we’ve been doing for the past year?

Did we do all of those things online? And if not - then were we not actually doing church?

Obviously - we won't answer this question by the end of the episode.

In fact, the debate has been raging for years - ever since online church became possible - people have argued about whether or not it truly counts as church...

COVID-19 simply forced the issue - and forced churches to either adopt it, or offer their congregants nothing until the pandemic passed.

All of a sudden - nobody was debating - they were just offering online content as quickly as possible...

However, that doesn't mean the debate is over. I'm sure it will return in full force as churches move back toward in-person services.

// 5. YOU DO YOU

One big piece of this puzzle, and something we haven't addressed yet, is the issue of personality.

Based on your personality - how have you navigated church during COVID?

Are you a mess? Just waiting for 2019 normal to return?
Have you just stopped caring all together? Unsure if you'll even go back to church?
Or have you evolved? Have you found ways to continue worshiping, strengthening your faith and growing as a Christian during these difficult times?

I bring up personality simply because everyone is different. And that means we will all have a different experience.

I'll just use my wife and I as examples:

My wife is highly relational. She's an extrovert. Likes being around people. She is a 7 on the Enneagram, and likes to be out and about adventuring. For her, online church content during COVID was helpful - but was a hard transition from the in-person experience. One of the things she misses is corporate worship. Being led by a worship leader and being with a bunch of other people all singing together. When I asked her about returning to in-person services, she agreed she was looking forward to it - but also said that it didn't need to be the default - that she was more open to not going from time to time and accessing online content instead
Now I'm slightly different. I'm less relational. I'm an introvert. I'm a 1 on the Enneagram, and I enjoy down time - especially time alone where I can think, dream and create. So for me, switching to online content was a simple thing. At the beginning I would listen to services from our church exclusively - and only on the weekends. But eventually I began finding other services, and other speakers content, and would watch them randomly throughout my week. For me, being online is less of a problem. Though I do understand the need for human interaction on some level 🙂

So that's the rub - there is no right answer. Each of us connects with God in slightly different ways. So how can we figure out what our way is - and do more of that?

And...how can we do more of that while at the same time not trampling on, or discounting the way someone else chooses to do church?

You do you is a great thing - but it can be difficult in a family setting if you do you, and I'll do me mean you're never in the same place!

There has to be some give and take - a level of moderation in the way we do church in the future.

For our family I could see it being in-person church half the time, online church once in a while and even escaping into nature some weekends. Going on a hike as a family, or taking a trip up to the mountains, or going to a secluded beach for the day.

I guess what I'm saying, is I want to be an Evolver. And I want my family to be Evolvers with me. Taking steps outside our comfort zone in order to find the new normal for us.

Let’s Land the Plane:

As you go through this season - ask yourself the following questions:

What did church look like for you in 2019?
When COVID hit - how did that impact you and your church involvement?
Are you a Returner, a Non-returner or an Evolver?
Depending on your choice above - how will your decision effect you or your family?

Good questions to ask as we navigate this changing landscape.

Thanks for being with us today! My prayer for you this week is that you will think through your view of church, and decide what that means for you and your family this year.

I know in my heart that church is important. However, what it looks like in the next few years may be very different for each of us.

But as long as you're about the business of connecting with God, loving others and growing in your faith I think you're on the right track.

Until next time, have a great week, and keep Transcending Human!

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