Doing Church in the Information Age

Once upon a time, the person in a community likely to be the best educated, the best informed, and certainly the best orator (to use the nomenclature) was the local priest or parson. He was the man you looked to not only for Biblical wisdom but for insight about the day's events. Not only were many of our nation's founders either in the ministry or educated for the ministry, but local pastors led the members of many Colonial churches to take up arms against the King. Many of them joined the battle--including the two "fighting parsons" pictured here.

It's different today. Modern church members are often as well-educated as their pastors (or similarly degreed, anyway). And as for the news of our day, it would seem lay people in general have more time for reading and interpreting widely-sourced news than their pastors. My pastor is a busier man than most. He can't possibly spend the kind of time on the net or listening to talk radio that I can. Nor can he spend all his time reading books. And frankly--what pastor would want to? My pastor once told several of us that he had remodeled the office and removed the built-in bookshelves of the prior pastor. He tapped his laptop. "I've got all the books I need, right in here." I was chagrined, having forever dreamed of built-in bookshelves. But rabid bibliophilia (doesn't it sound like a disease?) is not a prequisite for effective ministry. Frankly, my own bookishness is a hindrance as often as it helps at church. (For every Sunday school lesson enriched, there's a committee meeting where everyone thinks I'm crazy because I don't share their priorities. Thank you, Neil Postman.)

Then there's the massive proliferation of other ministries. Everyone in Houston can listen to half a dozen Christian radio stations, and two Christian television stations--even without cable or satellite systems. Surely you could listen to fifty sermons a week if you were so inclined. And with the internet, you can listen to sermons all day, every day. And you can hear the very best in church music, new worship, old worship, or whatever you want. There's James Dobson, Chuck Colson, Janet Parschall, Chuck Swindoll, Hank Hannegraff, Beth Moore (can't forget her) and dozens and dozens of others on radio and TV and internet outlets 24/7. And there are Christian movie reviewers (Movieguide now has at least one competitor), "family coaches," financial ministries, health and diet experts, experts on preschool, or caring for aging parents (somebody send me a link--ha!), experts on guiding your child's education, whether home-schooled or otherwise, and many more.

But after a week immersed in this sea of information--listening to great speakers, great music, reading the best analysis and the best books, having deep and heavy discussions on the web--where writing the occasional 'comment' may take longer than we allow the pastor to speak--arriving at church on Sunday, it might be easy to shrug your shoulders after the sermon and say, "Oh, well. That left me sort of flat."

And it occured to me--why do we come to church? To hear a great message? Do we expect the pastor to beat out the competition in a world saturated with information? To be more entertaining, more insightful, more passionate, but more dispassionate, more everything--than whatever else we've taken in all week? Is that fair? Is it possible? (Could Beth Moore even live up to that?)

John Eldredge makes it clear: We come to church to fellowship with other believers and to commune with and learn how to love Jesus. We come because we are not autonomous, disconnected people who can pick whatever's most interesting, as if going to church were just another channel on the tube, another bookmark taking you to another distant website. Instead, we are part of a body. And you can't take that lightly. Not just the larger body, but the local one to which you have been called--even if it has seemed dull lately. We stand or fall as a body. We reap what we sow as a body. God's reasons for church attendance do not include being over-stimulated by exciting sermons. If you've read much of the Bible, you know the excitement is knowing God and having a changed life. It's not about the reading experience. Same with sermons.

We need to love our pastor(s). Pray for him. And be thankful for him, whatever his weaknesses. The gospel ministry is no more about impressing people with deep insights or flowery oratory than marriage is about non-stop passion, or a career fulfilling and perfect every single day. Pastors are given to the church to teach us and equip us for ministry. Not to impress us with their education, brilliant rhetoric, or insightful commentary on the events of the day. Often such concerns have more to do with entertainment than sanctification. Consider them blessings when they come, but do not expect the preacher to be more entertaining--or even more insightful--than everything else out there. No one is that good all the time. Not in an information age.

And enjoy the wealth of information at your fingertips--but don't get so saturated in the ubiquitous media that you lose touch with relationships. What matters in life is the people, the ones you know well, and the ones you fellowship with across the aisle. Church is about building your life, your character, and your relationships, both with people, and with Christ. Go there, expect Him to hear your worship and to touch your life (whether you realize it or not) and be blessed. We would all be wise to give our pastors a break. Stop expecting them to dazzle us with profundities. Sometimes the simplest and shortest message is the one you most need to hear.