TheViking
07-22-2007, 01:32 PM
The chapel.
Once upon a time not too long ago, but not yesterday either, there was a small chapel on a humble little hill somewhere not too far from you. No one would say it was much to look at. It had four walls, a roof that did not leak too much, and floor worn down by a handful faithful believers over the years already past. The pastor was not a very charismatic man, he did not draw huge crowds, and really that was a good thing since the chapel barely could hold anything even remotely resembling a crowd anyways.
Every Sunday for as long as even the old folks could remember, there had been a service in the morning. The service was not too long, nor was it too short, it was just about right. The little old lady playing the piano at every service, had been little and old as long as most of the congregation could remember. She will probably never make any hall of fame in any category related to music, but she had been there every single Sunday morning nevertheless.
There was really nothing special about anything regarding the chapel, the pastor, the little old piano lady, the service or the congregation for that matter. It was a rather ordinary chapel, with an ordinary pastor, an ordinary little old piano lady, an ordinary service and mainly plain old ordinary people in the congregation.
Well this particular Sunday, was indeed not ordinary in any way. As the faithful few arrived at the small chapel, one by one they became aware of the sad news the pastor had to share. Today, the hymns would have to be acapella since the little old piano lady, had gone to meet her maker. She would soon be resting in modest little coffin, buried with a humble cross to mark the spot for her human remains, while her spirit was going over yonder to be with the Lord.
Although no one would ever describe the little old piano lady as significant in any meaning of the word, the congregation felt as if someone had removed a wall from the chapel. Sometimes recognition will not appear before what could have been recognized has been gone. There had always been music to accompany the singing. After the service, the pastor asked the congregation to stay a while they discussed how to replaced a lady who’s job had not been that important until she could not do it anymore.
No one had much to say and not many ideas or suggestions came up as the smell of coffee sneaked out from the tiny kitchen. It was really strange, the little old piano lady kind of been a part of the furniture, but this was not like buying new pews, as they had discussed on that long meeting last fall. An elderly man got up, holding his hymnal like a brick with both hands as he cleared his throat a couple of times. No one could really recall him speaking up at any service, or any other meeting for that sake.
“Maybe we should put in an advertisement in one of them Christian magazinesâ€, he finally said. “You know, pianist wanted for morning servicesâ€. He sat down without further ado. The silence spread and blended with the even more noticeable smell of coffee. The pastor got up and cleared his throat too before he second the idea. He, himself would sit down the first thing Monday morning and write the said advertisement and pick the appropriate Christian magazine if the congregation would agree on this. No one had anything to object as the smell of coffee now was stronger than ever, and some of the faithful few were pretty sure they could inhale the sweet scent of a freshly baked cake as well.
The next day the pastor woke up early. He got his usual bowl of ordinary cereal, and sat down at the rugged old kitchen table with a large cup of coffee, a note pad and a pen. He ate his cereal almost as if he conducting some kind of religious ritual cleared the bowl away and took a large sip of coffee. Twentysomething scrunched paper balls later, he had the advertisement down, and it read as follows. Small chapel seeks pianist for morning services. Acoustic guitarists will also be considered. Then he added his phone number and the address of the chapel at the bottom of the advertisement.
Some weeks passed by and the congregation had still not gotten any answers from their advertisement. This called for a new meeting after another musicless service. The pastor read the advertisement out loud while the fragrance of coffee tiptoes into nose drills bearing promises of cake and fellowship. The elderly hymnal clasping man, get’s up this time as well, clearing his throat. Maybe, he says, maybe we have to offer some kind of compensation for the piano player. He sat down as the faithful few let this peculiar idea sink in. The pastor got up again, and seconds the idea, since although the old pianist had not received any compensation, maybe compensation would be needed in order to get a new one. He kindly offered to author yet another advertisement at first chance. If the congregation agreed, that is. And agree they did as coffee and cake was brought out from the kitchen.
The new advertisement read: Small chapel seeks pianist for morning services. Acoustic guitarists will also be considered. Instrumentalist will be compensated accordingly to available funds. Then he added his phone number and the address of the chapel at the bottom of the advertisement. The following week, there were some phone calls as well as some letters dropping in. And the following Sunday yet another meeting was called for, followed by coffe, cake and fellowship. The pastor was happy to be able to call up a young multi instrumentalist on behalf of the little chapel and invite said musician to come the following Sunday.
The youngster was a pretty handsome chap with a firm handshake and a winning smile. The pastor introduced him to the congregation and the faithful few were happy to finally have music with the hymns again. The pastor and the youngster agreed on a fair compensation, and so it came about that the little chapel were able to replace the little old piano lady, at a fairly reasonable cost. After all, imagine all the money they had saved by the little old piano lady never asking for a penny all those years. In order to get everything back to normal, a change was made, but more changes were soon to follow.
After the fourth service, the young man asked the pastor if there were any funds available for the music part of the service. The pastor had never thought about this, but yes, the chapel had some funds that had accumulated over the years. The young man pointed out that old folks made up most of the congregation, and as everyone knows, old people have bad hearing, and having an electric piano would probably be an advantage. The pastor was touched by the young man and his concern for the elderly, so at first chance he brought the idea up for the congregation to decide. Since no one could come up with a valid reason why this should not happen, the young man was soon sent to the nearest city in order to acquire said electric piano. At the first service, the piano was blessed and the guy with the firm handshake and the winning smile even played Amazing Grace as an instrumental making use of some advanced functions imbedded in this new technological wonder.
