What Good Websites and Church Have in Common
A week ago I had the opportunity to gather with a group of folks who are working to provide resources to preachers. These are the people who put together websites, conferences, study materials, and more. At one point, we had a conversation about what we’ve all learned about what makes a good website. The comments were fascinating:
It needs to be interactive. People want to be participants, not just an audience.
People want to find resources that help them in their daily lives.
Variety is everything. It can’t just be information, or resources, or entertainment, but a little bit of all.
It’s about making connections – where people can connect with others.
And probably my favorite:
It doesn’t matter how many people come, it’s what they do once they get in the door that matters. That’s the surest sign they’ll come back.
I enjoyed the conversation because I was learning a lot about what makes a better website. Some of this is what we’ve discovered while working on a reboot of WorkignPreacher.org. Some of it was new.
But all of a sudden in the middle of the conversation, it struck me: what would it be like to talk about Sunday worship this way. Many of those statements took on a whole new meaning:
It needs to be interactive. People want to be participants, not just an audience.
People want to find resources that help them in their daily lives.
Variety is everything. It can’t just be information, or resources, or entertainment, but a little bit of all.
It’s about making connections – where can people connect with others.
It doesn’t matter how many people come, it’s what they do once they get in the door that matters. That’s the surest sign they’ll come back.
What might preaching and worship look like if we took this seriously, not out of an attempt to mimic the culture or our everyday lives, but because right now the culture and our everyday lives have something to teach us about gaining confidence in our faith, about learning how to use it and find it valuable, and about forming a community of faith that helps us grow more deeply in our faith and live that faith in the everyday world of school, home, work, volunteering, community, and the like.
I don’t know quite what that would look like, but since then I’ve been on the look out for some examples. Here’s one that a student in a recent January intensive class I co-taught shared with us. St. Lydia’s Church is a cooperative Episcopal and Lutheran venture in New York City where the folks come together to prepare a meal and then, while they eat it together, they talk about a biblical passage.
I know this isn’t everyone’s context. I know we couldn’t all do this. That’s not the point. The point is to let it kindle our imagination, to think of other opportunities for people to take more responsibility for and participate in the worship that is forming them one way or another, either for a life of faith in the world or for faith that is only expressed on Sundays at church.
So give it a look and then share what it struck in you, what it made you wonder about, what possibilities for doing something more shared and participatory in your context might look like, whether on Sunday or another day of the week.
StoryKeep Organizational Video || St. Lydia’s from StoryKeep on Vimeo.
Notes: 1) If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the video.
2) You can find more information about St. Lydia’s at their website.
3) Thanks to Sarah Rohde for sharing with us the story of St. Lydia’s.
The grace and compassion that is shown by all is what struck me. The idea that it’s not about the product, but the process. The idea that ALL are welcomed. The idea that everyone is welcomed in the kitchen – before and after. There are no “Lutheran Ladies” hovering, criticizing those who are using God’s space of the kitchen. We can come together broken and heavy hearted to be feed and restored with the bread and word of the God who choose us & celebrate together that we are ALL HIS children.
I thought so, too. In fact, it made me wish I could go to something like that. Which is what I want – for me, my kids, and others – to feel about church.
Wow… I think you are spot-on Rene. We are starting something similar because of a desire for that sense of sharing and relationship.
Many of us are looking for that place David. Thank you for this glimpse. This is so much better than what I had imagined.
Thank you for this and other “Best Practices” or even “Just Good Practices” that you share. We are looking hard for a way to reach out and this looks to be one powerful way to discover and build relationships with each other and share our love of food and God together.
What a fantastic way to commune and be the church together. This meal could happen anywhere, wherever two or three or more are gathered. In our homes, in any kind of building or space.