I stepped into the Chapel at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday – and what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought, “Now I know why other churches own their buildings.”
You see, I’d just entered the Chapel our church has rented for 15 years. It’s a glorious place with Tiffany windows and lamps, and the kind of rich, graceful woodwork you don’t find in modern church buildings. Beyond its beauty, the upside of the Chapel for us is that it makes good economic sense. Renting the Chapel is a real value compared to the cost of building and maintaining a new facility.
The challenging side of using someone else’s building? I was staring at it. About 150 of the Chapel’s 220 heavy, upholstered wooden armchairs had been moved from the main floor and pushed together sardine-style onto an open stage-like area in the back of the Chapel.
The remaining chairs were haphazardly placed around two, 20’ x 20’ Persian rugs that had been placed lengthwise in the middle of the hardwood floor. The runners that grace the center and rear aisles and keep the wooden floor from looking like a basketball court had been removed, and seven heavy 10’ folding tables and about 40 folding chairs lined one wall. I was staring at one huge, pre-church project.
To top it off, I’d given our church sexton (who doubles as my son) the morning off.
What followed was nearly two hours of lifting, sliding, grunting, and thinking less-than-holy-pre-worship thoughts. When the person responsible for setting up the Chapel arrived after being called by security, she told me “I figured you could still have your service with the chairs and rugs like that.” While I was courteous to her and her co-worker as the three of us moved the 200 lb + rugs out of the Chapel, by the time we were done my patience was gone and a day’s worth of energy consumed.
I quickly rushed home, got cleaned up, and came back for worship. After the service during coffee hour, I recounted to a friend the pre-service fiasco that had stolen nearly two hours of my time. He looked up at me and offered, “Man, you should have left it how it was – that would have been cool.”
I’d actually thought about that for a very brief second upon arrival, but in my frustration and haste to prepare the Chapel I did not take the time to think it through. Now, I had no excuse not to consider the question:
– Why hadn’t I taken advantage of a very unique opportunity?
– Why not Worship “in the round” or “in a half circle?”
– Why not mix it up a bit so people looked at each other rather than the same old “3 P’s” up front – preacher, pulpit and piano?
– Why not let a worship community that thrives on change – we have a different collection of musicians every Sunday – enjoy a change of pace?
Upon further reflection, the truth became clear to me: I missed an interesting opportunity because I was in a hurry. I was so concerned about getting every chair returned to its “proper” place and moving out the Persian rugs that I felt did not “belong” where they were, I missed an opportunity for innovation.
Interested in innovation? Remember it’s not just about what you do, but also learning what gets in the way of innovation. Sometimes, it’s a stodgy church culture reticent to any kind of change. Or a lack of confidence in your own creativity. For me, it’s the curse of rushing through life and perpetually trying to pack 10 pounds into a 5 pound bag.
The lyrics of Alabama’s “I’m In a Hurry” seem to tell the story rather well:
I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why
When life presents a change or there’s a shift in the normal order of things, innovators think “opportunity.” It won’t happen if you’re in a hurry…