Wednesday, April 23, 2008
What's Happening in Lakeland?
re·viv·al (rĭ-vī'vəl) n.
1. The act or an instance of reviving.
2. The condition of being revived.
3. A time of reawakened interest in religion.
4. A meeting or series of meetings for the purpose of reawakening religious faith, often characterized by impassioned preaching and public testimony.
The word revival is used a little too flippantly among Christians, yet the intent is usually pure. We want to see the Holy Spirit changing lives. We want to see Him healing bodies, hearts and lives to the point that people are never the same. Obviously, our desire is to have this happen as part of our daily lives—to walk as Jesus did, following the Father's lead and leaving a trail of signs, wonders and miracles. Yet when this happens in a remarkable fashion, for a remarkable length of time, we label it as a revival.
That same element of time will tell whether what's going on in Lakeland, Fla., is a revival. One thing is clear, though: God is moving. Check out the on-the-scene reports from my coworkers at Charisma and from the local media. GOD TV has been broadcasting the evening services live, and you can watch archived streaming videos here. I'm sure I'll blog more about what's been dubbed as the "Florida Healing Revival" or the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring" as or if it continues. But for now I'll simply echo the phrase used countless times during my days with the Vineyard movement (which also knew a thing or two about revival): "More, Lord!"
1. The act or an instance of reviving.
2. The condition of being revived.
3. A time of reawakened interest in religion.
4. A meeting or series of meetings for the purpose of reawakening religious faith, often characterized by impassioned preaching and public testimony.
The word revival is used a little too flippantly among Christians, yet the intent is usually pure. We want to see the Holy Spirit changing lives. We want to see Him healing bodies, hearts and lives to the point that people are never the same. Obviously, our desire is to have this happen as part of our daily lives—to walk as Jesus did, following the Father's lead and leaving a trail of signs, wonders and miracles. Yet when this happens in a remarkable fashion, for a remarkable length of time, we label it as a revival.
That same element of time will tell whether what's going on in Lakeland, Fla., is a revival. One thing is clear, though: God is moving. Check out the on-the-scene reports from my coworkers at Charisma and from the local media. GOD TV has been broadcasting the evening services live, and you can watch archived streaming videos here. I'm sure I'll blog more about what's been dubbed as the "Florida Healing Revival" or the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring" as or if it continues. But for now I'll simply echo the phrase used countless times during my days with the Vineyard movement (which also knew a thing or two about revival): "More, Lord!"
Monday, April 07, 2008
Building Better?
LifeWay Research released a fascinating survey today on church buildings that may come as bad news to many pastors. Turns out the "unchurched" don't necessarily go for churches turning contemporary—at least not when it comes to architectural style.
Researchers showed 1,684 adults—all of whom essentially hadn't been to church in the previous six months—four pictures of church buildings with various architectural styles. By more than a two-to-one ratio, participants opted for the Gothic cathedral building over more contemporary options. Just as surprising was that the unchurched repeated this preference for the traditional in choosing among various foyers and worship centers. In fact, the run-of-the-mill contemporary sanctuary with multiple projection screens and stadium seating actually came in dead-last, as did the wide-open, family friendly foyer.
Obviously, this is both startling and a little upsetting for thousands of pastors who have ridden the wave of church design and construction that says a less "churchy" building is a bigger draw. But before all you old-timers start saying "I told you so," let's dig a little deeper on both the research and the results:
Researchers showed 1,684 adults—all of whom essentially hadn't been to church in the previous six months—four pictures of church buildings with various architectural styles. By more than a two-to-one ratio, participants opted for the Gothic cathedral building over more contemporary options. Just as surprising was that the unchurched repeated this preference for the traditional in choosing among various foyers and worship centers. In fact, the run-of-the-mill contemporary sanctuary with multiple projection screens and stadium seating actually came in dead-last, as did the wide-open, family friendly foyer.
Obviously, this is both startling and a little upsetting for thousands of pastors who have ridden the wave of church design and construction that says a less "churchy" building is a bigger draw. But before all you old-timers start saying "I told you so," let's dig a little deeper on both the research and the results:
- Consider the exterior options. Aside from the cathedral, the other three church buildings presented were not (in my opinion) necessarily cutting edge or wildly contemporary. None were refurbished warehouses, I.M. Pei lookalikes or emblems of innovation. Given the selection, I'm not sure I would've voted for any of these three either. To a degree, they reek of mass production rather than the artistry so often shown in a cathedral.
- At the same time, this speaks volumes about our cultural and spiritual climate. Through all the mile-long shopping malls, Super-Duper Wal-Marts, and megachurches, people are still hungry for intimacy and community, even as it's reflected in architecture. One respondent even mentioned wanting an "intimacy that's transcendent." Isn't it interested how the tables have seemingly turned? What was previously considered a cold, detached worship environment may now be seen as a warm, inviting locale for tight-knit communion.
- Remember, these are unchurched adults. Just because they prefer the look of a church building doesn't mean they're more likely to actually show up in that building. I'm not trying to be a complete cynic here, but the reality is church buildings rarely draw people. Sure, they can facilitate a connection, and they can certainly make for a smoother transition (i.e., not be a detraction). But even LifeWay's survey found that 36 percent—the largest segment—of respondents said the design of a church building makes no difference in how much they enjoy their time there. It's an eternal truth: The church is people.