A couple of services later, handshake boy took the pastor aside once more as he had something more to point out. A they both knew, the congregation was mainly made up from old folks, and not many young ones, if any, ever attended. Wouldn’t it be fun to fill the chapel with young families, youth and kids? The pastor really started to like this kind of enthusiasm and when the young, handsome piano guy with the winning smile had an idea on how to get more people coming to the chapel; it was not hard to get him to second that idea. Instead of hymns and psalms, the music should be replaced with something more modern, something contemporary that would surely attract the younger people in the area.
The following Sunday no hymnals were handed out. Just some A4 sheets with lyrics. Short, pretty simple songs most of them never had heard. It was a good thing that their pianist was equipped with a good singing voice as he could lead them through these new songs. Some did not care too much for this, while others welcomed and embraced these modern tunes. During the following month, the hymns were becoming few and far apart, while the songs introduced on A4 sheets frequented the services on a regular basis. The young man, hated to bring this up, but new songs meant more work and the pastor offered a little raise to cover the time spent. All was well.
The first Sunday of the fourth month there was yet another meeting after the service. The previous Sunday the pianist with the winning smile had pointed out to the pastor that the music alone did not seem to have the desired effect as the younger generations still did not show up for Sunday morning services. Luckily the chapel’s latest asset had an idea on how to solve this, and the pastor was all ears. Everyone in the area had always known the chapel by exactly that name, the chapel. Maybe a name change would attract more people. He even had an idea for the name. Faith & Family Chapel had a nice ring to it and as the coffee was prepared the faithful few decided on the name, and a big visible sign by the road.
As the months went by, more changes came. Leading the congregation in these new songs really put a strain on the new guy’s vocal chords. In all fairness he was not even there to sing, but to play, and although singing was his humble offering to God, the pastor surely could see why a speaker system would be a valuable investment. First of all, the congregation still mostly consisted of old people with bad hearing, and when the young ones would arrive, they would be used to hearing music and speech through speakers anyways. A couple of Sundays later, the brand new PA system was in the house. 16 channel mixer, full range speakers, a couple of microphones and some stands. Mr. Winning smile even brought in a female friend to help lead the congregation in yet another set of new songs.
Apart from a new electric piano, the new name, the big sign by the road, the new speaker system, the new piano guy and additional visits of his female friends who sang like a cherub, everything was as usual in the Faith & Family Chapel, and although Faith was present, family still wasn’t. It so happened that the pianist’s female friend had a brother who was a good singer too and played the guitar as well. Maybe if the Faith & Family Chapel would consider hiring this guy as well, the families would come. Just think of it, two young men leading the congregation through contemporary Christian songs. How cool would that be? A month before Christmas that year, the guitar playing friend was on board as a part of the music team in Faith & Family Chapel, and the cherub came along at least one Sunday a month.
One Sunday in February, the three musical assets stayed behind after the service was over. They had another splendid idea. Other churches and chapels had worship services and their own worship teams, and when you come to think of it, that was the case also for the Faith & Family Chapel. Maybe they could change the sign by the road. It should now read; Sunday Morning Worship Service, featuring the Faith & Family Chapel Worship Band. It would not be any actual change except for the fact that Miss Angelvoice also would get compensated. Just think of all the families and youth who would much rather go to the chapel now that it was a worship service with a real band. It was a great idea, and a redone sign, another microphone and yet another meeting later, the Sunday Morning Worship Service, featuring the Faith & Family Chapel Worship Band was a fact. Surely now this would attract some people.
In a way they were right. A few of the locals popped in for a quick guest appearance in the chapel, curious about all these new things happening. But when summer set in, the handful faithful still made up the congregation and the Faith & Family Chapel Worship Band went on a retreat for worship bands to learn more about how to run an efficient worship team. What a blessing it was, now they got to meet other worship bands and get new ideas. They came back to the chapel full of ideas and new solutions; it was going to be an exiting fall.
By September Faith & Family Chapel had become 1st Calvary Family Chapel, the sign had become bigger and it now read. 1st Calvary Family Chapel, Sunday morning Worship with the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team. A fourth member was added to the team, a harmony singing bass player from a close by village. He was more than happy to join the team as he felt as the church he was a member of, did not allow him to use his talents fully worshipping the Lord. Having four compensated worship leaders put a strain on the old chapel bank account, but the pastor knew this was just a passing phase as all that happened were bound to make the crowd roll in any day now. The smell of coffee was still present every now and then and the faithful few kept faithful.
The last week of October brought more changes. Since the name was good, the sign was big the speaker system was working and the music impeccable, there had to be something else that kept the crowd from rolling in. The four members of the Calvary Family Chapel worship team had done a great deal of thinking on what this could be. The cherub approached the pastor in sisterly love and asked for a meeting were he and the team would be present. You see, some people might keep away from the chapel because the preaching takes too much time in the service. And to be frank, God would not object to you freshening up your wardrobe, she said with a smile. It all made sense. Shorter preaching maybe with a funny twist and some anecdotes would probably bring in more people. Luckily the cherub had a cousin working in a clothing store, and they would both be more than happy aiding the pastor to get a more modern and casual style.
The pastor felt a bit strange conducting his first service in jeans and a shirt. He had always been a suit and tie guy, that had been his pastors uniform for years. But alas, he was able to get a few smile and even some laughs as he went through his 15 minutes of written manuscript on God’s love. If dressing down had felt strange, the laughs sure felt good, and for the following Sundays he avoided the heavy theology and kept his new winning formula flowing. The service now started with 20 minutes of worship, the there were room for some information and the collection, then another 5 minutes of singing before he got on stage. Of course he knew it was still the same old platform that he always had been preaching from, but it felt more like a stage these days. The instruments, the speakers, and even some lights had been set up, after all, old folks don’t see too good either, and when the young people arrive, they are used to lights everywhere.
