WorshipCentral

That’s a huge question.
There’s such a variety of opinions on the topic of how church should look! I think most of those opinions have good reasons behind them too. Not to mention how it can get super heated super fast!

But, for my take on it; the average church service seems to be composed of a few songs with a message following. I don’t really see a problem with that, or with putting a few songs after the sermon. I think the real challenge falls on the church leadership to seek God for direction. I think that is where it starts. Who should be considered as part of the church leadership could be debated, I think. But the direction starts with a few, and manifests itself in the congregation. The point is to keep the service current, fresh, and alive. I don’t think the details of how many songs, how long a sermon, should there be drama involved, should someone be painting during the worship, etc. are the things that ultimately communicate God; they are most definitely part of the equation, but the bottom line is honesty of the heart. If God is affecting the leadership of the church, they become a real example.

For those who lead worship with music, you can totally sense if the person leading is truly affected by what they are singing. If they are genuinely moved by the worship songs they are leading it also moves you.

So, my take on what church should aim to be is simply this: Church should be real. The details of how church works wouldn’t mean much if it doesn’t come from honest conviction.

I just sidestepped the majority of the question! But I do not think the practical workings of a church have a particular formula that is correct. I think that is good thing, it keeps us seeking God instead of being the ones who control the church.

That being said, I personally love it when services allow themselves to be dynamic from week to week. Not always set in a particular style or routine. Just because it allows the service to focus on different things really effectively; like an acoustic worship set one week contrasted with a driven upbeat service the next. Or a topical sermon set followed by a verse by verse study of Romans. It would allow a church to capture the best from each of these things.

wow BIG question....!

I think its all about embracing community and fulfilling the UP, IN and OUT dimensions as a body. (like in Acts 2)

How amazing would it be if we saw a church who DEVOTED themselves to the word of God and to each other. This is why I feel "small groups / Cells" (whatever you call them!) are important so people become a member not just a "number" - especially for churches who have larger congregations where its easy to get lost.

I really believe that's how we can capture the beauty of worshipping as a body and not just a bunch of randoms.

on a practical front if I was in charge....
- church orange juice wouldn't be weaker then Newcastle's defence like at rpresent
- for the offertory song when the music stops whoever has the "bag/plate" in their hand wins the money (ok maybe not!)
- I would ban the font "comic sans" and refuse to put up church posters made from clip art!

Taxi for 1!

LOL. I love it Chris.

I would say a church looking like soul survivor wouldnt be a bad thing. But my main things are: Dynamic (as Marc said before) and missional.'

But totally ban the blue background and the yellow words on the screen. Makes me feel sick.

Also what's up with Church cordial?

Come to our church.......we're not afraid to serve real cups of cordial!!!

Plus, as we're CofE we can do a pretty mean cup of tea (rhyme unintentional)

As for the bigger question, it's something a couple of our congregations have been looking into, how we include mission, what difference time has, whether it's worth having different teaching streams etc.

Niall what do you mean by having different teaching streams?

Well it was linked with an idea about mission, so having one lot of teaching for those who are new Christians, or are coming to church for the first time. Then having a separate set of teaching for those who wish to go deeper, explore more. This means splitting up the congregation for the sermons, but it's sort of like having an option of who the sermon is aimed at. This means you can reach out to people where they're at.

I'm not entirely sure of how it would work, it was our youth pastors idea, but it seemed interesting enough to mention on here!

ok. sounds cool....different...we need to be flexible and changing this up.

That is similar to what my church does, only they offer mid-week courses for “in-depth” study. The Sunday services were generally lighter. But, lately the Sunday sermons have been getting into some more difficult ground, like the beatitudes.

Though it could make sense either way, I prefer to let the bible reach people where they are at instead of worrying if things are “too deep” for young Christians or people outside the church. Not that fire and brimstone is in every service; but it seems to me that some of the more difficult questions are only answered by the deeper and difficult topics. It seems that to avoid those things would potentially neglect the growth of a certain crowd. Anyone think I’m off on that one?

Chris, you should check out this website:
http://bancomicsans.com/
Seriously, you can buy mugs and t-shirts!

Yeah some good points. I think a lot of people go to church on a Sunday to do something spiritual during their week (you can group me into that category as well on some weeks). When church on a Sunday should be about getting refreshed and built up for the spiritual week ahead. Church without a day-in day-out commitment is pretty much useless.

I'll be honest and say I've had a pretty rough few months in terms of my spiritual journey. All totally my fault. I've been keeping myself busy doing things for the church without spending enough time with God. When you get that balance out everything you do becomes pretty meaningless. Going to church on a Sunday is pretty useless IMO when you don't commit yourself to God throughout the week. Why? Like any relationship you can't just pick it up for a few hours each week and expect everything to be OK. It just doesn't work. How can I worship God when I've only just started to think about Him.

Where am I going with all this? Even i'm not sure lol. But what I'm trying to say is Church should be more than just a Sunday event. Church needs to be deep in our community. Like Chris said small/cell groups are KEY. It's about building up a good fellowship with a small group of people who care about God and each other. Who are there for one another throughout the week no matter what happens. Without that 'Church' on a Sunday is meaningless.

Church on a Sunday is just somewhere you go to worship, pray and learn corporately. But real church happens at home with your friends and in your heart.

Amen :D