3. You’ve Become Stuck in “No Man’s Land”
I learned about No Man’s Land in churches from James Emery White. It’s a term that describes churches too contemporary to please the traditionalists and too traditional to reach people who connect with a contemporary approach.
I have no desire to ignite a the worship wars about ‘blended worship’ (a combination of traditional and contemporary styles). Can it work? I’m sure it can, done right. But you don’t have to get too far into the conversation with most church leaders who are in a blended format to realize it’s not an overriding passion to reach the outsider that fuels the change, it’s fear that if they go too much further there will be an apocalypse.
What’s the bottom line? Most blended worship happens because leaders are afraid to go further, not because leaders think it’s the best option. The attempt to make everyone happy usually makes no one happy.
In my view, the last 10 percent of change is the hardest. When we transitioned from traditional to blended to full-out ‘contemporary’ music a decade ago, the last 10 percent of the change was harder than the first 90 percent. I think that’s how leaders get stuck.
Again, I’m not saying blended services are a bad thing (we’ve chosen to not embrace that strategy at Connexus for very specific reasons). I’m just saying if you end up there, make sure that’s where you want to be because you believe it’s the most effective way to accomplish your mission.
What to Do
Don’t let the worship wars get you stuck somewhere you’re not called to be. Finish the change or make sure where you’re at is honestly the very best way to fulfill your mission.
