For the first time in seventeen weeks, I didn’t want to attend church on Sunday. The weather was beautiful in Cincinnati, I stayed up late Saturday night, and I really just wanted to sit on my balcony and write.
It felt like old times.
One of my biggest church complaints is that regular attendance always seems to get in the way of life. Especially when the weather is nice. It always feels more “holy” to enjoy the gorgeous day than to sit inside and mouth the words to some lame worship song. There were always a hundred other things I would rather be doing, but I showed up every week out of obligation, causing bitterness and resentment to fester in my soul. Clearly, not healthy.
This week, I couldn’t deal with an exhausting church. I half-jokingly (and half-seriously) mentioned a snake-handling church last week, but I wouldn’t have been able to deal with the ridiculousness of the whole thing. (Plus, I doubt there are any near Cincinnati.) I needed a place I could go, relax, and enjoy the show. That led me to Seven Hills Church in Florence, Kentucky.
Before I get into the details of my visit, my desire to just chill out got me thinking. I wonder if it is a good idea to have a backup church. In your main church, you serve, and sacrifice, and give yourself away, but at your backup church, maybe you go to escape.
Hear me out: One of the reasons I got so burnt out at my old church is because I had to perform every week. And not just when I spoke or did announcements, but every single week. Even if I was feeling crappy, or especially introverted, or frustrated, or emotionally drained, I had to walk in, put on a happy face, greet people, have conversations, answer questions, and be an all-around lovable guy.
At a lot of the smaller churches I have visited, you couldn’t be anonymous if you tried. The pastor at Passion and Fire Church called me on stage; the Quakers asked me to introduce myself; I had to raise my hand at Solid Rock Church and stand up at Union Baptist so the congregation could greet me. Churches mean well when they extend a welcoming hand to guests, but sometimes you just want to escape. If I ever find a new church home, I will definitely also identify a backup church—a place big enough to get lost in the crowd and relaxed enough to not get dragged on stage for an impromptu healing.
Okay, now on to the show. Seven Hills is a fairly large non-denominational congregation that markets itself well. I have heard radio commercials and seen advertisements at a local movie theater for Seven Hills. Arriving was a treat. They had at least a dozen volunteers in the parking lot directing traffic. I was literally greeted six times before I even made it to my seat—twice at the front door, twice in the lobby, and two more times at the entrance to the auditorium.
Their main room sat about eight hundred people (I think. It’s hard to get a good estimate with that many seats), and I am guessing it was 65 percent full. Maybe five hundred people. 99 percent were white, but there was an impressive mix of young and old. Probably the youngest church I have attended to this point. There were also tons of women, so if you’re a single, Christian guy in the greater Cincinnati area, you’re welcome for the intel.
Overall, Seven Hills was a very “hip” place. The band was great. They opened with a secular rock song (just the music, not any lyrics). It was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. From there, they had six singers with microphones come on stage and perform while the band played. (Not kidding here … one of the dudes looked exactly like Randy Jackson from American Idol. A dead ringer. And he might have been the only black person in the building.) It was more of a performance than a deep worship experience, but they were definitely good.
Side note: What’s the deal with making everyone stand up and mouth the words during worship? I just don’t get it. Let people do whatever they want. I prefer to sit during worship, but I always feel like people will start dousing me with holy water because I don’t stand up and sway to the music. Anywho …
After every song, the congregation clapped. That may not seem like a big deal, but it was the beginning of an applause-o-rama marathon that lasted all service. There must have been a dozen instances where we clapped—after each song, after someone made an announcement, to welcome guests, for random reasons, twice to close the service. These were some appreciative people with tired hands.
Last comment about worship: I decided I hate it when worship leaders tell me to do stuff. Raise your hands, clap your hands, stand, kneel, whatever. I don’t want to lift my hands unless I feel led to do so, and I don’t want my worship experience turning into a game of Simon Says.
Simon says everyone stand up.
Simon says everyone clap your hands.
Simon says raise your hands in the air.
Now tell God you love him.
Ahhh! Simon didn’t say! Loser!
Just doesn’t seem genuine when I’m following a script.
I was impressed with Seven Hills’ commitment to their “Extreme City Makeover.” Basically, they send about 1,500 people into the community to love and serve their neighbors. Can’t go wrong there.
About thirty minutes in, the pastor took the stage and sounded exactly like Matthew McConaughey. When I told Liz, she asked if he also looks like McConaughey. Thankfully, no, he does not. I mean, he’s a good looking guy, but I’d really have to see him with his shirt off before I could compare. Ummm … moving on …
Oh, right, the pastor’s message.
I knew I liked this guy when a guest speaker made fun of him for misspeaking. He said April was Child Prevention Month instead of Child Abuse Prevention Month. When she asked him if there was such a thing as Child Prevention Month, he replied, “There should be.” Amen, pastor.
