Authenticity – Rev. Dr. Terry E. Walton

Authenticity

I was thinking…

Carey Nieuwhof is a pastor, author, and leadership guru. He was the founding pastor of Connexus Church in 1995 and served as lead pastor until 2015. He now spends his time encouraging church leaders around the world in areas of leadership change and personal growth. I have often found his insights intriguing and stimulating. There are occasions I have disagreed with Carey, but more times than not, I have found his thoughts to be right on point.

He recently shared a podcast asking the question “Why don’t things that worked 10 years ago to attract people to church, work today?” His observations are important and there is one observation of which I wholeheartedly agree. He observes that 10 years ago if a church had a screen, good band, and were led by a decent communicator then people just showed up to church. This is not true anymore. Ten years ago, those who led worship in a ‘contemporary worship’ setting were on the cutting edge and unique. Today, not so much. Most churches have achieved the contemporary worship climb in one form or another and what used to be unique is now ‘the normal’. Even the ‘contemporary worship’ brand has switched brands in an attempt to stay fresh and cutting edge with titles such as ‘modern worship’, ‘worship blend’, or some other creative brand title.