Today and tomorrow, worship services will happen. And some people will get upset. They’ll be mad because the services aren’t in the style that they would choose [usually a style from years gone by]. You know what? That’s OK.
Don’t cave in and live in the past, but move forward with kindness and gentleness. Most of the dissatisfied people aren’t jerks, they’re just people who had a profound spiritual experience at some point, and “imprinted” there. They started equating what the church was like at that time [that pastor, that worship style, the look and feel of the building, etc…] with what is “good.”
That’s a normal thing that humans do – in many areas of our lives. I grew up in Wisconsin and would often attend Milwaukee Brewers games. We would go to every opening day [even in a sleet storm, one year]. The Brewers played at County Stadium, which was built back in the 1950’s. The stadium was woefully outdated, and was torn down after being replaced by Miller Park. The new stadium was better in every way, hands down. But I still missed the old one.
I had built memories there…
I understood the need for the new stadium. I enjoyed the upgrades. And I had to admit that – were I in charge of the club – I would have torn down County Stadium. But, as I said, I still missed it… Church is like that, too. When you hear those complaints and comments, realize that they are really not aimed at you. It’s simply people who miss what went before…
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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