They began a new series this week at Seven Hills called “Go.” Here are a few moments that stood out:
1) Pastor Marcus mentioned their church leadership takes a particular personality assessment (the name is escaping me), and that one of the measurements assesses risk-taking versus a desire for safety. He said about 85 percent of people who take the assessment prefer safety over risk. Interesting. How about you?
2) Using the story of Joshua as a backdrop, he discussed four battles that tend to keep people from “going”—the battles of rejection, loneliness, temptation, and discouragement.
3) One quote I liked: “Loneliness is part of being out front.” Another: “Temptation is the revealer of the heart.” And finally, he quoted this from a conference he attended last year: “Every person who has fallen into significant sin was preceded by an elitist spirit.” Meaning, of course, we are most vulnerable when we think we finally figured everything out. That was good to hear because, lately, I have definitely been feeling good about where I am in life, and I have probably been letting down my guard.
4) He mentioned the number one sign of having an elitist spirit is a failure to honor others. If all we ever do is focus on ourselves, our stuff, and our accomplishments, it’s probably a bad sign. Hmmm … I wonder if my self-promotion is being balanced with a healthy dose of other-promotion. Or, more importantly, Jesus-promotion.
5) I wonder if the pastor has a degree in psychology. His teaching points weren’t just religious mumbo jumbo; they spoke to the human condition at a high level of understanding. I was impressed. Bible stories are nice, but unless a speaker can connect those stories into our current culture, they honestly mean very little to me. Pastor Marcus did a nice job.
6) The giving was at the end of the service. Pretty standard stuff. Interestingly enough, they also did announcements at the very end, which seems like the worst possible time. People are ready to bolt, and announcements are usually pretty boring. But I really liked how they did their announcements. They were all video clips. One after another, with various people giving the information. It was polished, professional, and you got to hear from the people involved with the event they were announcing. Plus, anything on a huge screen is always more interesting than watching some dude on stage rattle off a checklist.
The service lasted about seventy-five total minutes, and after one final round of applause, I was out of there. Seven Hills was a Vineyard-type church, so nothing too out of the ordinary for me, but it was definitely good to sit back and allow myself to be refreshed on a pretty sluggish day. I know churches need people to get involved, so not everyone can just hang out with no commitment, but it’s nice that places like Seven Hills exist for those of us who are weary and need a place to rest.
Now, wherever you’re sitting, take a minute to applaud yourself. You deserve it.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
It felt like old times.
One of my biggest church complaints is that regular attendance always seems to get in the way of life. Especially when the weather is nice. It always feels more “holy” to enjoy the gorgeous day than to sit inside and mouth the words to some lame worship song. There were always a hundred other things I would rather be doing, but I showed up every week out of obligation, causing bitterness and resentment to fester in my soul. Clearly, not healthy.
This week, I couldn’t deal with an exhausting church. I half-jokingly (and half-seriously) mentioned a snake-handling church last week, but I wouldn’t have been able to deal with the ridiculousness of the whole thing. (Plus, I doubt there are any near Cincinnati.) I needed a place I could go, relax, and enjoy the show. That led me to Seven Hills Church in Florence, Kentucky.
Before I get into the details of my visit, my desire to just chill out got me thinking. I wonder if it is a good idea to have a backup church. In your main church, you serve, and sacrifice, and give yourself away, but at your backup church, maybe you go to escape.
Hear me out: One of the reasons I got so burnt out at my old church is because I had to perform every week. And not just when I spoke or did announcements, but every single week. Even if I was feeling crappy, or especially introverted, or frustrated, or emotionally drained, I had to walk in, put on a happy face, greet people, have conversations, answer questions, and be an all-around lovable guy.
At a lot of the smaller churches I have visited, you couldn’t be anonymous if you tried. The pastor at Passion and Fire Church called me on stage; the Quakers asked me to introduce myself; I had to raise my hand at Solid Rock Church and stand up at Union Baptist so the congregation could greet me. Churches mean well when they extend a welcoming hand to guests, but sometimes you just want to escape. If I ever find a new church home, I will definitely also identify a backup church—a place big enough to get lost in the crowd and relaxed enough to not get dragged on stage for an impromptu healing.
Okay, now on to the show. Seven Hills is a fairly large non-denominational congregation that markets itself well. I have heard radio commercials and seen advertisements at a local movie theater for Seven Hills. Arriving was a treat. They had at least a dozen volunteers in the parking lot directing traffic. I was literally greeted six times before I even made it to my seat—twice at the front door, twice in the lobby, and two more times at the entrance to the auditorium.
