April 26, 2011

This isn’t meant to be a controversial posting. I’m not trying to get people whipped up into a frenzy.

It’s just that I want to be a Pastor. I’d like to someday lead a Church. And as I train towards that goal, I can’t help be examine the way we (at least my denomination) does Church.

So I guess I’ll start by saying, if the shoe doesn’t fit… don’t wear it. If this doesn’t apply to your Church, well then it doesn’t apply.

But sometimes I wonder if we’re going about Church in a way that just doesn’t make sense.

The typical modern Church with a ‘contemporary service’ goes something like this.

Sunday School ~ 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Worship Service ~ 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Sermon ~ 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.

This will vary. Some Churches will be very loose. Sometimes the Worship Service takes over and becomes the only service. Sometimes the Sermon will run much shorter, or even longer. Some Churches on the other hand are very rigid. If it has been decided that Worship begins at 10:30AM, the Sermon begins at 11, and the service is to be done at noon, it will be done at noon on the dot without fail.

And it’s the Sermon that worries me.

I like preaching. I was born to preach. I like to think I’m not terrible at preaching. (I might even be good!) But I’m also an intelligent man, and I know what the studies say.

The typical learning adult has an attention span of about 15 minutes. After that, if you continue lecturing (and I don’t mean the bad connotation, but the denotative meaning), you will probably lose them and they won’t get anything out of it.

So why do we preach for an hour?

In fact, what studies show us is if you want someone to learn something you should make them do.

I think the Church has picked up on this some. You see a lot of powerpoint presentations going on now. But I don’t think that really is doing enough to have any real additional retention.

There’s an old statement about retaining 10% of what we hear, 20% of what we etc. and it’s actually based on misconceptions and is for the most part is wrong.

But I do know this. Everyone learns differently. Some people learn very well from a lecture. Many do not. So I find myself wondering, why do we treat Church like a school? It’s as though the Pastor is the Professor, and the parishioners are students.

It’s something that’s been bothering me for years. But I confess I’ve never found the alternative that is viable and cost effective.

Around 2005 I saw videos of multitouch screen large scale computers being demonstrated. It was new, and seemingly impossible. The potential was limitless in my mind. I could imagine having several of these in a Church so that a member could scroll through scripture, or perhaps a game could be built that demonstrates creation. They could walk through biblical lands without leaving the states. With the era of the Ipad and Android tables I see this as far more possible, but still just outside the feasible in the area of cost.

Yet I still have a hard time seeing where Church should go.

What do you think reader? Is it ok that Church’s act much like a school? A good thing? Or should it somehow be different? Am I off base? I’m left wondering and pondering this. What is the goal of Church? What is the point? And is schooltime an effective means to achieve that?

April 1, 2011

It doesn’t take long to find proof. Bad things happen to people. Look in the news and it’s everywhere. Tsunamis, earthquakes, theft, cheating, lying, disaster both natural and man-made are everywhere to be found. Look in the Bible and you can find that same list. Bad things happen. To good people. To bad people. And why? Why does it have to happen? Why does it happen?

I serve an all knowing, all powerful God who could instantly sweep away all the disasters away. Large or small, natural or not, they would be nothing to Him if He so chose.

Why does God let bad things happen if He so loves the world? Why is slavery found in the Bible? Why do some people get away with the worst of atrocities? Why are innocent people punished for things they didn’t do?

I’ve been speaking with a friend for a few hours this night. He often has described himself as an atheist. In this conversation he described himself more along the lines of seeking, of wanting to believe, but having trouble. Being skeptical. Having questions. I would describe him as a good man, and a man with the makings of an excellent Christian.

The truth is, I don’t have a perfect answer for the hard questions. I can’t write away the bad of the world and justify it so it is good. I may never have those answers. There may not even be answers in this life to those questions.

Some might say that not having an answer to these hard questions is a bad thing. Some might even say that even having these questions at all is a bad thing. If you have faith then there’s no need to question, to doubt, to wonder. Faith means not doubting doesn’t it?

No. Not really. Faith overcomes doubt. But you can’t overcome something that isn’t there. The Bible often speaks of the race. And the thing about the race is, it is still happening. It isn’t finished. The Bible has little to tell about what comes after the finish line. And much to say about the race itself. And there is no such thing as a race without struggle.

To struggle is to be human. To question is to be human. And to choose is to be human. I know that God could prevent us from doing any bad thing. But that would be preventing us from choosing. It would be removing the struggle from our lives. And that would be the same as making us not human at all.

Bad things happen. And hard questions are raised. But sometimes the point of life isn’t having the answers, but seeking them. My good friend has asked me many questions that have challenged my faith. And my faith has grown stronger from those challenges. Sometimes this good friend who is atheist does more to strengthen my relationship with God than any pastor, any evangelist, or even any book.

My friend tells me he’s earnestly seeking the truth of God. He wants to know. Need to know. That means asking the hard questions. And without yet being a Christian, I think this makes him a better Christian than I’ve ever been. I can’t wait for the day when he tells me that the final crucial step has been taken.

And so I wonder, how have the hard questions challenged you? And have they helped your faith grow? Or stifled it? What hard questions do you really struggle with and why?