One of the keys to this study was the underlying question asked by Cornerstone Knowledge Network (CKN), the company that solicited LifeWay Research. Here's what one CKN representative had to say: "Despite billions being spent on church buildings, there was an overall decline in church attendance in the 1990s. This led CKN to ask, 'As church builders what can we do to help church leaders be more intentional about reaching people who don't go to church?'"
We would do well to continue asking similar questions, even when the results aren't what we'd hoped for. Especially when they're not what we hoped for.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Church MythBusters
My brother-in-law is fascinated with urban legends. His DVR is loaded with every episode of MythBusters ever made. He's always finding new sites on the Internet that reveal the absolute truth behind some far-fetched tale. So I'm guessing he would get a kick out of two statistics released this week, and how they shed light on a couple of church myths.
Myth #1: 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce, whether you're a Christian or not.
False, and false again. How many of us have heard a pastor use this in a sermon/rant about how bad things have become? Maybe you've even used it too. I've heard this all of my adult life, and not until the past few years (after a little digging) did I discovered how badly skewed this morbid statistic is. I won't go into all the details, but somewhere along the line—probably in the late 1970s, when the overall number of divorces really started booming—this urban legend got started. Some explanations account for the fact that when you look at the sheer number of marriages and divorces in a single year, there's a virtual two-to-one ratio. The problem is, however, this doesn't factor in all the millions of marriages still existing. Bad stat.
The Barna Group's latest study echoes this with a relatively small sampling of 5,000-plus Americans. Thirty-three percent of those polled had been divorced at least once. Among born-again Christians, that rate essentially remained the same (32 percent), while for evangelicals it dipped slightly (26 percent). Is this difference enough to prove that a walk with God automatically makes you divorce-proof? Of course not. But it also echoes the fact that significantly less—about half, in fact—people are getting divorced than what you hear.
Myth #2: Muslims are taking over the world.
OK, maybe I'm exaggerating this myth a bit, but it's the sense you get once again from many misinformed pulpits. There is some definite truth to the feeling that the Muslim world is expanding. It is, and at a rate that should prompt every Christian to a renewed level of awareness and action. You know something's going on when even the Vatican is announcing that it is "no longer at the top" and that "Muslims have overtaken us." It should be clarified that by "us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti means Catholics, who comprise 17.4 percent of the world's population. His big announcement was that Muslims have now surpassed that mark, making up 19.2 percent of the world.
Once again, let's keep some perspective on things. Although there are an estimated 1.3 billion Islamic believers worldwide, this still ranks second to Christianity at large, which, factoring in the multitude of various denominations and groupings, tops the 2 billion mark. That's about 33 percent of the earth's population. Again, I don't mean to downplay the impressive growth of Muslims in the past several years, but I also don't want to see another "wow" statistic misinterpreted.
Bottom line: Put on an investigator's hat before spouting a startling and oh-so-sexy pass-along statistic. That's hard as a pastor, given the limited time you usually have to do such research. It's much easier to just echo everyone else's latest shock tool, and it's certainly more effective in hammering home a point about the need for Jesus, revival, social revolution, etc. But given our statistic-frenzied culture, the real revolution may start with telling the truth rather than skewing it.
Myth #1: 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce, whether you're a Christian or not.
False, and false again. How many of us have heard a pastor use this in a sermon/rant about how bad things have become? Maybe you've even used it too. I've heard this all of my adult life, and not until the past few years (after a little digging) did I discovered how badly skewed this morbid statistic is. I won't go into all the details, but somewhere along the line—probably in the late 1970s, when the overall number of divorces really started booming—this urban legend got started. Some explanations account for the fact that when you look at the sheer number of marriages and divorces in a single year, there's a virtual two-to-one ratio. The problem is, however, this doesn't factor in all the millions of marriages still existing. Bad stat.
The Barna Group's latest study echoes this with a relatively small sampling of 5,000-plus Americans. Thirty-three percent of those polled had been divorced at least once. Among born-again Christians, that rate essentially remained the same (32 percent), while for evangelicals it dipped slightly (26 percent). Is this difference enough to prove that a walk with God automatically makes you divorce-proof? Of course not. But it also echoes the fact that significantly less—about half, in fact—people are getting divorced than what you hear.
Myth #2: Muslims are taking over the world.
OK, maybe I'm exaggerating this myth a bit, but it's the sense you get once again from many misinformed pulpits. There is some definite truth to the feeling that the Muslim world is expanding. It is, and at a rate that should prompt every Christian to a renewed level of awareness and action. You know something's going on when even the Vatican is announcing that it is "no longer at the top" and that "Muslims have overtaken us." It should be clarified that by "us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti means Catholics, who comprise 17.4 percent of the world's population. His big announcement was that Muslims have now surpassed that mark, making up 19.2 percent of the world.
Once again, let's keep some perspective on things. Although there are an estimated 1.3 billion Islamic believers worldwide, this still ranks second to Christianity at large, which, factoring in the multitude of various denominations and groupings, tops the 2 billion mark. That's about 33 percent of the earth's population. Again, I don't mean to downplay the impressive growth of Muslims in the past several years, but I also don't want to see another "wow" statistic misinterpreted.
Bottom line: Put on an investigator's hat before spouting a startling and oh-so-sexy pass-along statistic. That's hard as a pastor, given the limited time you usually have to do such research. It's much easier to just echo everyone else's latest shock tool, and it's certainly more effective in hammering home a point about the need for Jesus, revival, social revolution, etc. But given our statistic-frenzied culture, the real revolution may start with telling the truth rather than skewing it.