In December that year, the fifth member of the team came in place. He was a former rock drummer who had decided to serve the Lord with his drums and sticks. Luckily the speaker system was powerful enough to boost the other instruments sufficiently since he was a hard hitter, sometimes still appearing to be on the stage with any rock band around. This new addition demanded more space on the platform and the old pulpit was replaced by one of these slim movable plexiglass ones. It could be moved to the far left of the platform allowing the team to use the full width of it and be placed closer to the center when it was time for some preaching. The bass player who was a nice guy and usually the last one from the team to get off the stage volunteered to set it up every time.
It was rather interesting. Sitting in the church room looking up on the platform, everything was changed. Standing on the platform looking down, nothing had changed really except for the fact that the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team now took up most of the front row. It was great to have them there. They were so supportive and spiritual. The pastor could not remember when he last got so many hallelujah’s and amen’s. The sermons now were more casual. It had gone from preaching to teaching as the drummer put it, short easy messages, full of love, forgiveness and understanding. Music was now the main ingredient and the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team gave the pastor set lists of the songs they were planning on doing so the pastor wouldn’t have a hard time finding a related topic for his short speech.
The only thing that really had changed apart from the name, the revised sign, the pastors new style, the speaker system, the lights and the presences of the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team, was the need to stress how important it was to give generously to the Lord. Having five compensated members and a slowly flowing but constant need for equipment and instrument upgrades had taken its toll on the chapel’s funds. Since the local families and young ones still seamed to rather sleep in on Sunday mornings, the faithful few had to step up and take responsibility for their new blessings. With the new year yet another change came about.
The name of the chapel was more than good enough. The sign could be seen from a great distance. The sound system worked and had been expanded. The lights were in place creating a great setting for the service. The pastor had a new style both when it came to appearance and preaching. The team was brilliant, young smiling people, sweet voices and a tight rhythm section. What could possibly be wrong? Drummer boy and the cherub knew. The time was totally not attractive for most families and young ones. Who wants to get up early in order to get the kids ready for church? What teen today likes to get up at dawn? The solution had to be to move the morning praise to Sunday evening in stead.
On the 3d Sunday of January, for the first time, at least for as long as most could remember, there was no Sunday Morning service in the chapel. The sign had be redone and anyone passing it, even from a great distance could read; 1st Calvary Family Chapel, Sunday evening Worship with the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team. Once again a few of the locals made yet another quick guest appearance in the chapel. The faithful few however, became even fewer since they were mainly old folks and we all know old people have bad hearing and sight, and going out when it’s dark isn’t all that advisable. But the music was great and the teaching was indeed both funny and short. Still people did not roll in as expected. What could be wrong?
It had to be the building itself. People were probably used to the chapel being a dull and boring place. That had to be it. As long as the chapel looked like it always had done from the outside, people would not really want to go in and check all the new things happening on the inside. Something had to be done and although the faithful few had become even fewer, the ones remaining now had to work even harder pulling together for the sake of the Kingdom and the salvation of lost souls. It would not be enough just to paint the old chapel, it had to be expanded and made more modern. Some of the faithful even fewer took bank loans in order to help pay for the new chapel. Everyone chipped in with whatever they could with time, effort and money. Half a year later, the new chapel was done. With a new building, there should be a new name, to mark the changes made. 1st Calvary Church of Christ sounded good now, and the old sign was replaced by a new aluminum framed, backlit one testifying that 1st Calvary Church of Christ worship team indeed worshiped there every Sunday night.
New facilities of course meant more light, more speakers, better equipment and new furniture. There were so many things to be grateful for. The pastor got a brand new fancy office with opening hours marked on the door. The piano man with the firm handshake and the winning smile, now was titled Senior Worship leader, and got an almost equally big office. The cherub, proved to be able to do more than lift her voice in praise, she could also answer phones at the brand new reception, telling whoever called if the pastor or the senior worship leader was available. Not that many people called, but in the future, when all the locals would flock around the new church, it would be nice to have someone who knew how to greet them.
Of course, there had been issues about the money spent, but it all would be sorted out sometime soon. It was just a matter of time now before God himself would open the eyes of the locals and make them huddle around the church with gratitude and respect for what they had achieved. The money spent on new computers, phone lines, furniture and equipment would soon roll in again as soon as people started to do the same. They even made a website presenting the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team and of course the pastor. If you looked closely, you could even find contact information and a page with opening hours.
The new facilities were cleverly built. Both from the Senior Worship leader’s office and the pastor’s office, doors lead out right onto the platform. This meant that they could spend the time before the service preparing for the service instead of having to spend time interacting with the faithful fewer and fewer. The hymnal clasping elderly man had been promoted to Chief Usher, indeed a really important job. His job was now to greet the faithful fewer and hand out the copied A4 sheets with worship songs now copied on the brand new cannon copier in the reception area. The copier would prove to be a good investment sometime soon, as they were sure the local business would not mind having easy access to cheap copying.
The cherub was now making an itinerary for every service. It was all quite cleverly made up and it became obvious that her skills as a secretary were put to good use for the Kingdom. Every service now lasted exactly 60 minutes or less, with a tight schedule to follow.
18.00-18.02 CD-Introduction, instrumental praise song.
18.20-18.22 Worship with the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader
18.23-18.25 Information
18.26-18.30 Collection, while the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader, leads in praise and worship.
18.31-18.41 Short Sermon by the pastor.
18.42-18.59 Worship with the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader
It really was for the best, since the families and the young ones who would start to show up
any day now, of course were on tight schedules already and they were used to conformity and
efficiency everywhere else. For the faithful fewer, tightening up the service would be good as
well, since some of them had gone from elderly to almost ancient and would benefit from
easy, fast delivered holiness. After all, they were not seeing or hearing that good any longer,
and frankly they were not taking too much part in the worshipping either. Luckily the 1st
Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader were more than
capable of making a joyful noise for the Lord.
