It seems that no matter what church I attend, I always have the same problem. I always find myself bored to the point where I struggle to stay awake.
The traditional church model may need to be reinvented, at least partially. It was designed for a time when everyone had Sunday off, all the stores were closed, and there were far less distractions in our lives such as the internet.
We have seen some reinvention occur with groups such as Hillsong Worship which primarily use music as a means of worshipping God. Many evangelicals have criticized outfits like Hillsong. They’ve said that music isn’t worship. I say… Why not? Hillsong calibrates in the low 400s, slightly lower than most Christian churches but still pretty good. If it brings new people to Christianity, we should be cheering this on. We should be cheering for any new experimentation that occurs as long as it has integrity.
The biggest problem with the typical church service seems to be a lack of charismatic ministers. The church no longer has a captive audience like it did in the past. It needs leaders who can draw people into the pews.
It is telling that the rise of female ministers has coincided with a steep decline in church attendance. This won’t be popular to say, but men are generally better suited to be in leadership positions than women. It is simply human nature that we tend to turn to men for leadership. It would be wise to follow Paul’s counsel and only allow men to take on these roles (1 Timothy 2:12).
Another serious problem is the presentation. Many presentations fail to connect with most of their audience. As to why this happens, you need to understand that there are three specific learning modes: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.
45 percent of people are visual-oriented. They learn and respond best to visual images. 45 percent of people are auditory-oriented. They learn and respond best to what they hear. The other 10 percent are kinesthetic. These people are more feeling-oriented (I fall into this category).
Which mode of learning does the church primarily service use? Auditory. This means that the way the church teaches only appeals to 45 percent of the audience. Everyone else will struggle to connect with what is being said.
So what is the solution? It would be wise for a church service to use video as much as possible, for only video is able to employ the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic all at once. Churches should use video to assist in teaching Bible lessons. They could also show scenes from movies when trying to make specific points.
They should also consider using video rather than the traditional church choir. The sad truth is that most church choirs aren’t particularly good. Using videos of songs that are well-performed would not only be easier than having a live choir but would probably enhance the entire church service. Live music can still be a big draw, of course. It just needs to be well-performed.
Video should also be used in Sunday School. I remember being bored to death during all my years in Sunday School. Because I am the kinesthetic type, an auditory presentation never appealed to me. I might have gotten a lot more out of church than I did if a different approach had been taken.
More and more people today are content to practice Christianity without the traditional church. Ultimately, the church will need to raise its game if it wants to not only survive but thrive.
The traditional church model may need to be reinvented, at least partially. It was designed for a time when everyone had Sunday off, all the stores were closed, and there were far less distractions in our lives such as the internet.
We have seen some reinvention occur with groups such as Hillsong Worship which primarily use music as a means of worshipping God. Many evangelicals have criticized outfits like Hillsong. They’ve said that music isn’t worship. I say… Why not? Hillsong calibrates in the low 400s, slightly lower than most Christian churches but still pretty good. If it brings new people to Christianity, we should be cheering this on. We should be cheering for any new experimentation that occurs as long as it has integrity.
The biggest problem with the typical church service seems to be a lack of charismatic ministers. The church no longer has a captive audience like it did in the past. It needs leaders who can draw people into the pews.
It is telling that the rise of female ministers has coincided with a steep decline in church attendance. This won’t be popular to say, but men are generally better suited to be in leadership positions than women. It is simply human nature that we tend to turn to men for leadership. It would be wise to follow Paul’s counsel and only allow men to take on these roles (1 Timothy 2:12).
Another serious problem is the presentation. Many presentations fail to connect with most of their audience. As to why this happens, you need to understand that there are three specific learning modes: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.
45 percent of people are visual-oriented. They learn and respond best to visual images. 45 percent of people are auditory-oriented. They learn and respond best to what they hear. The other 10 percent are kinesthetic. These people are more feeling-oriented (I fall into this category).
Which mode of learning does the church primarily service use? Auditory. This means that the way the church teaches only appeals to 45 percent of the audience. Everyone else will struggle to connect with what is being said.
So what is the solution? It would be wise for a church service to use video as much as possible, for only video is able to employ the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic all at once. Churches should use video to assist in teaching Bible lessons. They could also show scenes from movies when trying to make specific points.
They should also consider using video rather than the traditional church choir. The sad truth is that most church choirs aren’t particularly good. Using videos of songs that are well-performed would not only be easier than having a live choir but would probably enhance the entire church service. Live music can still be a big draw, of course. It just needs to be well-performed.
Video should also be used in Sunday School. I remember being bored to death during all my years in Sunday School. Because I am the kinesthetic type, an auditory presentation never appealed to me. I might have gotten a lot more out of church than I did if a different approach had been taken.
More and more people today are content to practice Christianity without the traditional church. Ultimately, the church will need to raise its game if it wants to not only survive but thrive.