...and these services are duplicated for several reasons, perhaps to accommodate for larger numbers of people who can't all fit into the auditorium at the same time or to allow for greater variance in worship styles (through music). But what if a church offered multiple services that were thematically oriented? I don't mean in terms of preaching "topic" per se, it should always at least try to be comprehensive and let the text select us rather than the other way around, but what if it differentiated in terms of the "target" audience? I apologize for the term, it's not as if we are "shooting" at them, but it does attempt to describe the mindset of a group of audience members. For example, one audience might be a group of relatively new Christians, whereas another might be seekers or pre-Christians and a third audience might consist of a group of mature Christians who have been at it awhile. Of course it would not be healthy to keep all of these groups separate all the time. We grow best when we hang around with people who are at least a little bit different and differently experienced. But, when it came to proclaiming and teaching "from the pulpit" a sermon aimed at an audience who has been around the Christian block once or twice might be totally foreign to a "seeker" audience who isn't sure about this whole Jesus thing in the first place. The idea I am exploring is this: If there is a need for different approaches to different audiences in the Body of Christ, then would it be feasible for a single church to prepare one Sunday service with a specific audience in mind and then prepare the next time-slot (service) with a different audience's disposition in mind? The upside to this is that you could potentially cast more effectively and reach more people with a message that resonates. You could also give church "junkies" a reason to stick around for both services without hearing the same message twice. The downside is that people might not want to feel labeled, they wouldn't necessarily know which service THEY were supposed to go to, and you'd have to either prepare two separate sermons or collaborate with another ministry partner that you trusted to get the job done in his or her sphere of influence. This last obstacle isn't likely to be a huge one when there are multiple, talented pastors on our team (and there are). Lastly, I honestly feel that differences in worship through music styles should NOT be reason enough to have multiple services. If we continue to foster this bifurcation of musical worship we will perpetuate the current (and perhaps growing) problem of solid Christian communities being totally unable to praise God together in music and song. If we can't even sing together, then how are we supposed to engage in healthy conversations over legitimate theological differences? I need some feedback on these two ideas (multiple audience targeting and unity in worship through music), so fire away with the responses. -Corb
...and these services are duplicated for several reasons, perhaps to accommodate for larger numbers of people who can't all fit into the auditorium at the same time or to allow for greater variance in worship styles (through music). But what if a church offered multiple services that were thematically oriented? I don't mean in terms of preaching "topic" per se, it should always at least try to be comprehensive and let the text select us rather than the other way around, but what if it differentiated in terms of the "target" audience? I apologize for the term, it's not as if we are "shooting" at them, but it does attempt to describe the mindset of a group of audience members. For example, one audience might be a group of relatively new Christians, whereas another might be seekers or pre-Christians and a third audience might consist of a group of mature Christians who have been at it awhile.
ReplyDeleteOf course it would not be healthy to keep all of these groups separate all the time. We grow best when we hang around with people who are at least a little bit different and differently experienced. But, when it came to proclaiming and teaching "from the pulpit" a sermon aimed at an audience who has been around the Christian block once or twice might be totally foreign to a "seeker" audience who isn't sure about this whole Jesus thing in the first place.
The idea I am exploring is this: If there is a need for different approaches to different audiences in the Body of Christ, then would it be feasible for a single church to prepare one Sunday service with a specific audience in mind and then prepare the next time-slot (service) with a different audience's disposition in mind?
The upside to this is that you could potentially cast more effectively and reach more people with a message that resonates. You could also give church "junkies" a reason to stick around for both services without hearing the same message twice.
The downside is that people might not want to feel labeled, they wouldn't necessarily know which service THEY were supposed to go to, and you'd have to either prepare two separate sermons or collaborate with another ministry partner that you trusted to get the job done in his or her sphere of influence. This last obstacle isn't likely to be a huge one when there are multiple, talented pastors on our team (and there are).
Lastly, I honestly feel that differences in worship through music styles should NOT be reason enough to have multiple services. If we continue to foster this bifurcation of musical worship we will perpetuate the current (and perhaps growing) problem of solid Christian communities being totally unable to praise God together in music and song.
If we can't even sing together, then how are we supposed to engage in healthy conversations over legitimate theological differences?
I need some feedback on these two ideas (multiple audience targeting and unity in worship through music), so fire away with the responses.
-Corb