Author: Chris Berg, worship pastor, Mountain View Church, Flagstaff, and president of Worship AudioVideo Technologies
Through fifteen years of worship leadership, I have experienced many service styles and types. I have orchestrated large contemporary church services in huge concert arenas and put together simple traditional services for three people in a nursing home. As I reflect back, I often wonder which service type was the most significant. The truth of the matter is, neither one is. The details of each service are forgotten in a short time. Soon those who attended will forget which songs were sung, if the lighting was right or whether the Pastor went too long. Now that I think about it, I can barely remember what songs I sang last week. I have even compared some services to being like the preparation of a Thanksgiving feast. You spend hours creating the meal and in the blink of an eye it is over.
As we approach the Christmas season, church staffs will spend hours putting together pageants, creating meals for the community, putting up decorations, looking for a new arrangement of Silent Night and so on. In the details, it is easy to forget why we do what we do. So…why do we spend so much time and effort on a service that will soon be forgotten?
It’s really quite simple….we are here to point people to Christ. Whether it is someone who has been at the church since it opened or someone who is new, we all need to see Jesus. Let’s be quick to remember that it is not the service type or even the event that is the focus. If Christ is the one being amplified as the center of your service, then it doesn’t matter how elaborate it is or how simple it is. Our vision of pointing people to Christ needs to be greater than the list of the things we need to do. Am I saying we should just not do elaborate services and to keep our list short? Or, that the big productions are wrong and to stay with small and simple?
No, not at all. I have seen lives changed for eternity in the largest and smallest of productions. It all comes down to this – if you feel like your to-do list is getting too big, it probably is. You may want to evaluate whether everything on your to-do list is focusing on the true vision of your church. If God’s vision for your church is getting over-shadowed by your to-do list for the holiday service then you are missing the point. Simply put, if something doesn’t amplify Christ to the best of the ability of your church, cross it off your list!