Silence

Yesterday we took a pretty big risk. Well…it felt like a risk at the time. It played out.

Instead of preaching/teaching on the discipline of silence, we just did it. We sat in silence for a little over 13 minutes. Afterwards, I kind of gave some pointers of how to practice the discipline and we went home. That was it.

And I got more compliments than ever. (Insert rim shot)

One of the things I wanted to do when I became a lead pastor was to actually turn Sunday morning into an experience, less observation. The desire is for people to experience God, not just hear about Him or learn about Him. The encounter with God is what is life changing. Head knowledge has its limits. If that knowledge isn’t translated into some meaningful experience, it will be lost forever.

So when we came to the blind guy getting healed, we did the service in the dark. When we unpacked “I am the bread of life,” we baked bread. Instead of teaching on Passover, have a Jew come in and lead us in a seder. And yesterday when we unpacked silence…we got silent. Every week, we ask ourselves how do we involve everyone in this story?

Does it carry risks? Absolutely. But not like you think. I’d guess that lost or curious people of Jesus would wig out at some of the things we do – prayer wall, move around during the service, write cardboard confessionals, sit in the dark and silence – and never come back. It’s actually having the opposite effect. Husbands that hardly darken the door of a church have been showing up more, we’re seeing more of these curious people make decisions to follow Jesus. There is an expectancy on Sunday morning, a desire to engage not just show up.

At risk are those of us ‘leading’.

A new friend of mine recently talked about the church as a ship – cruise ship, cargo, battle, medical – which kind of ship is your church? And yes – all analogies break down at some point – but of those choices the one I least want to be is the cruise ship. The staff exists to entertain and feed and serve you so that you can have a pleasant experience. Do you realize that of those choices the cruise ship is the only one whose mission is itself? “We exist to perpetuate our own existence.” All the others have an external mission – deliver goods, defeat bad guys, heal sick.

And that’s the danger I am capable of becoming. I can totally see how the focus on creativity and impact on Sunday morning morphs itself into a self-perpetuating mission. “We have to do it better, bigger, louder, smoother than we did last week.” “The show must go on.” I can totally see how creativity begins to take the place of God.

That’s why as important and meaningful Sunday morning is – it will never be enough to justify our existence. It’s just one piece of the puzzle.