Everything has its season. And the season of the cool church is, in many ways, coming to an end.
There was an era when simply being a cooler church than the church down the road helped churches reach unchurched people. There was a day when all you had to do was improve the church you led to gain traction. Trade in the choir for a band. Turn the chancel into a platform. Add some lights, some sound, some haze. Get some great teaching in the room. And voila, you had a growing church.
But we’re quickly moving into a season where having a cool church is like having the best choir in town: it’s wonderful for the handful of people who still listen to choral music.
Something’s changing. And hundreds of thousands of dollars in lights and great sound gear are probably not going to impact your community like they used to.
So what’s changing? Plenty.
Cool Isn’t Enough (Anymore)
You might think I’m against churches have bands, lights, and creating a great environment. Not at all. In fact, as we speak, our team is building a facility for the church at which I serve that facilitates all of that.
If you are going to gather people, gather well.
My point is not that you shouldn’t. My point is that it’s no longer enough.
And maybe it never was.
The megachurches many of us watch today didn’t get to be as effective as they are simply by being cool.
If you really study how most large churches have become effective in leading people to Jesus (and yes—haters step aside—many large churches are effective in leading people into a real relationship with Jesus Christ), they have always been about more than just lights, sound and show. There’s substance. More substance than critics would ever give them credit for.
Are megachurches universally healthy? No. But neither are many small churches. In fact, sometimes the dysfunction in small churches eclipses that of medium-sized or large churches.
As Geoff Surratt has so helpfully pointed out, you can’t say that just because a few megachurches have collapsed that they are all the same. Churches like North Point, Newspring, Cross Point, Seacoast and Life Church, to name a few, have developed great leaders on their local campuses and across their teams. They’ve moved far beyond a structure based on one “famous” name.
So why would “cool church” be fading into the sunset?
3 Reasons Cool Church Isn’t What It Used To Be
Decades ago as cool church started to take root among very large, rapidly growing churches, many other, smaller churches and church plants followed suit. And for a season, it “worked.” Getting some awesome lights, better sound, better music, and a slightly more hip communicator grew churches. Sure, some of the growth was transfer growth, but a big percentage of what many churches experienced was not. People invited their friends and their friends came back.
So what’s changing?
Now most cities have a great selection of cool churches. Many towns have at least one. It’s no longer unusual to have a band in church. It’s not even that novel to have lights and great sound or to play all the cool songs.
And…in the process of all this imitation, three things happened:
1. Cutting edge keeps changing…fast
What was novel isn’t novel as novel for long anymore. The rise of technology and social media means that you now hold access to pretty much anything you want in your hand whenever you want to.
You used to have to hire experts or do some exploring to find cool things. Sometimes you even had to travel. Now you just download an app, watch a video, stream a song or follow whatever trend you’re passionate about in the moment—whenever you want to. Instantly. Usually for free.
Consequently, there’s kind of a trend-fatigue or indifference happening. Trends are shorter, less interesting, and we’re all growing oh-so-bored with what’s novel.
Which means that it’s harder than ever for churches to be cutting edge because cutting edge keeps changing.
2. Indifference to church has grown
As this helpful Barna research points out, even in the U.S. people are increasingly indifferent to church. That’s certainly been true in Canada, Europe and in places like Australia and New Zealand for a while.
So, a decade ago, having a cool church would have gotten you more traction than it does today. If people aren’t into church, it doesn’t matter how cool, hip or trendy your church is; people won’t be that interested.
You behave this way. If you’re on a health kick, you’re not going to order the burger and fries, even if they are the best in town. And if you’re not on a healthy kick, the spinach, arugula, kale salad with tuna isn’t going to capture your imagination, no matter how healthy it is.
3. Imitation killed innovation
Of all three points, this one probably bothers me the most.
To begin with, when churches imitate each other, we rarely borrow all the best practices—we just borrow the ones that are easy to see or seem obvious. But what’s made growing churches grow is deeper than the cool factor. Consequently, leaders who finally get what they were longing for—a cool church—are often shocked to discover they don’t deliver what they promised.
And in the process of all that imitation something even more important is lost: innovation.
What’s needed now more than ever is church leaders willing to pioneer….to go deep into a culture that keeps changing to reach people who are increasingly resistant. What’s needed most as we look at what’s ahead is innovation. And it’s sorely lacking among many church leaders.
Should you never imitate? No…that’s not wise either. To refuse to borrow best practices from others is arrogant and, to a large extent, futile thinking. The point is simply this: don’t let imitation kill innovation at your church.
Irrelevance Isn’t the Answer, Either
So should you run from all things cool, trendy or hip? No. Relevance is better than irrelevance.
The answer to the challenge of keeping up with relevance is not to return to irrelevance. Relevant church has many critics, but to not bridge the cultural gap is even more ludicrous (in my view) than trying to bridge it and maybe failing. To agree to be irrelevant, ineffective and bad at what you do is a terrible option.
So what do we do as we head into the future?
5 Keys to Rebirth
The church can take many forms. But for all those leaders who, like me, believe in gathering people together for the sake of a larger mission, what does the future look like?
I think you stay relevant (and maybe even a bit cool), but you go beyond that. Dig deeper.
Here are five keys I see to a future of greater impact. In many ways, they are the new cool. Authenticity is the new cool. The mission is the new cool. Hope is the new cool. Community is the new cool. And so is experimentation.
1. Authenticity
Sometimes under cool is an inauthenticity. Dump that. Authentic resonates. People are looking for what’s real, what’s true and what’s authentic. Here’s a post on how to be an appropriately transparent leader without oversharing.
2. Prioritize the Mission
The church has always been about something bigger than itself. At the centre of our mission is Christ. A church that is focused on a larger mission will never become self-obsessed.
Cool can carry with it a sense of narcissism. You lose your narcissism when you lose yourself in a bigger mission. And that, by the way, is something Millennials are longing to give their lives to.
3. Deal Hope
We leaders are dealers in hope. And Christianity provides more hope than anything.
I’m 100% behind making messages practical, applicable and helpful. I think the Gospel is that. But it is also much more than that. If all we have is this life, we’re to be pitied more than anyone (pretty sure the Bible says something about that).
In an age where all most people see is that which is imminent, people need to be ushered into the presence of Someone who is transcendent. Christianity at it’s best has always been about both imminence and transcendence.
4. Elevate Community
I’m all for lights, sound, relevance and even video walls if they help the mission. But as my friend Reggie Joiner says, the church will never be able to out-Disney Disney.
And that’s true, we will never have the budget or resources to entertain or engage the best. But even if we did…what would be the point?
While we can’t out-Disney Disney, no one should be able to out-community the local church. God is in the people business. He loves us. And the goal is to connect people with Christ and with each other.
As your church grows bigger, it also needs to grow smaller by connecting people relationally. I know we’ve said this for years, but it’s never been more urgent.
5. Experiment
Experimenting is the key to innovation. And, as we’ve seen, in an age of imitation in the church, innovation has been sidelined.
Bring that back.
Do what you do now, but start experimenting on the side to see what’s really going to make the biggest impact in the future. The truth is I don’t think anyone knows what that is right now. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying.
If you’re looking for more, here are 11 traits of churches that will impact the future.
What Do You Think?
What are you seeing in the church today? It’s easy to criticize, but what can you add in terms of contribution? Scroll down and leave a comment!