Their main room sat about eight hundred people (I think. It’s hard to get a good estimate with that many seats), and I am guessing it was 65 percent full. Maybe five hundred people. 99 percent were white, but there was an impressive mix of young and old. Probably the youngest church I have attended to this point. There were also tons of women, so if you’re a single, Christian guy in the greater Cincinnati area, you’re welcome for the intel.
Overall, Seven Hills was a very “hip” place. The band was great. They opened with a secular rock song (just the music, not any lyrics). It was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. From there, they had six singers with microphones come on stage and perform while the band played. (Not kidding here … one of the dudes looked exactly like Randy Jackson from American Idol. A dead ringer. And he might have been the only black person in the building.) It was more of a performance than a deep worship experience, but they were definitely good.
Side note: What’s the deal with making everyone stand up and mouth the words during worship? I just don’t get it. Let people do whatever they want. I prefer to sit during worship, but I always feel like people will start dousing me with holy water because I don’t stand up and sway to the music. Anywho …
After every song, the congregation clapped. That may not seem like a big deal, but it was the beginning of an applause-o-rama marathon that lasted all service. There must have been a dozen instances where we clapped—after each song, after someone made an announcement, to welcome guests, for random reasons, twice to close the service. These were some appreciative people with tired hands.
Last comment about worship: I decided I hate it when worship leaders tell me to do stuff. Raise your hands, clap your hands, stand, kneel, whatever. I don’t want to lift my hands unless I feel led to do so, and I don’t want my worship experience turning into a game of Simon Says.
Simon says everyone stand up.
Simon says everyone clap your hands.
Simon says raise your hands in the air.
Now tell God you love him.
Ahhh! Simon didn’t say! Loser!
Just doesn’t seem genuine when I’m following a script.
I was impressed with Seven Hills’ commitment to their “Extreme City Makeover.” Basically, they send about 1,500 people into the community to love and serve their neighbors. Can’t go wrong there.
About thirty minutes in, the pastor took the stage and sounded exactly like Matthew McConaughey. When I told Liz, she asked if he also looks like McConaughey. Thankfully, no, he does not. I mean, he’s a good looking guy, but I’d really have to see him with his shirt off before I could compare. Ummm … moving on …
Oh, right, the pastor’s message.
I knew I liked this guy when a guest speaker made fun of him for misspeaking. He said April was Child Prevention Month instead of Child Abuse Prevention Month. When she asked him if there was such a thing as Child Prevention Month, he replied, “There should be.” Amen, pastor.
They began a new series this week at Seven Hills called “Go.” Here are a few moments that stood out:
1) Pastor Marcus mentioned their church leadership takes a particular personality assessment (the name is escaping me), and that one of the measurements assesses risk-taking versus a desire for safety. He said about 85 percent of people who take the assessment prefer safety over risk. Interesting. How about you?
2) Using the story of Joshua as a backdrop, he discussed four battles that tend to keep people from “going”—the battles of rejection, loneliness, temptation, and discouragement.
3) One quote I liked: “Loneliness is part of being out front.” Another: “Temptation is the revealer of the heart.” And finally, he quoted this from a conference he attended last year: “Every person who has fallen into significant sin was preceded by an elitist spirit.” Meaning, of course, we are most vulnerable when we think we finally figured everything out. That was good to hear because, lately, I have definitely been feeling good about where I am in life, and I have probably been letting down my guard.
4) He mentioned the number one sign of having an elitist spirit is a failure to honor others. If all we ever do is focus on ourselves, our stuff, and our accomplishments, it’s probably a bad sign. Hmmm … I wonder if my self-promotion is being balanced with a healthy dose of other-promotion. Or, more importantly, Jesus-promotion.
5) I wonder if the pastor has a degree in psychology. His teaching points weren’t just religious mumbo jumbo; they spoke to the human condition at a high level of understanding. I was impressed. Bible stories are nice, but unless a speaker can connect those stories into our current culture, they honestly mean very little to me. Pastor Marcus did a nice job.
6) The giving was at the end of the service. Pretty standard stuff. Interestingly enough, they also did announcements at the very end, which seems like the worst possible time. People are ready to bolt, and announcements are usually pretty boring. But I really liked how they did their announcements. They were all video clips. One after another, with various people giving the information. It was polished, professional, and you got to hear from the people involved with the event they were announcing. Plus, anything on a huge screen is always more interesting than watching some dude on stage rattle off a checklist.
The service lasted about seventy-five total minutes, and after one final round of applause, I was out of there. Seven Hills was a Vineyard-type church, so nothing too out of the ordinary for me, but it was definitely good to sit back and allow myself to be refreshed on a pretty sluggish day. I know churches need people to get involved, so not everyone can just hang out with no commitment, but it’s nice that places like Seven Hills exist for those of us who are weary and need a place to rest.
Now, wherever you’re sitting, take a minute to applaud yourself. You deserve it.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
