Occasionally, I get e-mails from people who think Catalyst is part of North Point Community Church. They ask about our video venues, our assimilation process, even how Andy is doing.
"Fine," I tell them. "He's in a good mood today."
What's interesting is only three of us attend NP. A few go to 12Stone. And a fairly good number attend All Souls Church down in the city. I've never been, but I hear All Souls is the anti-programming church.
Overhead projectors, white sheets of paper with announcements on them, stiff liturgy... A surprising choice for staffers at the most programming-rich organization in ministry.
I guess it's like working at an ice-cream parlor. You don't go home after a long day of work, sit down in front of the TV... and eat ice cream.
Got me thinking about Blue Ocean churches. I really believe you can only have so many churches in one community that successfully reach families with 2.5 kids, SUVs and a golf club membership.
If your church is #4 or #5 in this genre of church-making, you're better off finding a new sociographic to reach or you'll continue to struggle year after year after year... after year.
Do the opposite. Drop the rock band and intelligent lighting. Forget the climbing wall for kids and the KidStuf knock-off. Go with the opposite attributes and set apart your church for a new kind of community.
It will be surprisingly refreshing for a large number of people.
I think, in some areas, we are headed for a revolution of SIMPLE. People are bombarded every day with so much... simplicity will win. Not saying that simple needs to be stripped, but simple as in iPod simple. Cutting through the junk to get to the heart of what people need.
Posted by: Daniel Decker | February 10, 2009 at 09:42 AM
Great thoughts Ben! I've always thought it's pretty amazing how God uses different kinds of churches to reach different people. Sometimes we're so married to "our way is the right way" (it's really our preference about how to do church) that we don't see that others are sharing the gospel in different ways. Thank God for diversity!
Posted by: Larry Boatright | February 10, 2009 at 09:53 AM
Well those church's are fine but they tend to be the ones who become all legalistic. :(
Posted by: Jonathan Hoover | February 10, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Interestingly enough, there are very few churches in the north east like the one you describe that reaches the 2.5 kids, etc. The landscape is primarily made up of Catholic churches, denominational churches that were effective 30 years ago, or boomer churches.
A church like North Point would actually be the blue ocean church in most cities in the north east. New churches like that are starting to pop up though.
Being in Reston you probably got a glimpse of that, but even the difference between VA & MD is pretty stark. The landscape gets more bleak the farther north you go.
Posted by: Nick Blevins | February 10, 2009 at 10:27 AM
wow J, that's a big statement. i don't think i can agree with you there.
if I didn't insist on writing such short posts, i'd go on to talk about how each church fits a unique purpose and target audience for a community
I'm pretty sure God is intentional about using different kinds of churches to reach different kinds of people.
Posted by: Ben Arment | February 10, 2009 at 10:27 AM
You read my mind.
Posted by: Paul | February 10, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Yeah, but the important thing to keep in mind is not striving to be different from other churches (aka Church of the Chip on the Shoulder) but to be the church God is calling you to be.
Posted by: Lori Bailey | February 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM
@ben - reading my mail?
@Lori - i think about that daily. the "different" church is just a reaction against a kind of church they don't like rather than the church has called them to be. different for the sake of being different is stupid and not God-honoring. (wow, that sounded really harsh. sorry.)
Posted by: Scott M. | February 10, 2009 at 11:25 AM
awesome feedback. but sounds like you need more exposure to churches that are reaching different crowds without being antagonistic about it.
i should do more posts profiling these kinds of places.
i happen to prefer the alternatives. anything wrong with that?
Posted by: Ben Arment | February 10, 2009 at 01:46 PM
Give us more Ben :) It's easy to be so involved in your own community and what's going on (which is good) that you don't catch up with what's going on elsewhere
Posted by: David (dg4G) | February 11, 2009 at 06:36 AM
Great post and comments as well!
Love Lori's "Chip on the Shoulder" quote. Point is not to be contrarian just to be contrarian, but to embrace the uniqueness and diversity God has embedded into your own church's DNA. Being free to be yourself, and allowing others the freedom to do the same...
Posted by: Steve Bradley | February 11, 2009 at 01:17 PM
This discussion makes me feel better about the low-tech church I attend. Sometimes I feel like I should be pushing us to, y'know, get all screentastic and digified; I should probably just relax and enjoy the respite from technology and "perfection" that the business world (even non-profit world) seeks.
What if there were no power, or lights? Would your church be able to function - would it be an improvement if it did?
Posted by: Allan W. | February 12, 2009 at 07:31 PM