As the years went by, more changes were brought forward. People were still not coming, so there had to be something or someone still holding the crowds back. Well the building was new, the music was impeccable, the speaker system good enough for any secular concert stage, the sign was backlit and the offices were fancy. What could it be? The only old still remaining in addition to the faithful fewer was the pastor. Of course he had done his best to comply with the new times. But did he really hold up to the standards of the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader? Did he really look like the powerful warrior of God that was needed in order to make the masses fight to get in through the shiny aluminum doors? Undoubtedly God wanted the congregation to grow. Would it not be in everyone’s interest to have a new, dynamic, charismatic warrior of faith in the house?
A couple of Sundays later, both the Cherub and the bass player experienced something special. During worship they both prophesized. The Almighty God himself revealed his will to them. The old pastor, bless his heart for his efforts, should be promoted to senior pastor with responsibility for the elderly and ancient faithful fewer. A new guy, a warrior of faith would soon rise and take command over this house of the Lord, bringing in the masses. Of course the senior pastor would no longer need his fancy office, but he could get a cell phone and a lap top to bring to his home office while waiting for the church to expand in order to house more offices and a day care center. Wasn’t it grand that the Lord had blessed him so richly allowing him to cut back on hours and just focus on his old flock? He would now have time to visit those of the faithful fewer who different reasons no longer attended church.
God was good; the 1st Calvary Church of Christ did not have to wait long for their faith warrior to appear. The drummer’s brother had just finished his 2 years at the Faith & Divine Power of the Almighty God, Bible College, and who could be better suited for leading the 1st Calvary Church of Christ than him. Since finances were tight, the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior worship leader came up with a brilliant idea on how to bless souls at the same time as the church made some money. They wanted to record 14 tracks of worship songs for enjoyment in cars, homes and on the local radio station. People would of coursed be blessed by this and the money generated from this would surely be sufficient to keep up the good work. As a fringe benefit, people would surely roll in when they heard the sweet harmonies, the tight rhythm section and the angelic voices.
Well the production of the worship album went way over budget, but expenses were not in focus while producing a strong manifestation of praise and worship like this. The senior worship leader and the cherub had calculated that if everyone of the faithful fewer bought 45 copies each at retail price and handed them out to neighbors, family and friends, all would be well. At least when the sales would pick up when people started to roll in to see how good the Lord is and how richly he had blessed them. Those who could not afford a full set of 45 copies at retail price could get 25 now, and 20 later and split the bill in four equal payments. This was clearly Gods will, and who, if anyone could object to such a divine financial plan?
As time went on, the faithful fewer had become even fewer and was now on the verge of being extinct. It was all good of course, sometimes the old needed to go before God could build something new. Besides the old folks had become grumpy and not all of them welcomed every change no matter how hard the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the senior worship leader tried. How ungrateful of them, not appreciating the work of real born again charismatic worship warriors. Slowly one by one of the faithful even fewer stopped coming to the 1st Calvary Church of Christ, some because the went to meet their maker, others because they started attending the Sunday morning services and bible studies held in the senior pastors dining room.
As their source of income slowly drifted away, the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the senior worship leader found the Lord to set them to the test. How could the Lord not bless their efforts? It became obvious that this was some kind of cleansing, preparing them for what to come. The new charismatic pastor could not agree more; maybe God had even bigger plans for them? Maybe they would become a center for faith, praise and worship in the entire region? Maybe one day there would be a second, a third and maybe even a 21st Calvary Church, as they spread over the world blessing people with their sweet music, their good performances, their prophecies and young smiling people.
The last I heard from 1st Calvary Church was that the building was sold, now housing an internet based company selling electronic equipment cheaply online. The church room now contains office cubicles. The sing now display opening hours and a web address. For the old pastor, if he is still alive, I would guess he is back in a suit and tie, conducting Sunday morning bible studies for whoever is left of the faithful almost extinct.
This little story if fictional, but based on real events. Far too many small chapels all over the world now house anything but places of worship because people have been eager to help God in ways God does not need to be helped. Some of them surely had the best of intentions, others because churches make excellent playgrounds for attention seekers and power hungry people. Sadly enough the results can be devastating no matter what their intentions might have been.
There is no one more creative than the Creator himself. .There is nothing more inspiring than He who is the origin of our faith. The essence of our faith is more than capable of attracting new believers without the aid of flashing lights, fancy buildings and a tight band. Being a rock & roll musician, I have no problem with seeing the entertainment value in these things. I have no problem understanding that lights, sound and music creates moods. Faith is not about being entertained, nor is it about creating moods for people to get drawn in by. Faith is something that should be deep and personal, having a relationship with the Almighty God. There are no amounts of human efforts that can ever make salvation easier. It is already as easy as it gets.
I am not saying that having several pastors in a congregation is wrong. I am not in any way suggesting that keeping a good Praise and Worship team is not a blessing. I am however saying that the amount of pastors, the quality of the music or the abilities of the sound system and the light rigs are not what get’s people saved. Preaching straight forward, life changing Biblical truths changes people, showing your neighbor love and respect changes people. Spending time on your knees changes people, and if we loose focus on the content while trying to make the appearance more edible for the general public, we’re missing out on the blessings the good Lord has in store for us.
I do not know what kind of church background you have. For all I know you might be a hard working praise and worship leader, struggling to do your best for the Lord. Maybe you’re one of the faithful few on the verge of extinction, what do I know? I just want you to keep in mind that God already did it all. We should all try to do our best, we should all sing or play as good as we possibly can, but if the form and quality gets in the way of the reason, your church might end up as a building housing yet another online discount business.
