Being Good At What We're Supposed To Be Good At

As someone who works predominately with teens and children (I'm currently the student guy at His Hands Church in Woodstock, GA), my dreams of what tomorrow's church could be tend to be focused on it's impact with teens. Obviously, there's more to the church than teenagers, but hopefully my thoughts, though more narrow in focus, can have broader applications. Then again, they might not amount to much at all :)

Last week, I was working at a frantic pace to kick off our school year with momentum in our student department. We had a big Jr. High kickoff on Wednesday and a big Sr. High kickoff on Thursday. Our Jr. High kickoff party looked like a lot of church's events probably do: loud music, tons of energy, caffeine, giant inflatable games, video games, etc (our Sr. High thing is quite different, but that's another topic). As I worked long hours setting up all the flashy stuff we were going to use to woo Jr. High kids, I couldn't get over the fact that even though our kids would likely have a blast, I was generally unexcited about the night. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that we were relying almost purely on entertainment (something that few teens are in need of in today's culture) to get our kids excited.

Don't get me wrong...the event was a success by most standards. We had a great turn out and likely built momentum. The truth is that we're good at throwing crazy parties; most churches are. The church is probably one of the nation's experts at crazy games, goofy videos, and teenage-friendly stunts and spectacles. All those things are good, and the church often relies on them to attract kids and attempt to retain them. But do we rely on all the flash because we're better at it than we are at the things we're supposed to be good at...noticing, accepting, loving, encouraging, and inspiring people to pursue a passionate love for Jesus? It's only natural to play to our strengths when we're trying to accomplish something, but have we been working on the right strengths?

I'm not saying that we should not use our technical & artistic talents to the fullest. Excellence honors God. But it's possible that we get so caught up in creating flash that we neglect the things we're called to be truly excellent at: relationships, love, healing, inspiring, etc.

My wife is a photography enthusiast to some degree. She once told me that great photographers never need to use a camera's flash, not even in the dark. They adjust the shutter speed and aperture to fit the occasion, but flash is only used to enhance rather than to simply get a passable picture. If a photographer is great, flash is never necessary, but a powerful tool in the right circumstances. What if the church was like a great photographer? What if we were so good at the things that we're really supposed to be good at that we never needed to rely on anything flashy? We could still use it to enhance, but it would never make or break us because we simply don't need it. Let tomorrow's church play to its strengths, but let its strengths be the things that truly impact people.