We have something for everyone (to get grumpy about)

7 Responses to “We have something for everyone (to get grumpy about)”

1. Dave Rattigan says:
   

   “But surely every church does this.”

   There’s some truth in that. The Saddleback phenomenon exemplifies a very common phenomenon, albeit to the point where it looks like a parody. But is that a reason to shrug our shoulders and refuse to get “grumpy” over it? I’d like to kick up a stink about this tendency to segregate. And that includes the segregation of oldies and “yoofth” (which I did address).

   September 15th, 2005 at 1:04 pm
2. Dave says:
   

   But is it not more realistic, perhaps even honest, to admit that people don’t all like to do the same thing as everyone else all the time?

   Are there not other ways the church can be ‘one’ without needing to be all together in one place on a Sunday morning or whatever time you choose.

   If there’s no segregation of differnet age for instance surely what you end up with is just a ‘family service’, quite often the worst of all worlds.

   And if there’s no segregation of worship style who decides what the chosen style is? Or does one alternate and so everyone only has what they are comfortable with every few weeks? Surely all that happens is that people go off and find another church.

   September 15th, 2005 at 1:18 pm
3. Phil Goodacre says:
   

   As long as we think about ‘church’ and ‘worship’ as the stuff we do on a Sunday morning, then we’re always gonna be struggling to please everybody….

   Churches have different house groups where groups of friends etc come together to study the Bible (perhaps), in a way which is right to them.

   People live lives of worship at work, in school, on the sports pitch, through music.

   We have to accept that people are different, and will worship, and will join together in worship in many different ways. But we can be a church together. Can’t we? Do we need to have one service which everyone comes to, in order to be church, or is church made up by the interlinking networks of peoeple who make up the local, possibly geogrpahical, community?

   I ask these questions not pretending to be ignorant, but in reality thinking I have the answer. I genuinely think that this question of different services and styles, could be looked at in the context of the wider question of what church is….

   September 15th, 2005 at 4:31 pm
4. Dave says:
   

   Phil, I think I agree entirely. But what the other bloggers that I’ve linked to seem to be saying is that we do need to get everyone along to one service.

   September 15th, 2005 at 6:10 pm
5. joeturner says:
   

   I think the problem is that some people are getting a bit sick of seeing Rick Warren all over the shop. For example he was apparently speaking at the United Nations in the week (why?).

   And this (lets face it – blatent hatred) boils over into pointing and laughing.

   People get a bit offended that just become someone can create a massive church with multiple worship channels (or whatever they are called) they think that gives him the right to tell everyone else how to ‘do church’. Cheese on legs.

   But y’know you don’t have to take any notice.

   September 15th, 2005 at 7:32 pm
6. Dave says:
   

   Joe, yes, I think you’re right. I was beginning to realise that Rick Warren is behind a lot of the sentiment. He doesn’t figure particularly largely on my radar I have to say. But then my radar only functions during daytime in good visibility.

   I was just saying on a comments thread that I think I had one of his books. I didn’t read it though.

   September 15th, 2005 at 11:34 pm
7. Simo says:
   

   This is an interesting subject and as much as it think it is great to bring the whole church together it is often impractical, If I were to suggest to my young people that we cancelled all the groups for a month and joined the services there would be outcry not only from the young people but also from those who don’t want them in the service because they distract from ‘real worship’ which just makes me want to start writing rude words. The thing is as people we are all different, the church is the only place that tries to bring everybody one thing for all and we usually fail, perhaps, just perhaps when we all get it into our heads that we go to church to worship God and that it is all about him rather than about the type of thing I like on a Sunday morning, then we might be at a stage we can all come together. I think at the moment we stand about as much chance of catching that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as we do of finding a service that ‘works’ for the whole of our church community every week, and this is of course we begin to think about our mood changes, you know sometime I like 1662, other times I would rather gnaw off my own leg!

   September 16th, 2005 at 10:54 am