Minimize Behind the Scenes | Lessons from the Last 15
“There is something different about this church.” Our friends, semi-retired and fully-vital, had agreed to come and invest in the ministry at Trinity for a few weeks at a time. Then they came again for a few more weeks. They kept saying, “There is something different about this church.” I don’t remember suggesting what might be different, but was satisfied when they came and found me and said, “We figured out what is unique about this church—there is no ‘behind the scenes.’ It is unprofessional, like camp.” What a compliment! Campers have been known to say, “Why can’t church be more like camp?” Indeed, why?
“The New Testament doesn’t describe the church as an industry, a model, a sector, or a system. It describes the church as a home, a family.”
Walt Kallestad, the gifted leader and evangelist, had a massive heart attack in 2002. He had overseen one of the fastest growing Lutheran churches in America. I heard him speak a few years after his recovery. On his first Sunday back, they were meeting for pre-service prayer in the green room (sacristy), and one of the staff professionals said, “It’s showtime!” As he described the scene, it was evident that he now had a different kind of heart attack. It was a show.
It has never been more tempting to market the church. It feels justifiable if we call it evangelism. The market share of believers, or potential believers, seems to be in contraction. The competition is stiff. It isn’t long before we are offering a product, hopefully more attractive than other products to the picky religious shopper. Consumer research helps determine the length of the liturgy, the style and substance of the show, and the vibe of the core value statement.
“In a home, family belongs everywhere. Everyone has a job. Everyone gets to play. Chores for everyone. No one has to knock to enter the front door.”
The church has much to learn from the entertainment industry. And the business model. And the non-profit philanthropy sector. And from the educational system. But, the New Testament doesn’t describe the church as an industry, a model, a sector, or a system. It describes the church as a home (Ephesians 2.22), a family (1 Corinthians 4.14-17). Imagine the parents in a home having a staff meeting to curate the family experience for an audience of their kids. Imagine building a green room or conference room into your home. No, in a home, family belongs everywhere. Everyone has a job. Everyone gets to play. Chores for everyone. No one has to knock to enter the front door. Everyone’s birthday gets celebrated. The youngest members are as important as the ones that have been there from the beginning. When it’s time to take a family picture, no one is excluded because they “don’t have the look we are going for.” You put up with first-year violinists and kids playing “Twinkle Twinkle” on the recorder because a community built on grace will include a commitment to non-excellence and to the non-excellent. Who said excellence was our goal in the first place? Actually, you don’t “put up” with first-year violinists. You pay for lessons to hear the glorious sound of beginners. Grace has to begin somewhere.
Church can be like this. But, “behind the scenes” has got to be minimized.
Lessons from the Last 15 is a series of articles from Pastor Nathan Hoff on the occasion of his 15th year in ministry at Trinity San Pedro.
“It seems like they need me,” I said pretentiously to a dear family I was visiting in the first congregation I served. Just shy of three years at that Call, I broke the news about our upcoming relocation to Southern California. It was the Fall of 2005, and I had recently received and accepted a new Call to Trinity Lutheran in San Pedro, California. How that family managed not to roll their eyes is more impressive as the years go by. I had a lot to learn.
October 31st will mark the 15th anniversary of my installation as pastor at Trinity San Pedro. They didn’t “need” me in the way I thought they might need me. They did need the Gospel, and I needed it too—as desperately as anyone else. I still do and they still do. We are a good match.