The Show

I read Seth this morning and just wanted to add my own riff to the pile. He says,

It’s easy to get hung up on whether it’s appropriate to put on a show when it comes to airport security or eating at your restaurant or attending your church. But I think it’s more interesting to get past that discussion and instead wonder, “If we’re going to put on a show, how could we do it better?” Starbucks and Disney have both made billions doing just that.

OK…for just a moment I’m going to do what Seth warns against…I’m going to get “hung up” on whether it’s appropriate for a church to put on a show for its congregants.

In the last six years or so, I’ve had the chance to attend lots of different churches, meeting in lots of different venues, all with their own unique feel and personality. And…all with their own show. Even the ones who pretend not to be putting on a show are putting on a show.

So…right or wrong? What place does entertainment have in our church services? I suppose if you bill yourself as a “seeker-friendly” church, you are always going to have to have those elements in your service designed to attract and retain a certain amount of people.

Further, I suppose if you go to a traditional denominational church, one of the reasons you attend is because the comfort of familiarity. You know what the show is going to be…you count on it. You welcome it.

But does that make it right? Somehow, it all seems so wrong to me. It seems that when it comes to encountering the God of the universe, it seems a bit pretentious to think that we need to add anything at all. What’s the deal with the lights and the fog and the media show? I believe these are just modern day high ceilings, stone carvings, stained glass and satin banners. They really are nothing more than a vain attempt to create a super-natural experience. Man’s attempt to reach God, to create a Heaven-like atmosphere.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe that we are in desperate need of meaningful experiences in our life. The more we things we experience the more bland our life seems to be. We have become junkies for the WOW factor. We’ve lost the sense of wonder at quiet.

I believe if churches spent less time and money on creating an artificial reality with lights, fog and music and worked harder at really connecting with people I believe they’d find much more success and a greater degree of fulfillment. To chase the elusive WOW factor is to give in to the consumer driven church.

We serve the King of Kings. He deserves our best but He doesn’t require the show. He is the show.