Once upon a time not too long ago, but not yesterday either, there was a small chapel on a humble little hill somewhere not too far from you. No one would say it was much to look at. It had four walls, a roof that did not leak too much, and floor worn down by a handful faithful believers over the years already past. The pastor was not a very charismatic man, he did not draw huge crowds, and really that was a good thing since the chapel barely could hold anything even remotely resembling a crowd anyways.
Every Sunday for as long as even the old folks could remember, there had been a service in the morning. The service was not too long, nor was it too short, it was just about right. The little old lady playing the piano at every service, had been little and old as long as most of the congregation could remember. She will probably never make any hall of fame in any category related to music, but she had been there every single Sunday morning nevertheless.
There was really nothing special about anything regarding the chapel, the pastor, the little old piano lady, the service or the congregation for that matter. It was a rather ordinary chapel, with an ordinary pastor, an ordinary little old piano lady, an ordinary service and mainly plain old ordinary people in the congregation.
Well this particular Sunday, was indeed not ordinary in any way. As the faithful few arrived at the small chapel, one by one they became aware of the sad news the pastor had to share. Today, the hymns would have to be acapella since the little old piano lady, had gone to meet her maker. She would soon be resting in modest little coffin, buried with a humble cross to mark the spot for her human remains, while her spirit was going over yonder to be with the Lord.
Although no one would ever describe the little old piano lady as significant in any meaning of the word, the congregation felt as if someone had removed a wall from the chapel. Sometimes recognition will not appear before what could have been recognized has been gone. There had always been music to accompany the singing. After the service, the pastor asked the congregation to stay a while they discussed how to replaced a lady who’s job had not been that important until she could not do it anymore.
No one had much to say and not many ideas or suggestions came up as the smell of coffee sneaked out from the tiny kitchen. It was really strange, the little old piano lady kind of been a part of the furniture, but this was not like buying new pews, as they had discussed on that long meeting last fall. An elderly man got up, holding his hymnal like a brick with both hands as he cleared his throat a couple of times. No one could really recall him speaking up at any service, or any other meeting for that sake.
“Maybe we should put in an advertisement in one of them Christian magazinesâ€, he finally said. “You know, pianist wanted for morning servicesâ€. He sat down without further ado. The silence spread and blended with the even more noticeable smell of coffee. The pastor got up and cleared his throat too before he second the idea. He, himself would sit down the first thing Monday morning and write the said advertisement and pick the appropriate Christian magazine if the congregation would agree on this. No one had anything to object as the smell of coffee now was stronger than ever, and some of the faithful few were pretty sure they could inhale the sweet scent of a freshly baked cake as well.
The next day the pastor woke up early. He got his usual bowl of ordinary cereal, and sat down at the rugged old kitchen table with a large cup of coffee, a note pad and a pen. He ate his cereal almost as if he conducting some kind of religious ritual cleared the bowl away and took a large sip of coffee. Twentysomething scrunched paper balls later, he had the advertisement down, and it read as follows. Small chapel seeks pianist for morning services. Acoustic guitarists will also be considered. Then he added his phone number and the address of the chapel at the bottom of the advertisement.
Some weeks passed by and the congregation had still not gotten any answers from their advertisement. This called for a new meeting after another musicless service. The pastor read the advertisement out loud while the fragrance of coffee tiptoes into nose drills bearing promises of cake and fellowship. The elderly hymnal clasping man, get’s up this time as well, clearing his throat. Maybe, he says, maybe we have to offer some kind of compensation for the piano player. He sat down as the faithful few let this peculiar idea sink in. The pastor got up again, and seconds the idea, since although the old pianist had not received any compensation, maybe compensation would be needed in order to get a new one. He kindly offered to author yet another advertisement at first chance. If the congregation agreed, that is. And agree they did as coffee and cake was brought out from the kitchen.
The new advertisement read: Small chapel seeks pianist for morning services. Acoustic guitarists will also be considered. Instrumentalist will be compensated accordingly to available funds. Then he added his phone number and the address of the chapel at the bottom of the advertisement. The following week, there were some phone calls as well as some letters dropping in. And the following Sunday yet another meeting was called for, followed by coffe, cake and fellowship. The pastor was happy to be able to call up a young multi instrumentalist on behalf of the little chapel and invite said musician to come the following Sunday.
The youngster was a pretty handsome chap with a firm handshake and a winning smile. The pastor introduced him to the congregation and the faithful few were happy to finally have music with the hymns again. The pastor and the youngster agreed on a fair compensation, and so it came about that the little chapel were able to replace the little old piano lady, at a fairly reasonable cost. After all, imagine all the money they had saved by the little old piano lady never asking for a penny all those years. In order to get everything back to normal, a change was made, but more changes were soon to follow.
After the fourth service, the young man asked the pastor if there were any funds available for the music part of the service. The pastor had never thought about this, but yes, the chapel had some funds that had accumulated over the years. The young man pointed out that old folks made up most of the congregation, and as everyone knows, old people have bad hearing, and having an electric piano would probably be an advantage. The pastor was touched by the young man and his concern for the elderly, so at first chance he brought the idea up for the congregation to decide. Since no one could come up with a valid reason why this should not happen, the young man was soon sent to the nearest city in order to acquire said electric piano. At the first service, the piano was blessed and the guy with the firm handshake and the winning smile even played Amazing Grace as an instrumental making use of some advanced functions imbedded in this new technological wonder.
A couple of services later, handshake boy took the pastor aside once more as he had something more to point out. A they both knew, the congregation was mainly made up from old folks, and not many young ones, if any, ever attended. Wouldn’t it be fun to fill the chapel with young families, youth and kids? The pastor really started to like this kind of enthusiasm and when the young, handsome piano guy with the winning smile had an idea on how to get more people coming to the chapel; it was not hard to get him to second that idea. Instead of hymns and psalms, the music should be replaced with something more modern, something contemporary that would surely attract the younger people in the area.
