Alexander Green

Want Millennials Back In The Pews? Stop Trying To Make Church ‘Cool.’

Rachel Held Evans explains why 59% of people ages 18 to 29 with a Christian background have, at some point, dropped out.

Bass reverberates through the auditorium floor as a heavily bearded worship leader pauses to invite the congregation, bathed in the light of two giant screens, to tweet using #JesusLives. The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafts in from the lobby, where you can order macchiatos and purchase mugs boasting a sleek church logo. The chairs are comfortable, and the music sounds like something from the top of the charts. At the end of the service, someone will win an iPad.

This, in the view of many churches, is what millennials like me want. And no wonder pastors think so. Church attendance has plummeted among young adults. In the United States, 59 percent of people ages 18 to 29 with a Christian background have, at some point, dropped out. According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, among those of us who came of age around the year 2000, a solid quarter claim no religious affiliation at all, making my generation significantly more disconnected from faith than members of Generation X were at a comparable point in their lives and twice as detached as baby boomers were as young adults.

In response, many churches have sought to lure millennials back by focusing on style points: cooler bands, hipper worship, edgier programming, impressive technology. Yet while these aren’t inherently bad ideas and might in some cases be effective, they are not the key to drawing millennials back to God in a lasting and meaningful way. Young people don’t simply want a better show. And trying to be cool might be making things worse.

You’re just as likely to hear the words “market share” and “branding” in church staff meetings these days as you are in any corporate office. Megachurches such as Saddleback in Lake Forest, Calif., and Lakewood in Houston have entire marketing departments devoted to enticing new members. Kent Shaffer of ChurchRelevance.com routinely ranks the best logos and Web sites and offers strategic counsel to organizations like Saddleback and LifeChurch.tv.

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Who Invented the Piano? And Why Was He Forgotten?

The piano is one of those inventions that’s hard to think of as an invention because it’s just always been … there. When you do think about someone actually inventing it, it’s hard not to wonder: why haven’t I heard of this person before? And why isn’t his name plastered on every piano in existence?

Bartolomeo Cristofori, who celebrates his 360th birthday May 4th, is generally credited with being the sole inventor of the piano. The fact that his name is largely forgotten is a reflection of his times, when a genius could be just another employee.

The first official record of the piano appears in 1700, though Cristofori may have been working on it for a couple of years before then. Cristofori’s most recognizable piano dates later, to 1720. But more important than the date was the step forward the piano represented.

At the time, the harpsichord was the dominant keyboard instrument. The biggest problem was that it couldn’t play notes with differing degrees of softness. To play a note, a tiny device called a plectrum plucked a string, and the note played. There wasn’t an easy way to modify the sound and give it additional nuance. Though there were some hacks (and other instruments) that tried to fix the problem, they never worked well enough.

The piano was clearly indebted to the harpsichord — in early records, Cristofori called the piano an Arpicembalo, which means “harp-harpsichord,” and he frequently worked on and invented other harpsichord-like devices. But the piano took one big step beyond that instrument by using a hammer instead of plucking a string. That allowed for a better modulation of volume thanks to its hammers and dampers, which could more artfully manipulate sound than the plucking motion of the harpsichord.

The earliest surviving piano, from 1721, is still around, and it’s clear it was a transitional instrument: there are hints of the harpsichord in its sound. As the Metropolitan Museum of Art notes, it had a narrower range, thinner strings, and harder hammers than modern pianos, which are part of the reason it sounds a bit like a harpsichord.

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Nine Traits of Church Bullies

Church bullies are common in many churches. They wreak havoc and create dissension. They typically must have an “enemy” in the church, because they aren’t happy unless they are fighting a battle. They tend to maneuver to get an official leadership position in the church, such as chairman of the elders or deacons or treasurer. But they may have bully power without any official position.

Church bullies have always been around. But they seem to be doing their work more furiously today than in recent history. Perhaps this look at nine traits of church bullies can help us recognize them before they do too much damage.

  1. They do not recognize themselves as bullies. To the contrary, they see themselves as necessary heroes sent to save the church from her own self.
  2. They have personal and self-serving agendas. They have determined what “their” church should look like. Any person or ministry or program that is contrary to their perceived ideal church must be eliminated.
  3. They seek to form power alliances with weak members in the church. They will pester and convince groups, committees, and persons to be their allies in their cause. Weaker church staff members and church members will succumb to their forceful personalities.
  4. They tend to have intense and emotional personalities. These bullies use the intensity of their personalities to get their way.

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1 Dead, 20 Sick After Eating Church Potluck

One person has died and at least 20 others were sick with symptoms of foodborne Botulism following a weekend church potluck in Ohio, hospital officials said on Tuesday.

The Fairfield Medical Center said in a statement that the patients, five of whom were in a critical condition, had all attended a picnic at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster on Sunday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had sent anti-toxin to treat the sick, the hospital said, while local health officials investigated the cause of the outbreak.

Botulism is a rare but potentially fatal paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by certain bacteria, according to the CDC.

Symptoms include drooping eyelids, slurred speech and muscle weakness, which can progress to paralysis of the limbs and respiratory muscles, the CDC said.

The hospital said Botulism is not contagious, so there is no threat to the public at-large or people at the hospital. Symptoms generally begin showing up within 36 hours of eating the contaminated food, but can start as many as 10 days after, the hospital said.

Serving the Senior Pastor: Paul Baloche

In this WorshipU video, Paul Baloche shares his experience of serving at the same church in Lindale, Texas for over 23 years under four different Senior Pastors.

How To Use Timeless Songs In Your Worship Setlists

Gary Durbin looks for three qualities:

As constructing a sermon is to a pastor, so constructing a worship set is to a worship leader. You want to have solid content and memorable hooks that will stick with your church as they walk away.

