Comfortable Afflictions

You may have heard the news that we will soon have new chairs in our worship center at Shelby Crossings. That's right, within the next few weeks we be replacing those black plastic chairs we have had for all these years with comfortable, padded chairs "with dual lumbar and bookrack." The change will be a welcome addition to our worship for many, but hopefully we won't get too comfortable in the process. 

The late evangelist Vance Havner used to say that the task of the preacher was "to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable." So though your afflicted backsides may be getting some comfort, the new chairs may change my role some. Perhaps I need to get a Super Soaker to have on Sundays, locked and loaded and ready to get the attention of those who get so comfortable that they try to catch a few winks.

Either way, it will be change, and often changes makes us uncomfortable, even when they are intended to bring us more comfort. Do you know that for most of the history of the church there were not even uncomfortable seating options in worship gatherings? No chairs, no pews, no benches--just people standing in worship. In fact, some people believe that had a positive effect on their church culture in worship.

James White, who has studied the history of church architecture and authored a book about it, wrote: "Throughout most of the history of Christian worship...there were no pews or chairs. Not until the fourteenth century did seating gradually encroach upon the open space where the congregation stood and walked about during worship. Until that time, the people were on their feet and could go where something was happening. The congregation was mobile and the interior of the church (building) was not regimented into fixed rows or inflexible pews." 

That's hard for us to picture in church buildings as we have known them. But even in a world where seats abounded in other settings, churches deliberately chose to keep them out of their main worship spaces. Instead, people were encouraged to be active during worship, to move freely throughout the space, and to engage with others around them. 

As White continued, "In the late Middle Ages, the congregation sat down on the job and there was a drastic change in Christian worship--perhaps the most important in history. People, in effect, became custodians of individual spaces which they occupied throughout the service, and social distinctions made some spaces more privileged than others."

Another author, Adam Graber, wrote a book entitled, "From Pews to Podcasts: What Technology Wants for the Church." In the second chapter, "Churches Without Chairs," he tackled the topic of seating in churches and explored how the adjustment to a building's furnishings radically impacted the direction of the church. Graber found that the act of adding seating to churches changed churchgoers from being active participants to stationary observers.

"Without chairs, they had been actively involved and engaged by moving along with each element of the service, but as they sat down they became passive viewers--spectators in an audience." Graber wrote. "The service became something to watch."

The church has a long history of evolving in many areas--some good, some not so much. Over the years, we have gone from standing, to sitting in pews, and eventually to chairs. And now we at Shelby Crossings are changing to more comfortable chairs. Our behinds may thank us, but will this new level of comfort affect our worship?

What we must be intentional about is never settling for being an audience and just watching what goes on on the stage. That is not what church is about. You can't "one-another" one another when you are settled in in your comfy chair staring at the back of someone's head. We must all be active participants in the life of the church, not just at 9:00 or 10:30 on a Sunday morning, but before and after our services, and all during the week. That is church the way it was meant to be.

More than anything, I pray that our comfort will not encourage a complacency, and that we will still be encouraged to stand and worship freely, and in the end, to get up out of our chairs and go into the world with the gospel and make difference for Christ. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I am so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful faith family like Shelby Crossings, I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday.

--Pastor Ken