The following Sunday no hymnals were handed out. Just some A4 sheets with lyrics. Short, pretty simple songs most of them never had heard. It was a good thing that their pianist was equipped with a good singing voice as he could lead them through these new songs. Some did not care too much for this, while others welcomed and embraced these modern tunes. During the following month, the hymns were becoming few and far apart, while the songs introduced on A4 sheets frequented the services on a regular basis. The young man, hated to bring this up, but new songs meant more work and the pastor offered a little raise to cover the time spent. All was well.
The first Sunday of the fourth month there was yet another meeting after the service. The previous Sunday the pianist with the winning smile had pointed out to the pastor that the music alone did not seem to have the desired effect as the younger generations still did not show up for Sunday morning services. Luckily the chapel’s latest asset had an idea on how to solve this, and the pastor was all ears. Everyone in the area had always known the chapel by exactly that name, the chapel. Maybe a name change would attract more people. He even had an idea for the name. Faith & Family Chapel had a nice ring to it and as the coffee was prepared the faithful few decided on the name, and a big visible sign by the road.
As the months went by, more changes came. Leading the congregation in these new songs really put a strain on the new guy’s vocal chords. In all fairness he was not even there to sing, but to play, and although singing was his humble offering to God, the pastor surely could see why a speaker system would be a valuable investment. First of all, the congregation still mostly consisted of old people with bad hearing, and when the young ones would arrive, they would be used to hearing music and speech through speakers anyways. A couple of Sundays later, the brand new PA system was in the house. 16 channel mixer, full range speakers, a couple of microphones and some stands. Mr. Winning smile even brought in a female friend to help lead the congregation in yet another set of new songs.
Apart from a new electric piano, the new name, the big sign by the road, the new speaker system, the new piano guy and additional visits of his female friends who sang like a cherub, everything was as usual in the Faith & Family Chapel, and although Faith was present, family still wasn’t. It so happened that the pianist’s female friend had a brother who was a good singer too and played the guitar as well. Maybe if the Faith & Family Chapel would consider hiring this guy as well, the families would come. Just think of it, two young men leading the congregation through contemporary Christian songs. How cool would that be? A month before Christmas that year, the guitar playing friend was on board as a part of the music team in Faith & Family Chapel, and the cherub came along at least one Sunday a month.
One Sunday in February, the three musical assets stayed behind after the service was over. They had another splendid idea. Other churches and chapels had worship services and their own worship teams, and when you come to think of it, that was the case also for the Faith & Family Chapel. Maybe they could change the sign by the road. It should now read; Sunday Morning Worship Service, featuring the Faith & Family Chapel Worship Band. It would not be any actual change except for the fact that Miss Angelvoice also would get compensated. Just think of all the families and youth who would much rather go to the chapel now that it was a worship service with a real band. It was a great idea, and a redone sign, another microphone and yet another meeting later, the Sunday Morning Worship Service, featuring the Faith & Family Chapel Worship Band was a fact. Surely now this would attract some people.
In a way they were right. A few of the locals popped in for a quick guest appearance in the chapel, curious about all these new things happening. But when summer set in, the handful faithful still made up the congregation and the Faith & Family Chapel Worship Band went on a retreat for worship bands to learn more about how to run an efficient worship team. What a blessing it was, now they got to meet other worship bands and get new ideas. They came back to the chapel full of ideas and new solutions; it was going to be an exiting fall.
By September Faith & Family Chapel had become 1st Calvary Family Chapel, the sign had become bigger and it now read. 1st Calvary Family Chapel, Sunday morning Worship with the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team. A fourth member was added to the team, a harmony singing bass player from a close by village. He was more than happy to join the team as he felt as the church he was a member of, did not allow him to use his talents fully worshipping the Lord. Having four compensated worship leaders put a strain on the old chapel bank account, but the pastor knew this was just a passing phase as all that happened were bound to make the crowd roll in any day now. The smell of coffee was still present every now and then and the faithful few kept faithful.
The last week of October brought more changes. Since the name was good, the sign was big the speaker system was working and the music impeccable, there had to be something else that kept the crowd from rolling in. The four members of the Calvary Family Chapel worship team had done a great deal of thinking on what this could be. The cherub approached the pastor in sisterly love and asked for a meeting were he and the team would be present. You see, some people might keep away from the chapel because the preaching takes too much time in the service. And to be frank, God would not object to you freshening up your wardrobe, she said with a smile. It all made sense. Shorter preaching maybe with a funny twist and some anecdotes would probably bring in more people. Luckily the cherub had a cousin working in a clothing store, and they would both be more than happy aiding the pastor to get a more modern and casual style.
The pastor felt a bit strange conducting his first service in jeans and a shirt. He had always been a suit and tie guy, that had been his pastors uniform for years. But alas, he was able to get a few smile and even some laughs as he went through his 15 minutes of written manuscript on God’s love. If dressing down had felt strange, the laughs sure felt good, and for the following Sundays he avoided the heavy theology and kept his new winning formula flowing. The service now started with 20 minutes of worship, the there were room for some information and the collection, then another 5 minutes of singing before he got on stage. Of course he knew it was still the same old platform that he always had been preaching from, but it felt more like a stage these days. The instruments, the speakers, and even some lights had been set up, after all, old folks don’t see too good either, and when the young people arrive, they are used to lights everywhere.
