Let's overturn these tables

In some churches, the services are pretty much the same each week. Same number of songs followed by the same length sermon. The same few faces in the pulpit. Often the same favourite stories and comments.

Is this a problem? When you’re on a good thing, stick to it!? If you’re doing the right thing, shouldn’t you keep doing it right?

Or are there good reasons to change it up? A lot?

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Consistency is good

Consistency is a good character trait. If someone or something is consistent, we know what to expect and we can count on it.

In changing times, the familiar can be reassuring.

And there are some things that shouldn’t change. The Bible talks of “the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 3). And Paul talks of love remaining as the greatest of all virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13).

So in the church there is virtue in consistency.

Creativity is good

But there are also good reasons to be willing to change and do things differently in church, including in the Sunday services.

The good news needs to expressed in appropriate ways

Paul said he was willing to adapt how he presented the good news according to his audience (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). The core message about Jesus may remain the same, but communication requires us to take into account how people will receive it. And if we gain new understandings we may need to find different ways to express our faith.

Culture varies and changes

Even in my lifetime, the world around me has changed enormously. The culture of my country, my city and my neighbourhood have all changed, and views of the church have changed, often negatively. To many, the church seems out of date, irrelevant and not saying anything to earn their interest or respect. We may not want church services to try to be trendy, but we do want them to communicate and be relevant.

Different people have different needs

It would be an unusual Sunday when everyone in the church had the same attitude and spiritual needs. People may need inspiration, encouragement, teaching, prayer, an example to follow, information, filling with the Holy Spirit, correction, etc.

On any day, some will have had a damaging week and be suffering and crying inside, while others may feel elated and bursting with faith. So different elements of the meeting will be most helpful to different people. Some may need words, some may need time to reflect, some may need worship, some may need a kind word.

We can’t expect everyone to be ministered to in one service, but it would be a tragedy if the same people were blessed each week while others miss out. Some variation and creativity will be needed to minister to everyone.

Use the gifts given

Doing things the same each week means the same gifts will be used each week – and other gifts may remain unused. Paul certainly wanted many different gifts used in church gatherings (1 Corinthians 14:26-31). If we believe God gives many different gifts to the church, it is best that we use them!

God is dynamic

The Bible says God is constantly at work (John 5:17), making all things new (Revelation 21:5). Down through the history of the church, we’ve seen God inspiring new movements and correcting when the church goes astray (e.g. the Reformation, the Wesleyan revival, the charismatic renewal).

It would be foolish to think we have now arrived and need no more course corrections. And refusing to change may mean missing out on new things God wants to do in his church.

The psychology of sameness

Doing things the same can have advantages. As we become familiar with a behaviour, it comes easier for us. Good habits are useful in reinforcing good behaviours.

However habits can reduce creativity. And in a changing world we have to learn to deal with new situations, which requires creativity. What’s more, creativity improves happiness and well-being.

A church that always does things the same way may get into a rut and find it harder to change when necessary. Habits can be seen as holy and therefore unchangeable.

Creative ways to be church

So there are good reasons not to have all church services the same. But what differences can we make? Here are a few ideas.

More variation within a service

People don’t come to a service with the same needs, and different people respond to different expressions of faith. So providing variation within a gathering has the potential to minister to more people.

This is the idea behind stations church where, instead of everyone sitting statically while they all participate in (or observe) the same program, people get to choose what will help them most among a group of spiritual activities at different “stations” around the church.

Creativity in the way people participate and in the method of teaching can stimulate people to active learning, which is much more effective than passive learning which occurs during sermons (if learning occurs at all). Church in a circle offers ideas on how to encourage active learning.

More variation between services

Why do all Sunday meetings have more or less the same order of service? Could we change this?

One way to change it is to have different types of services on different Sundays. One church has a monthly rhythm which includes regular services, a contemplative service which may include different spiritual practices, “wild church” (“a contemplative style gathering outdoors in the cathedral of God’s creation“), house church and a feast.

Variation in mission

A focus on how Sunday services are run can miss the fact that the church exists to serve and witness to the world around it. Some churches put their main emphasis on small missional communities, each one aiming to serve a different segment of society. People get to use their gifts ministering to a small community they feel called to be part of and care for.

Smaller churches can focus on one particular mission field, and the variation comes from the multiplicity of such churches.

It takes more work, but ….

Creativity in church services has its challenges. The right people have to be found and have to be willing. It takes more work to do something different than it does to select a few songs, prepare a talk on a theme that has been done before and do the same all over again each week.

But it’s too often making God’s people passive, unfulfilled or missing out on what they need.

Why not give it a go? Start with something different one-off. See how it goes. Move slowly. Explain what and why. Then try itagain.

Graphic generated using NightCafe Creator.

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