Um, Could We Please Stop Doing…
One of my favorite talks I have ever heard Andy Stanley give is his Don’t Be That Couch talk.
Twitteresque paraphrase…
You all have that ugly couch in your house that you need to get rid of. But your emotions are stopping you. It’s time for a new couch.
One way that my church has practiced what it preaches is with our Kidstuf program.
It used to be weekly.
Now it is once a month with the majority of resources being poured into the take home boxes and online curriculum.
Brilliant.
My kids would rather be on PlayhouseDisney.com than watch a cartoon anyday.
So I ask you.
In your church…
What old couch needs to get tossed?
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
We have a couple of couches…primarily, the way we do small groups. That said, love what you said about Kidstuff program, take home boxes, and online curriculum. Where can I learn more? Especially about the online part. Would love to learn about how you all do it.
Thanks @nicolewick
I heard that talk or at least a portion of it at Catalyst One Day in Granger. Phenomenal!! Being a new church we don’t have old couches yet but we’ve decided not to do many things that typica, traditional churches do because they felt like old couches. Right now having a church choir for us is just one example.
our old couch is the way we don't do things.
Interesting thought here Carlos…My Church demographics is about 40% over the age of 55 and getting rid of old comfortable couches is terribly difficult. So there too many to list here. Like Nicole I would like to learn more about these take home kits and how you implement them online. I think it may be important to keep the couch but bring in a lot of new furniture to lessen its focus.
Hmm… I think I'm in the same boat as @mexiabill I personally have no problem throwing out old couches but could see the value in keeping the couch around but lessening it's focus in my church. Again… too many to list here.
my church is legit. Ikea couches all around
no jeans allowed in one of our services.
Seriously, I will be praying for you.
OK. That's just plain crazy.
That's one of those things that I hear and wonder what the environment had to be like for someone to throw that idea out there. Subtle peer pressure legalism is one thing, but to make it an open policy takes serious guts.
you nailed it.
I think it is the craziest when the pastors or a pastor is the one sleeping on the old couch. Everyone else wants to get rid of it but they cant. Or maybe they have to throw out the pastor with it. I know you can get into a mess with listening to everything that comes from the congregation…but i think as pastors (myself included) we need to have our ear to the ground listening for the holy rumbles of change that God is birthing and then be brave enough to lead those things.
Maybe the pastor is sleeping on the old couch that needs to be thrown out? Dang! Great comment Jake. That's touchy but oh so true in some cases. I'm praying now even as a young church planter that I'll be sensitive to when God is calling me to move on and pass the church on to someone else.
Jake, this is solid gold. It's like, the reason they don't want to throw out the couch is because it's their home! Everything is within reach: The remote, the bag of Funyuns, a pillow, and even the toilet bowl.
Keep it real. Toss out the waste.
Throwing out the pastor with the couch…is that kind of like throwing out the baby with the bath water?
For me, I see so much potential for the church I go to in regards to sermon packaging that it blows my mind some time. They have a standard and thats what they are use to. No biggie but oh the potential.
Seriously, our has to be the church Library……really? We live in the day and age of the internet, Lifeway, and resource centers at any decent sized church. Can we kill the sacred cow already……
I would love a library if it had actual decent books like Calvin's Institutes or New International Commentaries or Knowing God by J.I. Packer.
Sadly, every church library I have ever seen is very weak. it is always "10 ways to do this", "30 days to do that".
Imagine a church library filled to the brim with Augustines, Calvins, Luthers, Bunyons, Edwards, Spurgeons, Packers, Pipers, Stotts and Driscolls of the world. Especially helpful when you know those who attend your church can't readily afford books. (Heck, I have a strict $30/month budget for myself.)
The thought of this makes me shed of tear of hope.
No doubt. The library is ugly with big green flowers and saggy, stained pillows.
I;d get some really nasty looks if I said it out loud. Maybe that's the problem….
I'm all about throwing out comfy couches. I'd rather sit on the floor than hold on to some things. But I have to say, as a parent, I'm looking for ways to get my kids away from the computer. I don't mind doing stuff at home with them, but do we need to be putting them in front of another screen? I think we need to think carefully about how we find that new couch.
Fear of succeeding and seeing God do something that we cannot control.
I think some old couches that we need to toss are:
1. spending lots of money on our building, staff, programs, smart lights, HD projectors, etc – but not spending much on loving our neighbors – consquently we have little outreach to the community other than trying to look cool, which many non-Christians find to be in-authentic.
2. doing things in such a way that the church folks are influenced to believe that they are merely attendees. We need to empower the pew sitters to go out in their communities and be the Church. Also to build each other up.
3. Stop believing that a sermon/pep-talk on Sunday is enough to develop "christians" into mature followers of Christ. Or does it? doesn't seem to. If not sermons, then what does work?
Well, this is just my opinion. I want to see the Church THRIVE, Christians actually looking like Christ, being living sacrifices, loving their neighbor, winning the lost, being light and salt – teh book of Acts.
Beautifully and perfectly said!
I think sometimes more than knowing we should get rid of the couch and just having an emotional connection to it, we oftentimes don't even see the oldness of the couch. To everyone else, it's this iky disgusting thing that should have stayed in the 80's. To us, it's just the couch.
I'm the type of guy that doesn't hang onto a lot of sentimental things, but even I occasionally wake up and see something for what it really is and am shocked that it's still around. Gonna go walk through my office now hunting for old couches.
Here's what I would really love if we stopped doing: 40-50 minute sermons. It's just too much, especially when one feels as though they must fill that time.
Speak what you've been given. Then shut up.
Or on the flip side of that allowing God to work through someone and not have a time limit. There are churches in China and Mozambique and other parts of the world that go for 12 hours or more because they can't get enough of the Word… just playing devil's advocate here =) In a country and culture that lives by the Burger King credo (my way, right away), sometimes less is better.
I actually love the long sermons at my church. But, I have had MY FAIR share of sermons that were done, like 20 min, into it. After that, dude. It was just overdone. So, oh yeah. Been there. Sat through that.
Well, this more of a wish for a new couch, 'cuz one currently doesn't exist. A BLOG! I tried to pass the idea by one of the leaders, and it fell flat. It's all in God's timing, I know, but a a blogging couch sure could be inviting for some online visitors, ya' know whaddi mean?
we need to get rid of a few "manly couch" & add a couple of new floral couches – we need MORE women preaching & speaking from time to time. hmmmm
How about complaining with no action? I don't know how many time's I've heard "We need to…" or "They really should…" but it doesn't go any further than that. Now, I'm as critical and guilty as the next guy, but maybe it's time we got off our butts, off the blogs, got involved in our churches, and actually did something for Jesus. Stop making excuses, stop complaining, and do something about it.
Using grapejuice for communion…
This is more on a personal note, but this post couldn't have come at a better time for me. I need to let my last relationship go. I've been "moving on" for more than a month with the help of my friends but I've secretly been waiting for my ex to change his mind. It's time to stop and recognize who God has made me. I am worth happiness, strength, and the love I wasn't getting.
Random, and perhaps not quite what you wanted, but thanks anyway Los!
did you ever post anything else about the take home boxes? can you explain them more or give examples?