For some, the life of the believer is a fragrance from life to life, and for others, it is the fragrance from death to death (2 Corinthians 2:16). The Gospel can be a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense (1 Peter 2:8). How do we reconcile this reality as we think about our corporate gatherings? Danny Franks says, “The Gospel is offensive. Nothing else should be.”
When I plan the liturgies I lead, I want people to be uncomfortable for the right reasons. I desire for the Holy Spirit to expose and confront our sin, lead us to Christ, and comfort us in our affliction. I pray that we continually die to ourselves, pick up the cross, and follow the One in whose image we are being conformed. Life in Christ is death to self, and this is uncomfortable. This is what it looks like to be uncomfortable for the right reasons. But too often in our churches, we make people uncomfortable for the wrong reasons…
Transitions. We are sloppy with our transitions, late lyric changes, and technology not being ready to go. Turning a chord chart page, changing a CAPO, being uncertain about what element in the gathering comes next.
Language. Using insider language like Christianese, or language that is only familiar to regular attenders. We need to be wise not just with the words we use, but the way we communicate.
Communication. We don’t help people know what to do, and when. We don’t spend enough time teaching, shepherding, and guiding people through the service. We have not learned the essential nature of rubrics.
Context. Do we know the people, their stories, and the history of where we are leading?
Community. There is a cognitive dissonance when our communities (both local and global) are in crisis and we ignore that reality in our corporate gatherings. We must speak with wisdom, discernment, and clarity that points people to the hope of the Gospel even in the midst of current events.
Let people be uncomfortable in the gathering, but only for the right reasons.