The Quest for Skill
Understanding the Worship Wars, pt. 3
Welcome to issue 12 of my newsletter (approximately a six minute read)! A special welcome if you are just joining us, and an extra special welcome if you’ve already subscribed.
A previous issue of our newsletter discussed a common consensus among evangelical worship thinkers of the 1950s and 60s. Here’s the TL;dr consensus: something was missing from evangelical worship services.
The consensus disappeared when evangelicals discussed what was missing and how to fix it. There were (at least) three different views as to what was missing, three different searching quests. Last week, we considered the first (The Quest for Roots). This week, we consider “The Quest for Skills.”
On to this week’s issue!
One group of Christians felt evangelical services were missing skills. This group believed if the church would become more skilled at their tasks, it would make a real difference and improve the church and its worship service.
Many leaders of this group were adept businesspeople, gifted with leadership, marketing, and entrepreneurial skills. These people brought their marketplace savvy to the church, believing the church would benefit by doing things well. Many churches, they thought, were poorly run, and needed organizational excellence. Pastors needed managerial excellence, preachers needed public speaking excellence, elders needed financial excellence, and worship services needed event planning excellence.
I’m describing (in an oversimplified way) an important movement in evangelicalism—the Church Growth Movement. Perhaps the leader that best represents this group was Donald McGavran.
McGavran was born to a family of missionaries to India. While he served there, the National Christian Council asked McGavran to study “Christian mass movements” where large numbers of people from particular sections of society (especially the Dalit people) converted to Christianity. From insights made during his research, McGavran formed convictions concerning how North American churches might grow. In 1965, he became the founding dean of Fuller Seminary’s “School of World Mission” While at Fuller, McGavran influenced generations of church leaders and pastors to consider how structuring and ministering in strategic ways might help the church grow.
McGavran’s book, Understanding Church Growth, promoted church growth concepts. One writer summarized Church Growth as “that discipline which investigates the nature, function, and health of Christian churches, as they relate to the effective implementation of the Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all peoples (Mt. 28:19-20). It is a spiritual conviction, yet it is practical, combining the eternal principles of God’s Word with the practical insights of social and behavioral sciences.”
I have worn glasses ever since second grade. After almost forty years of bespectaclement, I’m almost unaware of the lenses, frames, and nose pads. I look through these glasses, not at them.
Many people in the church growth movement saw the church through organizational and business lenses. Though these authors and speakers investigated the nature, function, and health of Christian churches, their analysis began with their business perspectives. Other organizations had similar concerns (e.g., the ecclesially minded 9Marks ministry) but came to radically different conclusions because their methodology differed so drastically.
Thus, when Church Growth experts asked if a healthy church has debt or not (or a dedicated building), their answers often began with sociological insights from the business world rather than a theologically robust ecclesiology. If healthy businesses grow, than a healthy church (following their logic) should grow. To reiterate, church growth proponents felt like something was missing, and they believed lessons, insights, and skills from the business world would help their churches.
Consider the ways these churches incorporated the ideas and values of the marketplace into their worship services, such as the concept of a targeted demographic. A business that’s “for everybody” often reaches no one. So, just as restaurants create a “brand” to appeal to a particular type of customer or new movies address a precise viewing demographic, church growth experts argued that each church should have a precise, targeted group (called the “homogenous unit”) that church intends to reach. If properly designed, strategically marketed, and well executed, a healthy Church is going to grow.
Churches following this model, including seeker and attractional churches, provide an excellent and unique customer experience. They want people to have an amazing time at their church and then return with their friends and family.
Want an example? Consider the effect of Church Growth insights on a church’s children’s ministry. The children’s ministry in a small, traditional church does not impress. Perhaps two retired school teachers use a flannelgraph and then distribute graham crackers and a craft.
By contrast, a large attractional church might welcome children into a large, beautifully designed theme park atmosphere with a mural and costumed ministry workers dressed to match their overall theme. Afterward, the children reminisce about their amazing snacks and their desire to return. The leaders designed this experience to provide a great adventure for people, making them want to return.
To illustrate, consider the “Rainforest Café.” Often located in shopping malls, these restaurants are designed to approximate what people imagine they would find in a jungle. But the food has nothing to do with an actual rainforest. No genuine South American or African cuisine is offered. The restaurant serves kids corn dogs in an atmosphere designed (with sound effects and misting sprinklers) to approximate North American stereotypes about rainforests. No one goes to Rainforest Café for the geographic accuracy or the genuine cultural experience. Nevermind the nutrition. The café provides a lot more style than substance.
I am not saying attractional churches have no substance. I am saying that, at their worst, the Church Growth Movement pays more attention to a church’s aesthetics and business principles than to eternal, biblically defined, and ministry-oriented values.
Evangelicals should feel this pull. Many people agree that something is missing from evangelical worship. At its most basic, “The Quest for Skills” notices that church music is often bad and argues that the music should be good. After noticing the bad sound system and unskilled volunteer soundman, the Quest for Skills argues that the sound system should be good and run by a person who knows what they are doing.
Is that too much to ask?
Next week, we will discuss a third attempt that evangelicals made in the Evangelical Quest for More—the Quest for Power. We will discuss the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements and their shaping influence on contemporary worship.
If you made it this far, thank you! Click the “LIKE” button to let me know you finished the article.
Instead of writing about hot topics in worship world (heaven knows there are plenty), I am trying to write longform, thoughtful examinations of the worship ecosystem that help believers navigate the influences that shape their services. I hope it is helpful.
Five fun things I found this week:
Don’t quit! Everyone gets discouraged. Even Miles Davis “quit” two years before he recorded his masterpiece, “Kind of Blue.” Don’t let difficult circumstances stop you. Say “So What” and keep going! (2 minutes)
An interview with Alan Jacobs for his important book, Breaking Bread with the Dead. Bonus: the interview is by the delightful Joy Clarkson. (15 minutes)
A beautiful quote from Andrew Wilson on life, chess, and Jesus.
“There will be times when you feel like you’re winning & taking all the pieces …then there are times when you feel like everything is being taken away from you. In the end, all that matters is whether or not you have the King.”
A music test with drummer Nate Smith! Clap along every seven beats. And beware the triplets-in-groups-of-four at the two minute mark! (4 minutes)
And, finally, an adorable dog hides from Darth Vader. (30 seconds)
“See” you next week!