If you don't understand what the title means, look down at the post below this one - it should help explain. I want to encourage everyone to buy the book "Jim And Casper Go To Church" - it is a refreshing perspective on churches and what we should be focusing on. Now, on with chapter one!
I thought it was interesting that the first church that Jim and Casper visit together was Saddleback. This church is kind of the poster child these days (along with Willow Creek) for the megachurch movement that has swept North American Christianity. It seems like everywhere you go, new megachurches are popping up. Even in places as obscure as Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.
The reason I bring up Idaho is because my wife's uncle and his wife attend a megachurch there. This particular church got its beginnings less than ten years ago, and this Easter they had over 12,000 people in attendance. More about them when Willow Creek comes up (fourth chapter I believe), because I want to look at the whole megachurch explosion.
I have been to Saddleback twice, both times for conferences. The first time I went, I was a youth minister at my homechurch in Colorado (presently at 3,500 attenders, which makes it a megachurch), and our entire staff went to the Purpose Driven Conference, which is essentially what Saddleback is most known for - and of course they're also known for their pastor Rick Warren and his affinity for wearing Hawaiian shirts. The purpose-driven church idea really has revolutionized the church - for good and for bad. The good is that it has given churches both big and small a structure that they can organize their ministry and mission around. The bad is that churches take the concept and make it their own without adapting it to their own demographic and culture, despite Rick Warren saying not to do so. I swear I've heard of churches that have adopted the Purpose-Driven style so "religiously", that even the senior ministers of those churches started wearing Hawaiian shirts. Scary.
The second time I went to Saddleback was for a worship conference, which I enjoyed because Saddleback is in Southern California, and since I miss the ocean (went to school out there), it gave me a lot of opportunities to reconnect with the ocean and the beach. The conference was pretty good as well.
Anyway, let's go back to Jim and Casper's visit. I thought it was very humorous that they talked about the "gauntlet" of happy greeters, because that was my very first impression. They do the exact same thing at their conferences, which made me wonder: 1) Why do pastors and church staff members need to be greeted seventeen times from the parking lot to Saddleback's front door when we're just attending a conference, and 2) Do these people have regular jobs? I mean, it was like a Thursday morning and there were people greeting. As a visitor attending Saddleback for the first time, I'm not sure I would want to be greeted by that many happy faces before getting into the worship service. When I have attended churches for the first time, I have wanted to just blend in and sneak into the door. Maybe it's just my personality or something.
I also thought it was interesting about what Jim and Casper had to say about the music at Saddleback, and this is what I want to focus on. As a worship minister, when I go to a different church, I naturally grade the music and the worship style. I wish I could just sit or stand there and enjoy the music and connect with God through the worship, but I just can't. Every once in awhile I have the opportunity to go to another church in the Dayton area, and I find myself rating the music with the same type of rating that Jim and Casper used to rate the different aspects of their experience at Saddleback (and the other churches). Here is a sample of my rating of other churches I have visited (this should be interesting, I'll star out some of the letters so you don't know what church it is, wink wink):
Sou**roo* - I gave them a 2 out of 5 when I visited them, because although I felt the worship band did pretty well musically, I felt that the worship leaders (there was a guy and a girl who alternated) were trying to be someone they really weren't style-wise (they seemed to be K-Love type worship leaders trying to be more edgy.)
**ngha*sburg - I went at a bad time because it was right before Christmas, and they had this guest worship performer-type person who sounded a lot like James Taylor, and since I don't like James Taylor, I tuned out. So a N/A out of 5 I guess.
Dayton *ine*a*d - 1 out of 5. I didn't know the songs, the worship leader was off key most of the time. Yeah, I can be cruel sometimes.
A**x - 4.5 out of 5. I liked them a lot. I think style-wise, they were the closest to our style, the band was tight, and I knew the songs.
When I went to Saddleback, I had some of the same observations as Jim and Casper regarding the music. Although it was very professionally done, it seemed too slick, too produced.
But here's the thing: Saddleback has a specific target audience. They are primarily targeting the Boomer upper-class business professional, and so it makes sense I guess that the worship style is very slick, very professional, very structured. It also makes sense why I wouldn't prefer it, because I'm not their target. Which brings us to another issue - is it right to have a target audience? (Not an issue to discuss today, however.)
