When I was a kid, my parents would take my sister and I to Zip’s Video, our neighborhood video store, to get a movie to watch together. Zip’s wasn’t a chain, it was a mom & pop store. It was the type of place that had boatloads of old movies. There was almost nothing you couldn’t find there.
I remember being devastated when an up and coming corporation called Blockbuster came in and put Zip’s out of business. I still remember the first time I drove past with my family and saw the brand new Blockbuster sign hanging on my neighborhood video store. It felt like I lost a part of myself. That was about 20 years ago. It's amazing how far we've come since then
Just the other day I was at home and my wife was at the Blockbuster down the road from my house. Now that up and coming corporation is bankrupt, and they're closing all their stores. Allison texted me, “All their movies here are $1.99. Do you want anything?” As we texted back and forth, it felt kind of bitter sweet. As I grew up, I came to really like Blockbuster. For 20 years, there has been one in every neighborhood I've lived in.
Coincidentally, I was in my old neighborhood last weekend. During my trip, I passed the old video store building, so I snapped a shot of it. It's empty now, and there hasn't been anything there for a while.
When I was a kid, Zip’s Video was a landmark. When it went away I was pretty shaken. I didn’t like Blockbuster at first. I felt like it took away a part of me. But over time, I grew to accept Blockbuster. And even though they always charged me late fees, I still felt a little sad that they are disappearing now too.
I sat in front of the empty video store thinking about all this, and I realized that it’s the same way in most churches. We have our landmarks that make us feel safe. For some it’s the cross on the stage, or the lectern. For others it might be the pews in the sanctuary, or even a person within the church. When those things get messed with, people get freaked out. They can begin to feel like they’re losing a piece of themselves. And their reactions can be scary for church leaders. Sometimes it’s even scary enough to side track change. But change is important. It’s the catalyst for growth and improvement.
Change in the way we rent moves has made things way better. Today I have a family of my own, and they love Netflix and Redbox. We frequently sit down together and browse the family movies for something we’ll all enjoy. Those two convenient movie services have replaced my neighborhood video store, but they offer a whole new kind of family experience. The truth is, because of the convenience we now have, we watch way more movies than we used to. The same principle will applies to our churches. Instead of movies, we have the gospel. That will never change, but the way we communicate it can change in an infinite number of ways. And it should change, otherwise it can become commonplace for people.
As you think about how your leadership does church every week, I want to encourage you to identify some things that might be changed. Even if it’s scary to do, change in these areas can revolutionize your church, and even be the revitalizing thing that brings new people through the doors.
1. Outdated things. By nature, most churches have a bunch of old stuffy lying around. It’s faded in color. And even if it weren’t, it’s the wrong color for the current decade. It may be time to think about investing in something new. I’m a huge fan of just getting rid of stuff. Sometimes I’ll get rid of old things without a plan to replace them. There are times when it’s better to have nothing than it is to have something that smells like the 70’s.
2. Broken things. Every church has these things. I remember when I began my role as the Music Director at Moon Valley Bible Church. There was a bunch of old broken music equipment that was stashed backstage, in the tech booth, and in the greenroom. I heard rumors that somebody knew how to fix everything. But it was apparent that that person was no where to be found. So I made a few trips to the dumpster.
I got rid of some things that had been there as long as I’ve been alive. I’m sure it would have been painful for some people to watch those things go. But the truth was that all that broken stuff was just cluttering the space my team desperately needs every week for church services.
3. Confusing things. I once visited a church where their children’s building was clearly marked with a huge colorful sign that read ‘Kid Zone!’. It was reassuring for my wife and I since lots of churches have poorly marked children’s facilities.
We took our 8 year old daughter into the doors below the sign and introduced her. The lady behind the counter very emphatically said, “Ooooooh, I’m sorry. Y’all are in the wrong place. Kid’s her age go to the auditorium in the next building. I’ll have someone take you over there.” That was awkward.
It’s wise to have a look around your church campus with an eye for confusing things. Those are the best things to eliminate on the spot.
People are naturally resistant to change.
They’ll huff and puff if you begin talking about it. but that’s not a good reason not to do it. There may be things around your campus that are acting like anchors - dragging your church down, and keeping visitors from becoming regular attenders. Maybe it’s time to find a better way to do it.
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