For a worship leader, song selection is a very important and delicate, weekly task.

I don’t view myself as an entertainer, therefore I want my church to be able to easily engage, participate and sing the songs every week. That being said, I try to select SINGABLE songs! Novel idea, right? It doesn’t sound very profound, but it seems to be somewhat of a lost art.

What I’ve found is that the songs that seem to be the most accessible for the church are those songs that are timeless. They are those new or old songs that have that timeless, ageless quality. Timeless songs are songs that could have been written this week or 300 years ago. If we as worship leaders embrace them, I believe we can more effectively help our churches embrace God in corporate worship.

Here’s some qualities I look for in a timeless song:

1. SIMPLE MELODY – Think of the most popular songs that have been passed down from generation to generation. Most of them have a memorable, simple melody line. The melody is the key to a great song. The more complicated the melody, the harder it is to sing. I’m not saying that every great song has a simple melody, but if you want most of the people in your church to sing a song, a simple melody will enable that greatly. I was in a work shop at the National Worship Leader Conference one year, when I heard Nathan Nockels critiquing a song. He talked about keeping the melody simple, which means to limit the fluctuation in the notes of the melody line. I think the reason the Beatles’ songs have stood the test of time so well is because of their gift for writing memorable, yet simple melodies. It doesn’t have to be complicated to be great and when it’s simple, more people will be able to sing it. Keep it simple!

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Three Portable Church Sound Systems for Every Budget

Brian Gowing created this list around budgets and skill sets:

Do you load in and load out your system every weekend? Does your church meet in a school, movie theater, community center, or other location that requires the church to provide the gear?

There are three categories of portable audio system and there’s nothing wrong with being in the first one – everyone starts somewhere.  Consider each a custom system:

  • Bare-bones minimalist (1)
  • Value-oriented (2)
  • Future-growth optimized (3)

The differences between the 3 options are simple:

  • Option 1 is geared to get something in the church with the knowledge that due to the extreme budget constraints, is only going to last until the church grows to the point where they can afford a proper system.
  • Option 2 is geared toward a church that’s in the second phase of their development, which while having tithes coming in, doesn’t leave much room for equipment.
  • Option 3 is for the decently-funded church that’s close to getting into a permanent space and wants to plan for the future or for a church that is looking to expand into a secondary venue.

You can make arguments that Option 1 and 2 are throwing money away but the reality of those churches in these situations is that if they didn’t get the most affordable option available they wouldn’t have a sound system.  Also, keep in mind that as a church grows it will need more than one sound system so these options are geared to being re-purposed in different rooms.

OPTION 1: Bare-Bones Minimalist.

Budget: $1,000 – $3,000 (if you’re lucky).

Avoid purchasing used equipment.  Used equipment means you’re rolling the dice. As tempting as it is to purchase, keep in mind that NEW equipment comes with warranties and you’ll definitely want those.

Portable Sound System (two types):

Speakers:

  • Mackie Thump, SRM, QSC K, JBL Eon, Yamaha MSR, EV ELX
  • Price range: $299 – $499 per speaker

In-Ear Monitors:

  • Rolls PM, Behringer HA, Art HeadAmp
  • Price range: $25 – $39 per monitor. Don’t forget the cables to go to the snake!

Audio Snake:

Microphones:

  • Shure, Sennheiser, Samson (incredible bang for the buck), Audix
  • Price range: $49 – $99.

Wireless Mic:

Power Protection:

  • Rack-mountable Furman or similar power distribution unit. You’ve got a lot of expensive equipment to protect. Plug everything in the booth into this. Don’t use it for the speakers but get a Furman on-stage surge protector for those.

Brand and Model Notes

While I would love nothing better than to recommend pro-level manufacturers and models, the fact is cash-strapped churches can’t afford them. So, in the interest of outfitting these less-fortunate ones, I listed several brands and models can be found in any online or MI (music instrument) store – I have experience with them and while they aren’t near as good as the mainstream pro-level stuff, they are solid enough and quality enough that they serve this model of church well.

There are brands and models I deliberately avoid recommending, even if they are cheap, because the build and sonic quality are as cheap as the prices.

Warning

One other thing that porta-churches fail to consider is that someone is going to be humping all the equipment in and out of a building every week. Think of it like you’re touring and every week you’re setting up and tearing down. Compactness and lightness are your friends. Get solid road cases for everything so the equipment lasts. Don’t get a big mixer because someone knows someone who has a used one for cheap. Setting that up every week will get old really quickly.

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What Kind of Media Director Does Your Church or Ministry Need?

Phil Cooke offers a simple guide to help you find the right person:

Most pastors, evangelists, and ministry leaders have a vision for media, but aren’t sure how to make that vision happen. The key to success is hiring the right person to create, shape, and lead your media outreach. In most cases where an organization is floundering, it’s because they’ve hired the wrong leader, who’s incapable of building an outreach to match the leader’s vision. To keep that from happening in your ministry, use this simple guide to help you find the right person at the right experience and salary level to make your media ministry a success:

The “Techie” Person –

Employment – Can be a freelancer or fulltime employee. Salary range – low.
Experience – Little to none. Sometimes, just a passion for electronics is enough. In other situations, someone from a local radio or TV station will work.

Expertise – Mostly a “techie” type person. Knows a little about video and/or audio, can generally shoot a video camera, do simple editing, and set up video screens, projectors, and audio gear. This is an important person on your team, because he knows a little about a lot of different things – but isn’t a real expert at anything. He’s your “all around” guy.

Best Use – To help you get started on a local basis. If you have a low budget, he or she’s probably your best bet. You can pay him or her on a part time or freelance basis, or per project. If the person’s a church member, better yet. Perhaps they could do it on a volunteer basis as part of their personal ministry.

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