Love/Hate #5: A Diversion About Diversity

I registered at Davenport University this fall to go back for another degree, this one in Computer Science (long story for another time).  The registration process involved online forms, a payment schedule, and...transferring credits from another college.  Despite the fact that my credits from the other university totalled around 200 I think, I still have a number of pre-reqs to complete, which was somewhat disappointing.

One class I'm required to take is Diversity In Society.  I wasn't originally enthused about this...after all, I've worked in multiple environments with hundreds (thousands, maybe?) of people of all ages, ethnicities, religions...would a course like this prove interesting?  Worthwhile?

I'm surprised to say that, so far, I'm really loving it.  In large part that's due to the textbooks we're referencing, written by Kent Koppelman.  Our first reading assignments - which have proved more challenging than I thought they would to keep up with - dealt with an explanation of how, as Americans, we often SAY we value one thing, when in fact our actions paint a different picture.

We were asked to write about 1 of the several values the author describes.  I chose individuality; as Americans, Koppelman writes, we say we value individual achievement -- when in fact what we're really striving for, on a subconscious level, is conformity.

It was a good read, and I could go on for pages about it, but it got me thinking about something else, related to this series of blog posts.  As "The Church", we must do this, right?  We must, admittedly, in SOME instances at least, say we value one thing, then prove with our actions that valuing something else...right?

I think about the structures of my own church, not just the building but the organization, the activities, the resources we expend to complete certain tasks.  What picture would these paint to the average person who wasn't raised in the Church? What would that person think we value?

For example, consider our Sunday service.  We have many, many individuals involved...that's a good thing, right?  Especially when many of those involved are teens who probably couldn't give 2 cents about what's being preached and, if given the chance, would probably choose to sleep in on Sunday rather than waking up to be to an early Church service in time to operate a video camera or a Powerpoint presentation. 

I would guess it takes several dozen people to "produce" Sunday morning worship...this including our Worship Team, tech people, speakers...but is it more production than heart?

That's a difficult question to answer.  I don't know that it's really possible to know.  I've attended many churches.  The ones I've connected with the most had the LEAST produced services, to be sure.  Consider the church I mentioned in my last post.  This is a church holding services with around 5000 people attending.  Yet there isn't any huge light show, nearly no decoration on the stage which sits at the center of sanctuary.  The church is located in what used to be a shopping mall...you can tell by the way the building is shaped...and outside of paint and carpet, little has been added to change the building.

Or consider a church I attended in Chicago.  It's a congregation of maybe 50 or 60 people that meet on Sunday in a building that could hold maybe 3 or 4 times that many.  The service doesn't feel "produced" as ours sometimes does...for example, one time that we visited, the worship leader introduced a song he'd learned on a recent trip to Africa.  It was somewhat traditional, very simple, and the whole feel of the experience felt more about people connecting through raising their voices, rather than watching others lead as the congregation sings from another part of the room.  We felt unified somehow.

I'm not sure what to make of this.  As it relates to my previous posts, I'm meditating on the idea of connection.  As humans we need this connection, this community - it's in our DNA. 

What to do when you seldom feel connected to those you're worshipping with?

As I asked in a previous post...when is it time to leave???