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By Jeremy Farmer - Guest Columnist I wonder how church in the dark would affect people who were teaching & those who were listening.
Would the staff who teach feel completely liberated if they couldn’t see who was in their congregation? Would they stop being afraid to step on toes and offend people if they couldn’t see anyone? Would people in the congregation if the lights were out (let’s just say that the lights being out doesn’t make everyone immediately fall asleep...) even bother to stay awake if they knew the speaker wasn’t watching and couldn’t see them? Would the pastors who teach not skip over parts of their message because the congregation seemed bored out of their minds? And would the staff continue to stay on a point if they couldn’t see whether or not it was impacting people and making them laugh/smile/say amen? Would married couples in the congregation still put their arms around each other during the message if the pastor wasn’t watching? (I can say, that I have never seen more romantic married relationships than when I went to a marriage conference. More people were kissing, holding hands, and hugging than I have EVER seen in my life...it was interesting, for sure.) Would two people who were living together feel freer than ever to act like they love each other, but refrain from doing so in church because they are looked down upon? Would those people who feverishly and methodically take notes even bother anymore? Would the people who amen the pastor still do so if they couldn’t be seen and recognized? Would people who were afraid to amen the pastor finally feel free to let something come out? Would everyone wear a smile and act like everything was okay? Or would we finally drop the masks, and check our egos in at the door and realize that we’re all on the same page, and on the same team? These are questions that we must think about as disciples of Jesus. It hurts my heart to think of a church in the dark that is that real, and that authentic. I think that’s what Jesus is calling us to be. Jeremy Farmer is the Student Pastor at Lifepoint Church. You may contact him at
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or on his personal blog: www.pioneerpreacher.com. |