In December that year, the fifth member of the team came in place. He was a former rock drummer who had decided to serve the Lord with his drums and sticks. Luckily the speaker system was powerful enough to boost the other instruments sufficiently since he was a hard hitter, sometimes still appearing to be on the stage with any rock band around. This new addition demanded more space on the platform and the old pulpit was replaced by one of these slim movable plexiglass ones. It could be moved to the far left of the platform allowing the team to use the full width of it and be placed closer to the center when it was time for some preaching. The bass player who was a nice guy and usually the last one from the team to get off the stage volunteered to set it up every time.
It was rather interesting. Sitting in the church room looking up on the platform, everything was changed. Standing on the platform looking down, nothing had changed really except for the fact that the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team now took up most of the front row. It was great to have them there. They were so supportive and spiritual. The pastor could not remember when he last got so many hallelujah’s and amen’s. The sermons now were more casual. It had gone from preaching to teaching as the drummer put it, short easy messages, full of love, forgiveness and understanding. Music was now the main ingredient and the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team gave the pastor set lists of the songs they were planning on doing so the pastor wouldn’t have a hard time finding a related topic for his short speech.
The only thing that really had changed apart from the name, the revised sign, the pastors new style, the speaker system, the lights and the presences of the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team, was the need to stress how important it was to give generously to the Lord. Having five compensated members and a slowly flowing but constant need for equipment and instrument upgrades had taken its toll on the chapel’s funds. Since the local families and young ones still seamed to rather sleep in on Sunday mornings, the faithful few had to step up and take responsibility for their new blessings. With the new year yet another change came about.
The name of the chapel was more than good enough. The sign could be seen from a great distance. The sound system worked and had been expanded. The lights were in place creating a great setting for the service. The pastor had a new style both when it came to appearance and preaching. The team was brilliant, young smiling people, sweet voices and a tight rhythm section. What could possibly be wrong? Drummer boy and the cherub knew. The time was totally not attractive for most families and young ones. Who wants to get up early in order to get the kids ready for church? What teen today likes to get up at dawn? The solution had to be to move the morning praise to Sunday evening in stead.
On the 3d Sunday of January, for the first time, at least for as long as most could remember, there was no Sunday Morning service in the chapel. The sign had be redone and anyone passing it, even from a great distance could read; 1st Calvary Family Chapel, Sunday evening Worship with the 1st Calvary Family Chapel worship team. Once again a few of the locals made yet another quick guest appearance in the chapel. The faithful few however, became even fewer since they were mainly old folks and we all know old people have bad hearing and sight, and going out when it’s dark isn’t all that advisable. But the music was great and the teaching was indeed both funny and short. Still people did not roll in as expected. What could be wrong?
It had to be the building itself. People were probably used to the chapel being a dull and boring place. That had to be it. As long as the chapel looked like it always had done from the outside, people would not really want to go in and check all the new things happening on the inside. Something had to be done and although the faithful few had become even fewer, the ones remaining now had to work even harder pulling together for the sake of the Kingdom and the salvation of lost souls. It would not be enough just to paint the old chapel, it had to be expanded and made more modern. Some of the faithful even fewer took bank loans in order to help pay for the new chapel. Everyone chipped in with whatever they could with time, effort and money. Half a year later, the new chapel was done. With a new building, there should be a new name, to mark the changes made. 1st Calvary Church of Christ sounded good now, and the old sign was replaced by a new aluminum framed, backlit one testifying that 1st Calvary Church of Christ worship team indeed worshiped there every Sunday night.
New facilities of course meant more light, more speakers, better equipment and new furniture. There were so many things to be grateful for. The pastor got a brand new fancy office with opening hours marked on the door. The piano man with the firm handshake and the winning smile, now was titled Senior Worship leader, and got an almost equally big office. The cherub, proved to be able to do more than lift her voice in praise, she could also answer phones at the brand new reception, telling whoever called if the pastor or the senior worship leader was available. Not that many people called, but in the future, when all the locals would flock around the new church, it would be nice to have someone who knew how to greet them.
Of course, there had been issues about the money spent, but it all would be sorted out sometime soon. It was just a matter of time now before God himself would open the eyes of the locals and make them huddle around the church with gratitude and respect for what they had achieved. The money spent on new computers, phone lines, furniture and equipment would soon roll in again as soon as people started to do the same. They even made a website presenting the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team and of course the pastor. If you looked closely, you could even find contact information and a page with opening hours.
The new facilities were cleverly built. Both from the Senior Worship leader’s office and the pastor’s office, doors lead out right onto the platform. This meant that they could spend the time before the service preparing for the service instead of having to spend time interacting with the faithful fewer and fewer. The hymnal clasping elderly man had been promoted to Chief Usher, indeed a really important job. His job was now to greet the faithful fewer and hand out the copied A4 sheets with worship songs now copied on the brand new cannon copier in the reception area. The copier would prove to be a good investment sometime soon, as they were sure the local business would not mind having easy access to cheap copying.
The cherub was now making an itinerary for every service. It was all quite cleverly made up and it became obvious that her skills as a secretary were put to good use for the Kingdom. Every service now lasted exactly 60 minutes or less, with a tight schedule to follow.
18.00-18.02 CD-Introduction, instrumental praise song.
18.20-18.22 Worship with the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader
18.23-18.25 Information
18.26-18.30 Collection, while the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader, leads in praise and worship.
18.31-18.41 Short Sermon by the pastor.
18.42-18.59 Worship with the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader
It really was for the best, since the families and the young ones who would start to show up
any day now, of course were on tight schedules already and they were used to conformity and
efficiency everywhere else. For the faithful fewer, tightening up the service would be good as
well, since some of them had gone from elderly to almost ancient and would benefit from
easy, fast delivered holiness. After all, they were not seeing or hearing that good any longer,
and frankly they were not taking too much part in the worshipping either. Luckily the 1st
Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader were more than
capable of making a joyful noise for the Lord.
