Are aspects of your church’s worship services were distracting?
Lee Kricher shares how recognizing and addressing distractions was a first step to revitalizing his own church.
“We started to say are there things in our weekend services that are distracting people from the essence of the message.”
Lee recalls a young pastor he talked to who had one such distraction.
“He brought his dog with him to church and the dog would lay in front of the pulpit and while he was preaching the dog would bark and howl. People got used to it because they were there but a visitor came up to him one time and said I actually liked the message but I had a hard time hearing it because the dog was barking.”
The pastor told Lee proudly that he loved his dog and if it’s between the guest or his dog, he would pick his dog. While this example is extreme, Lee says that more churches suffer from this kind of distraction than we might think.
“The fact is our churches are filled with barking dogs; things that we have adopted, we love, we’re used to, but they distract people from the essence of what we’re all about.”
As a church, Lee’s congregation started to look for aspects of their worship service that were working against them even though they were used to them. What were some “barking dogs?”
“We had a sign out front that was broken and falling down. People who were in the neighborhood would drive by and they’d see that and no one would be attracted to want to come to that church. Our parking lot was muddy so people who came regularly knew to wear old shoes, but if any visitor came women would break their heels, or guys would end up with muddy shoes.”
While these things might seem insignificant, they stack up and first impressions count.
“These things are so easily changed, but we get used to them and they get in the way.”
Lee Kricher is the senior pastor of Amplify Church. During his ten years tenure the church not only experienced significant growth, but the average age of the members and attendees decreased from approximately 50 to 35 years old. Lee’s four decades of leadership experience in both the church and corporate worlds give him a unique perspective on how to apply proven leadership principles in the church.
Key Scripture: Psalm 78:4
Featured Songs: This is the Day – Phil Wickham; Never Stop – Urban Rescue; Priceless – For King and Country
For a new generation
