Thanks for Writing
I was surprised at how many people responded by email to the blog a few weeks ago where I confessed to thinking about pulling the plug on this thing. Thanks for your encouragement. I didn't realize that many people were reading.
Last Sunday was a little nerve racking for me. It all started on Saturday morning. A group from the Church Council met at the Student Christian Center to evaluate the possibility of moving our Sunday morning activities to that location. The consensus seems to be that it's a good move and we should do it. And the group implemented a very aggressive timeline for discernment and decision. That makes me nervous. I didn't sleep well Saturday night. I'm still paying for it.
A few people have expressed reservations. I have some too, but I am generally in favor of the move. It would be A LOT more affordable and would free some money for other ministries. That's the upside.
I am also attracted to the idea of moving because the venue is smaller. Since we are filling out our current venue regularly now, a move would force us to go to two worship services immediately which is something I've wanted to do for awhile, but haven't felt led to push partly because I seem to be the only person genuinely enthusiastic about the idea.
Multiple worship services would solve a huge problem for ICB. I get a fair amount of pressure to change our worship service. The problem is the pressure comes from opposite directions. Traditionalists want a more liturigal service. Non-traditionalists want a more contemporary service. Right now our service is casual traditional with just enough contemporary elements to make the traditionalists uneasy! In my opinion this creates an unhappy compromise. Going to two services would allow us to have a more formal liturgical service and a more casual contemporary.
But people (including me) are nervous about that. Will one service thrive while the other wilts? Will I have a strong preference for one over the other and thereby give more time, effort and energy to one? Will a coheasive since of being ONE church disappear?
On the other hand - growing bigger by going smaller might improve all those things. Both groups of people (those wanting a quiet, reverent, high church experience AND those wanting a louder, celebration experience) will be happier. Both services could prosper. Lord knows there are plenty of English speaking people in Metro Bangkok without any connection to a Christian Church. And having smaller "worship" gatherings might improve our fellowship. As it is now - most people in our church don't know each other. We are slightly too large for that. What if we had smaller gatherings (75-150), fellowship could actually improve?
I say all this confessionally. I have no idea how the church at large will react to this idea. From the comments I have so far people are pretty enthusiastic. Is it possible that we are about to experience a move of God in our church taking us to the next level of ministry?! :) It sure feels like it. If you are a prayer and you read this blog - pray for us during this discernment process.
Last Sunday was a little nerve racking for me. It all started on Saturday morning. A group from the Church Council met at the Student Christian Center to evaluate the possibility of moving our Sunday morning activities to that location. The consensus seems to be that it's a good move and we should do it. And the group implemented a very aggressive timeline for discernment and decision. That makes me nervous. I didn't sleep well Saturday night. I'm still paying for it.
A few people have expressed reservations. I have some too, but I am generally in favor of the move. It would be A LOT more affordable and would free some money for other ministries. That's the upside.
I am also attracted to the idea of moving because the venue is smaller. Since we are filling out our current venue regularly now, a move would force us to go to two worship services immediately which is something I've wanted to do for awhile, but haven't felt led to push partly because I seem to be the only person genuinely enthusiastic about the idea.
Multiple worship services would solve a huge problem for ICB. I get a fair amount of pressure to change our worship service. The problem is the pressure comes from opposite directions. Traditionalists want a more liturigal service. Non-traditionalists want a more contemporary service. Right now our service is casual traditional with just enough contemporary elements to make the traditionalists uneasy! In my opinion this creates an unhappy compromise. Going to two services would allow us to have a more formal liturgical service and a more casual contemporary.
But people (including me) are nervous about that. Will one service thrive while the other wilts? Will I have a strong preference for one over the other and thereby give more time, effort and energy to one? Will a coheasive since of being ONE church disappear?
On the other hand - growing bigger by going smaller might improve all those things. Both groups of people (those wanting a quiet, reverent, high church experience AND those wanting a louder, celebration experience) will be happier. Both services could prosper. Lord knows there are plenty of English speaking people in Metro Bangkok without any connection to a Christian Church. And having smaller "worship" gatherings might improve our fellowship. As it is now - most people in our church don't know each other. We are slightly too large for that. What if we had smaller gatherings (75-150), fellowship could actually improve?
I say all this confessionally. I have no idea how the church at large will react to this idea. From the comments I have so far people are pretty enthusiastic. Is it possible that we are about to experience a move of God in our church taking us to the next level of ministry?! :) It sure feels like it. If you are a prayer and you read this blog - pray for us during this discernment process.