Music is one of those things that is deeply personal to everyone. Churches fight all the time about worship styles and worship preferences. However, I think that Jim and Casper really hit on the main issue of worship: is it authentic and real, or is it showy? I'm not sure if that's an issue with the older generations, but I'm pretty sure that's a huge issue with my generation and the emerging generations who are younger than me. Here are a couple of quotes from this chapter about worship/music that resonated with me:
- "It's awesome. I can see Nick Lachey from here. Well, it's not really Jessica Simpson's ex, but the guy singing looks an awful lot like him."
- "That should attract people, right?" "Maybe people who like American Idol. I mean, don't get me wrong. I see the entertainment value, but when it comes to music, I like it pure. Too much polish and you lose the heartfelt power, you lose the soul of the music, and you're not gonna move anyone."
- "And the lyrics? 'Hope Changes Everything?' What does that mean? Hope changes nothing except your own feelings. Action changes everything."
We showed a video this past Sunday that pretty much encapsulated everything I ever want to say about worship. You can preview it here. It's hard to not be a critic of music when it comes to style, but I think we should be critical when it comes to authenticity and heartfeltness (if that's a word). Saddleback has the performance part down. The question is: how do you combine performance with authenticity in front of 10,000 people?
5 comments:
I'm always curious as to what draws people to such a large church. If I had 17 people greeting me...I would feel that's fake..I think alot of times in churches that large, people do want to experience the church without being noticed.
Worship is important to me because I think you can get an idea of the heart of a church I agree with you on Sou**roo*....very showy when we visited. The only other one I knew was A**x because I go there on Sat night...and I agree with you there as well...they show their hearts..and that's why I love Sou**we** :)
That video was great...esp the part where it was in big letters on the screen.."It's not about you "
Hi Adam,
Feel free to post your specific responses to the churches Jim and Casper visited on our site, under Casper's ratings (click on a specific church then click on the 'add response' link)
Here's the list of Casper's church ratings:
http://www.churchrater.com/search_book.php
Well i have been to "Soundroom" and "Ajax" and I agree with both of your critiques of them. "Soundroom" had a good sound, but they only play two or, at most three worship songs. That barely allows for the Spirit to start moving. "Ajax" has a good catalog of music and plays it all very well, but how they play seems awkward to me.
"Soundwell" has a great catalog of music, and the heart is always obviously one of humble worship, but the potential is often inconsistent. there are some very talented musicians, and some "less than talented" players. This hinders what the team can play and accomplish.
At any church, the pressure from leadership, congregation members, and band members can influence what songs are chosen and how they are played. I would love to "rock out" a lot of songs, but often remember "taming it down" a bit due to outside influences.
In my opinion, and I realize that I am biased, Soundwell would be about a 3 on this 5 point scale. several band members are very talented, some drag the band (and ultimately the ability to lead others in worship) down. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Let me answer one of the commenter's questions. Why do I go to Saddleback? It is in my neighborhood. Gee, that is not so complicated to go to a church in ones neighborhood?
Let me dispel a myth. I am not rich and I don't know a single person at Saddleback who is, sans our pastor, but he gives plenty back to his church. Yes, I happen to be a baby boomer, but the Lord blessed all our births, even us that are now disparaged because we were born in that season. The music is not what attracted me to the church, in fact, on my first visit they were piping in some nice mellow jazz music which I really found welcoming.
In all the time I've gone there, only two people have greeted me as I come in, and I think it's nice. I have not seen 17 people...but...
here's what I know. People there have good hearts and they just want to serve the Lord. Maybe more people signed up to be greeters on that particular day than there were spots.
I'm sure in heaven there's going to be lots of greeters. I'm sure more than 17. I hope there are 1000s. And I hope I'll be in the mood to shake their hands and hug them even if I die on a day I'm in a bad mood, or before I've had my Starbucks coffee.
Hi Debra,
Thanks for your comments. When I was in college, there were several people from my campus who attended Saddleback and they had nothing but praise for what goes on there.
I appreciate what you have to say about the church that you obviously love. I think that what we're talking about is not so much how a person thinks about their church once they get involved and it becomes their "family", but more about what a first time person's impressions are of that church. Obviously, once you are a part of the church, the "handshake gauntlet" that you go through to get to the church would seem really great (although my personality would still get a little wierded out by it), but as a first-timer, it can be pretty intimidating.
Again, thanks for your love for your church and I hope you understand that I'm not necessarily critiquing the church itself, but more of the viewpoint of the church from the outside.
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