(note: This is the first in an occasional series on proven, innovative ideas you can use. If you want the Reader’s Digest version, here is it:
– have people in your church send you a picture or two via email that brings them great joy – put the images in a slideshow to music such as “What a Wonderful World”
– show the pictures with music @ Sunday worship.
The result? People expressed great joy about the process of looking for joyful images. Attendance for our “Celebration of Joy” service was up significantly. Loose plate giving was the highest in 6 months. That the service was a success was also seen in the number of people who lingered to talk and enjoy coffee following the service. – TD)
An innovation is an idea you can implement that brings value. It need not be a new, flashy or dramatic idea. The important part is that it is doable, and that it brings value. In broad terms, innovations do two things.
1) They solve problems.
2) They create opportunities.
Sometimes, they do both.
A week ago today – a Monday – I was reflecting on what would be a good theme and text for our Sunday worship service. From this preacher’s perspective, it seemed like everyone around was dragging. The crazy busy fall season was in full swing. Christmas ads were already upon us. Daylight savings began, meaning it’s pitch dark by late afternoon. The six months of the mostly grey Chicago winter had begun. New shows carried story after story of shootings. Wars continued in Syria and Afghanistan. The economy is funky; despite record Dow Jones and S&P’s there remains little confidence. The aftermath of a very expensive government shutdown continues to loom, and universal health care is a mess. If you pay any attention to the news, you know I could go on and on.
So, my sense was that in general people were bummin’ and not feel feeling a whole lot of joy. The more I reflected, it seemed that the joy that is supposed to be part of our lives, and that in many ways it is regularly covered up by a steady onslaught of sad and tragic information – information from around the globe that comes at us 24 / 7. I decided we should have a Celebration of Joy service to lift up and celebrate the joys that are present in our lives and world. The problem was trying to figure out what a Celebration of Joy service would look like! How could I get people to feel joy, and not just hear about it?
The answer came during the course of the week by just paying attention to life. A friend sent a video on the Landfill Harmonic, a 3-minute piece that tells the story of children in Paraguay who play extraordinarily well – despite the fact all of their instruments are fashioned from garbage mined at a local dump / landfill. Our music minister told me of a wonderful new video from “Playing for Change” that for the first time featured children from around the world. Then I received a couple of pictures from our daughters, and realized the joy that comes to us when we see a happy photo.
With that, I decided that we’d show the two videos at the service as well as develop a slide show so all could share in the wonderful, joy-filled pictures sent in by folks in the church. The result? After an online plea, people sent over 100 images to me in 4 days of families, babies, animals, nature, you-name-it. I tossed in a few internet images just for kicks. All pictures that reflected joy. Our Minister of Music Ken Hall beautifully blended the images with songs by Louis Armstrong and Allison Krauss. So, what was the result of our “Celebration of Joy” service?
– More than a dozen individuals expressed how much they enjoyed the process of looking for joyful pictures
– Attendance was up significantly when we publicized we were holding a “Celebration of Joy” service
– People lingered following the service for coffee and to chat far longer than is the norm
– Loose plate (cash) offering was the highest in the past 6 months
– Through the images, people got to know one another and shared a few laughs together.
It was innovative because it was an idea that was doable that brought value. And, it was the best kind of innovative idea, because it brought value in multiple ways, and benefits for the people we serve and our church.
A final thought. There’s no question that there are lots of churches can’t do what we did. Liturgical constraints. Theology. Building issues. I challenge you not to think of the reasons you can’t do what we did, but to consider how it might work for you. Maybe it’s a slide show of joy-filled Christmas pictures at your annual Advent Potluck. Maybe it’s a project your (probably) tech saavy high school group could have a blast with. Have fun with it!