I got this in an email today. What do you think? Which ones would you agree with?
“10 Wishes from a Pew Sitter
At the start of a new year, as a pew-sitter, I have a few wishes for the church leaders I know and love:
- Banish the “stand and greet your neighbor” time in the worship service. I know your intentions are good, but it’s forced, fruitless and goofy.
- Forget everything they taught you about three-point sermons. You’re wildly successful if you can get across one point. Just one point. Then sit down.
- Get out and spend time with real people. Schedule lunches at your members’ workplaces and schools. Listen. Get a feel for how real people live.
- Encourage regular evaluation. Use comment cards. Ask us what we remember from last week’s sermon. Then take us seriously, and adjust.
- Crank down the volume of the band. Allow us to actually hear the voices of the flock.
- Burn the fill-in-the-blank sermon guides. They’re insulting, distracting and ineffective. (Can you imagine Jesus using them? Let’s see, “Feed my _______.”)
- Show hospitality. Encourage people to enjoy a cup of coffee-during the service.
- Let us participate. Entertain our questions-during the service. Let the real people around us tell how God is working in their lives.
- Relax. Make some real friends. Spend more time with your family. Don’t schedule every evening with church meetings.
- Get rid of the pews. Really.”
From Thom Schultz of Group Publishing.
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Filed under: Personal Tagged: | Ministry, Pew Sitter, Worship Service
