Imagine church without sound.
I do not mean removing things that make noise - sound systems, music, people. I mean imagine experiencing your church as it normally is but not being able to hear anything. Would the non-audible elements be enough to minister to you?
If you were to take away sound, would people still be ministered to?
If someone saw a muted video of your church service, what would they think?
ASK YOURSELF
- Would your environment create a sense of awe for the Creator like the churches of the Renaissance?
- Visually, how does your worship music seem? Authentic? Passionate? Like a rock concert? Worshipful?
- When you take away the words, are the greeters authentic?
- Is the tone and subject of the message evident in the preacher’s body language?
- What about the sermon branding?
- Is the life changing power of Christ evident on the congregation’s faces?
- Is there a sense joy, hope, and love?
People can spot a fake smile. People can discern authenticity. If someone who was not a Christian watched your congregation worship, would they want what they have?
Albert Mehrabian’s research shows that communication is influenced only 7% by words, 38% by tone of voice, and 55% by body language. All too often, we focus on the 7% of words and forget to invest in non-audible influencers, such as body language and environment.
For Discussion:
- How do think we can have better churches without sound?
What an excellent thought. It makes me sit back and take note. I would agree on the statement about how incredidbly powerful and loud body language really is.
I have wanted to put a small video camera in the foyer and main auditorium just for the purpose of teaching the church body what it looks like from a guests viewpoint, i.e. do we really say welcome with our response, do we really care.
This would be for my own actions as well, how I respond to anyone for that matter.
Thanks
This is why I find communicating via email, text, blogs, even telephone challenging. All of these are very necessary communicating in today’s technological age; but I really want to see the person that I’m talking to.
Thanks for the stats - I will keep them tucked away for future reference.
Great insight that really makes you evaluate your environment and visitors experience. I’ll plug my ears next time I hang back and observe my surroundings at church … and WATCH what happens with a whole new level of understanding.
From my perspective it all starts with leadership transparency. I believe just like any other organization, the organizational culture of the church (which influence the members) is reflected by the leadership. Just as you mentioned authenticity, it can only come when as a community we can shed our masks and be broken people together and give people a safe place to fail.
Tim Keller, in the Prodigal God, mentions a huge problem the church in America is facing today: the fact that moralism dominates the church. Jesus’ ministry attracted the marginalized and those who were not morally upright, while the church seems to attract those who already find themselves as moral people.
When it comes down to it, I guess we don’t have the power to force change on anyone’s heart, but our facial expressions, words, body language, thoughts, etc. are influenced by our heart and I feel leadership within the body really plays a key role in being used to influence and help mold hearts.
A picture is worth a thousand words. I think we are overwhelmed with noise so much that we miss the true message! Good message!
Excellent discussion topic. I never really thought at looking at how we are reaching people by physical clues. Wow. Good number of points made by all. Its right you can tell when a person is fake smiling or half hazardly greeting a new person without sincerity. Given me lots to think about. Thanks!