As the years went by, more changes were brought forward. People were still not coming, so there had to be something or someone still holding the crowds back. Well the building was new, the music was impeccable, the speaker system good enough for any secular concert stage, the sign was backlit and the offices were fancy. What could it be? The only old still remaining in addition to the faithful fewer was the pastor. Of course he had done his best to comply with the new times. But did he really hold up to the standards of the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior Worship leader? Did he really look like the powerful warrior of God that was needed in order to make the masses fight to get in through the shiny aluminum doors? Undoubtedly God wanted the congregation to grow. Would it not be in everyone’s interest to have a new, dynamic, charismatic warrior of faith in the house?
A couple of Sundays later, both the Cherub and the bass player experienced something special. During worship they both prophesized. The Almighty God himself revealed his will to them. The old pastor, bless his heart for his efforts, should be promoted to senior pastor with responsibility for the elderly and ancient faithful fewer. A new guy, a warrior of faith would soon rise and take command over this house of the Lord, bringing in the masses. Of course the senior pastor would no longer need his fancy office, but he could get a cell phone and a lap top to bring to his home office while waiting for the church to expand in order to house more offices and a day care center. Wasn’t it grand that the Lord had blessed him so richly allowing him to cut back on hours and just focus on his old flock? He would now have time to visit those of the faithful fewer who different reasons no longer attended church.
God was good; the 1st Calvary Church of Christ did not have to wait long for their faith warrior to appear. The drummer’s brother had just finished his 2 years at the Faith & Divine Power of the Almighty God, Bible College, and who could be better suited for leading the 1st Calvary Church of Christ than him. Since finances were tight, the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the Senior worship leader came up with a brilliant idea on how to bless souls at the same time as the church made some money. They wanted to record 14 tracks of worship songs for enjoyment in cars, homes and on the local radio station. People would of coursed be blessed by this and the money generated from this would surely be sufficient to keep up the good work. As a fringe benefit, people would surely roll in when they heard the sweet harmonies, the tight rhythm section and the angelic voices.
Well the production of the worship album went way over budget, but expenses were not in focus while producing a strong manifestation of praise and worship like this. The senior worship leader and the cherub had calculated that if everyone of the faithful fewer bought 45 copies each at retail price and handed them out to neighbors, family and friends, all would be well. At least when the sales would pick up when people started to roll in to see how good the Lord is and how richly he had blessed them. Those who could not afford a full set of 45 copies at retail price could get 25 now, and 20 later and split the bill in four equal payments. This was clearly Gods will, and who, if anyone could object to such a divine financial plan?
As time went on, the faithful fewer had become even fewer and was now on the verge of being extinct. It was all good of course, sometimes the old needed to go before God could build something new. Besides the old folks had become grumpy and not all of them welcomed every change no matter how hard the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the senior worship leader tried. How ungrateful of them, not appreciating the work of real born again charismatic worship warriors. Slowly one by one of the faithful even fewer stopped coming to the 1st Calvary Church of Christ, some because the went to meet their maker, others because they started attending the Sunday morning services and bible studies held in the senior pastors dining room.
As their source of income slowly drifted away, the 1st Calvary Church of Christ Worship Team featuring the senior worship leader found the Lord to set them to the test. How could the Lord not bless their efforts? It became obvious that this was some kind of cleansing, preparing them for what to come. The new charismatic pastor could not agree more; maybe God had even bigger plans for them? Maybe they would become a center for faith, praise and worship in the entire region? Maybe one day there would be a second, a third and maybe even a 21st Calvary Church, as they spread over the world blessing people with their sweet music, their good performances, their prophecies and young smiling people.
The last I heard from 1st Calvary Church was that the building was sold, now housing an internet based company selling electronic equipment cheaply online. The church room now contains office cubicles. The sing now display opening hours and a web address. For the old pastor, if he is still alive, I would guess he is back in a suit and tie, conducting Sunday morning bible studies for whoever is left of the faithful almost extinct.
This little story if fictional, but based on real events. Far too many small chapels all over the world now house anything but places of worship because people have been eager to help God in ways God does not need to be helped. Some of them surely had the best of intentions, others because churches make excellent playgrounds for attention seekers and power hungry people. Sadly enough the results can be devastating no matter what their intentions might have been.
There is no one more creative than the Creator himself. .There is nothing more inspiring than He who is the origin of our faith. The essence of our faith is more than capable of attracting new believers without the aid of flashing lights, fancy buildings and a tight band. Being a rock & roll musician, I have no problem with seeing the entertainment value in these things. I have no problem understanding that lights, sound and music creates moods. Faith is not about being entertained, nor is it about creating moods for people to get drawn in by. Faith is something that should be deep and personal, having a relationship with the Almighty God. There are no amounts of human efforts that can ever make salvation easier. It is already as easy as it gets.
I am not saying that having several pastors in a congregation is wrong. I am not in any way suggesting that keeping a good Praise and Worship team is not a blessing. I am however saying that the amount of pastors, the quality of the music or the abilities of the sound system and the light rigs are not what get’s people saved. Preaching straight forward, life changing Biblical truths changes people, showing your neighbor love and respect changes people. Spending time on your knees changes people, and if we loose focus on the content while trying to make the appearance more edible for the general public, we’re missing out on the blessings the good Lord has in store for us.
I do not know what kind of church background you have. For all I know you might be a hard working praise and worship leader, struggling to do your best for the Lord. Maybe you’re one of the faithful few on the verge of extinction, what do I know? I just want you to keep in mind that God already did it all. We should all try to do our best, we should all sing or play as good as we possibly can, but if the form and quality gets in the way of the reason, your church might end up as a building housing yet another online discount business.