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Pews or Chairs, Who Cares?
August 31, 2009 - Doug Lawrence
Pews or Chairs, Who Cares?
A Four-Question Caution
Have you ever found yourself in one of those classic battles in the church over something ridiculously small? Every week, in the course of worship consulting with churches, I hear horror stories of civilized blood baths over the most interesting stuff.
It occurred to me there should be some cautions around these matters like...whether or not to use pews or chairs.
Disclaimer: I prefer pews! I like to slide on them, or if they have cushions, I like to try to figure out if they're filled with quarter inch or eighth inch foam. Ouch! :-)
I'm sure when/if your church decided to tackle the robes/no robes, pews/chairs, and screens/no screens, it was/will be anything but trivial. Still, these "major" issues should not be the stuff of endless worship debates in my opinion.
Here are four questions that might help us sort out how to handle these matters:
1. Do we want to lead by poll or the sound judgment of trusted leaders? Most church leaders, Congregationalists or not, maintain, in rather absolute terms, "It's not a good idea to lead your church by poll, because it flies in the face of good leadership style." The truth is, we often lead by poll in one way or another anyway. Whether we use a formal referendum instrument or just read our emails every week, we are often swayed by opinion. Decide which form you're actually going to be governed by, and then stick to your game plan.
2. Do we, ourselves, believe the rationale we’re giving the congregation for the changes we're about to make, or did those ideas simply come out of a conference we attended? We always need to be mindful, as we come down from our "conference mountain-tops" that our congregations weren't there! They have zero buy-in to the great ideas we brought home with us. Leadership by "conference high" is probably not a great idea.
3. Does the disruption of this proposed change benefit the church in significant ways? Church leaders sometimes can't stand the thought of standing still programmatically, or in any other way for that matter. Yes—truthfully—we are in fact sometimes guilty of change for change's sake. Occasionally the better part of valor calls for keeping a cultural expectation (like robes or pews) in place rather than moving "forward" with yet another paradigm shift.
4. If we make huge shifts suddenly, are we willing to hear about it for the next ten or twenty years? There's the old story of the pastor who decided to move the piano from one side of the chancel to the other. Every month of his twenty-year tenure he moved the piano toward his intended goal by one inch. When he finally decided to retire, the piano was right where he wanted it!
The so-called "furniture issues" of church leadership require some caution, but more than that, strong and savvy leaders. Pour water on fires, not gasoline. Pews or chairs? Who cares?
—Doug Lawrence, internationally recognized speaker, author, and advisor, helps churches assess and improve their skillfulness in creating engaging worship experiences by utilizing his more than 35 years of "deep trench" worship leadership in prominent mainline churches. You may reach him at dlawrenceconsult@mac.com. Or, if you wish, call 1-650-207-8240 for assessment information and scheduling.
A Four-Question Caution
Have you ever found yourself in one of those classic battles in the church over something ridiculously small? Every week, in the course of worship consulting with churches, I hear horror stories of civilized blood baths over the most interesting stuff.
It occurred to me there should be some cautions around these matters like...whether or not to use pews or chairs.
Disclaimer: I prefer pews! I like to slide on them, or if they have cushions, I like to try to figure out if they're filled with quarter inch or eighth inch foam. Ouch! :-)
I'm sure when/if your church decided to tackle the robes/no robes, pews/chairs, and screens/no screens, it was/will be anything but trivial. Still, these "major" issues should not be the stuff of endless worship debates in my opinion.
Here are four questions that might help us sort out how to handle these matters:
1. Do we want to lead by poll or the sound judgment of trusted leaders? Most church leaders, Congregationalists or not, maintain, in rather absolute terms, "It's not a good idea to lead your church by poll, because it flies in the face of good leadership style." The truth is, we often lead by poll in one way or another anyway. Whether we use a formal referendum instrument or just read our emails every week, we are often swayed by opinion. Decide which form you're actually going to be governed by, and then stick to your game plan.
2. Do we, ourselves, believe the rationale we’re giving the congregation for the changes we're about to make, or did those ideas simply come out of a conference we attended? We always need to be mindful, as we come down from our "conference mountain-tops" that our congregations weren't there! They have zero buy-in to the great ideas we brought home with us. Leadership by "conference high" is probably not a great idea.
3. Does the disruption of this proposed change benefit the church in significant ways? Church leaders sometimes can't stand the thought of standing still programmatically, or in any other way for that matter. Yes—truthfully—we are in fact sometimes guilty of change for change's sake. Occasionally the better part of valor calls for keeping a cultural expectation (like robes or pews) in place rather than moving "forward" with yet another paradigm shift.
4. If we make huge shifts suddenly, are we willing to hear about it for the next ten or twenty years? There's the old story of the pastor who decided to move the piano from one side of the chancel to the other. Every month of his twenty-year tenure he moved the piano toward his intended goal by one inch. When he finally decided to retire, the piano was right where he wanted it!
The so-called "furniture issues" of church leadership require some caution, but more than that, strong and savvy leaders. Pour water on fires, not gasoline. Pews or chairs? Who cares?
—Doug Lawrence, internationally recognized speaker, author, and advisor, helps churches assess and improve their skillfulness in creating engaging worship experiences by utilizing his more than 35 years of "deep trench" worship leadership in prominent mainline churches. You may reach him at dlawrenceconsult@mac.com. Or, if you wish, call 1-650-207-8240 for assessment information and scheduling.
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Doug Lawrence
Doug Lawrence, internationally recognized speaker, author, and advisor, helps churches assess and improve their skillfulness in creating engaging worship experiences by utilizing his more than 35 years of "deep trench" worship leadership in prominent mainline churches.
