ON METHOD & MESSAGEI

I serve a bi-lingual, multi-ethnic congregation in Miami, Florida. In our regular schedule are quarterly brunches that occur during our Sunday School hour. A question was asked of me this week: "Why do we continue the brunches when we lose an hour of teaching time during brunches? It gave me the chance to remind everyone in our congregation of the reasons for the brunches. The answer follows but more important is the principle behind them. They were put in place for two specific reasons.
1) To make an opportunity to bring both the English speakers and the Spanish speakers together at one time on a regular basis for fellowship. Since our English services and Spanish services are at different times, fellowship for the whole church needs to be planned and intentional.
2) To introduce new adult elective classes.

We continue them for the following reasons:
Even though a few have voiced their dislike of them, our attendance records actually show a percentage increase in attendance since we began the brunches. Percentage-wise our Sunday school (Sunday school attendance compared to worship attendance) attendance is above the national average. This is significant because the Sunday school model of the 50’s 60’s, 70’s and 80’s has been steadily declining. It’s being replaced with different educational models. As we see these cultural and church changes happen we must ask ourselves, “What is our mandate as a church?” I believe it is to uphold biblical absolutes while remaining culturally effective. We can not do that if we hold on to a past cultural model and preferences simply because that’s what we prefer.

New Testament models
Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”(1) It does not say how they did the teaching, how they fellowshipped or how they broke the bread. Remember that Sunday school was not even “invented” until the 1800’s and was at one time an “new innovation.” The 1st century church was most likely still using the synagogue educational model since the Christians were still considered a sect of the Jews for at least 30 to 60 years after Christ’s death. The book of Acts tells us they met from house to house and in the temple.

Anecdotes or Records
Anecdotally, (views based on personal observation) any of our opinions can be supported, because we all see through the prism of our own eyes. We see what we want to see. That’s one reason why we keep attendance records. They help us to see the truth that we may not want to see. Let’s be honest with ourselves. The church today is not the same church it was thirty years ago. Neither is the culture in which we serve the same. If we are to make the church into a growing, thriving church again we must do it by effectually meeting today’s cultural needs while staying true to Gods’ word.

The Need for Preferential Sacrifice
Being culturally relevant and yet scripturally true and effective requires the sacrifice of personal preferences to the goal of bringing more people to Christ. We are not here to maintain our own comfort zones. “Let’s go back to the old way” is the request I hear most often from long time church members. Many of them came into the church when it functioned in a particular way. The congregation stuck a cord with them and it became “their” congregation. They liked it or they would not have stayed and become active. Many of them unconsciously have come to associate the methods in use at that time with the message and purpose of the church. The method and the message became one in the same. I have never been in a place or time where the old adage, “we’ve never done it that way before” is more relevant than today. However, blindly claiming something is not broken (i.e. Sunday school) doesn’t make it so.

Between Method and Message
If there is a crisis in the greater body of Christ today it seems to be most visible in those congregations that have been unable to understand the difference between methods and message in our post modern society. Methods (i.e. Sunday school routines, do we continue mid-week services, home bible studies vs. at church bible studies, chorus vs. hymns, projected vs. hymnal use, chalk board vs.white board) are simply tools used to fulfill the church’s mission of taking the gospel message to the world. They in themselves are irrelevant. Many people don’t like to hear that, but it is so. The message is what is important, no matter how it is delivered.

More Changes Coming
We are making more changes in the way we do church. We want to be more responsive and more effective in delivering the Gospel to our community. To jump start this I am for and appointing a couple of “action teams” to assist me and our ministry teams. The emphasis is on both words: “Action” and “Team.” These 2 teams will be looking at our various ministries with the purpose of helping them become more relevant and more effective. They will also help to “cut the red tape and time” between ideas and implementation. I have received many, many ideas about ministry improvement and programming but I can not implement them by myself, I need effective teams to do it. The Action Teams will help me to be responsive to the mission of the church and help the ministry teams implement their specific goals.

Will all this work to revitalize our congregation? I hope so, but I can’t guarantee it. Why not? First, because this idea is different and untried (at least here at SWCC). Secondly, the church is an organism made up of volunteers, participating as they wish to or not. I can not force anyone to do what he or she does not want to do. However, I am pledging to give it my very best. I am asking the church to get on board and give it their best also. It will take all of us.
1) New International Version