The band opened with a cover of the Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music." Adults old enough to remember the original on the radio sang along. Teenage girls danced barefoot in the grass. Nearby, kids in Gap shorts and Tevas stood in a long line waiting for hot dogs along with homeless men dressed in their four-season ensembles--winter coats and knit caps. A shorter line was beside it waiting for free Coke.
The scene was one church's efforts to do Memorial Day 2007. The band was made up of church members and staff who had practiced for months for this open-air concert in a riverside park. After setting the tone with the Doobies, they entertained the crowd of about 500 with songs from the Beach Boys, Beatles, Johnny Cash, Elvis and a wide variety of current pop and country fare.
What they did not play were hymns, or Christian pop, or even any of the ubiquitous Christian praise choruses that seem requisite when churches try to break out of their traditional boxes. There were no sermons, no public prayers, no tracts, no signs, no calls to repentance and no counseling tents.
The event was just a church--and a conservative Presbyterian church at that--having fun in the public square and inviting anyone and everyone to join them.
Few churches I know would dare sink staff time and money into a public event and leave out the expected evangelical hooks. Several years ago my own church held a summer concert in this very same park. The Christian rock and praise music was good, but it was interrupted for a short Gospel presentation. Teen volunteers worked the crowd passing out literature and invitations to visit the church. The venue was the same, but the events were very different.
Another difference was the size of the crowd. This 2007 event seemed to draw people, whether they were affiliated with the church or not. The band from my church drew quite a small crowd, and those who came close enough to hear tended to keep moving lest they be approached by a proselytizer.
I don't know that either event changed anyone's mind, attracted anyone to the church or increased their awareness of Christ. But I do know which of the two events left participants feeling the most elevated, joyful and satisfied.
In Colossians 3 the Apostle Paul encourages Christians to teach and admonish and to sing psalms and spiritual songs. Yet he also writes that whatever we do in word and deed, do it all in the name of Jesus.
It is important to bring the Gospel to the public square, but surely there is nothing wrong with simply having a good time in the name of Jesus. I can't help thinking that many who are outside the church might be encouraged to take a peek inside if they saw more Christians with smiles on their faces, dancing barefoot in the grass.
The scene was one church's efforts to do Memorial Day 2007. The band was made up of church members and staff who had practiced for months for this open-air concert in a riverside park. After setting the tone with the Doobies, they entertained the crowd of about 500 with songs from the Beach Boys, Beatles, Johnny Cash, Elvis and a wide variety of current pop and country fare.
What they did not play were hymns, or Christian pop, or even any of the ubiquitous Christian praise choruses that seem requisite when churches try to break out of their traditional boxes. There were no sermons, no public prayers, no tracts, no signs, no calls to repentance and no counseling tents.
The event was just a church--and a conservative Presbyterian church at that--having fun in the public square and inviting anyone and everyone to join them.
Few churches I know would dare sink staff time and money into a public event and leave out the expected evangelical hooks. Several years ago my own church held a summer concert in this very same park. The Christian rock and praise music was good, but it was interrupted for a short Gospel presentation. Teen volunteers worked the crowd passing out literature and invitations to visit the church. The venue was the same, but the events were very different.
Another difference was the size of the crowd. This 2007 event seemed to draw people, whether they were affiliated with the church or not. The band from my church drew quite a small crowd, and those who came close enough to hear tended to keep moving lest they be approached by a proselytizer.
I don't know that either event changed anyone's mind, attracted anyone to the church or increased their awareness of Christ. But I do know which of the two events left participants feeling the most elevated, joyful and satisfied.
In Colossians 3 the Apostle Paul encourages Christians to teach and admonish and to sing psalms and spiritual songs. Yet he also writes that whatever we do in word and deed, do it all in the name of Jesus.
It is important to bring the Gospel to the public square, but surely there is nothing wrong with simply having a good time in the name of Jesus. I can't help thinking that many who are outside the church might be encouraged to take a peek inside if they saw more Christians with smiles on their faces, dancing barefoot in the grass.
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