What Does It Mean To Have an 'Interactive' Church Service?
“We’d like to get more interaction in our church service.” This is perhaps the most common sentiment expressed whenever we meet with a church leader.…
What Does It Mean To Have an ‘Interactive’ Church Service?
“We’d like to get more
** *
interaction
**
in our church service.” This is perhaps the most common sentiment expressed whenever we meet with a church leader. Engagement, interaction, feedback, discussion. Somehow, this adjective is absent from church online.
This is such a sign of the times. These words that
never used to
describe a church service.
What did leaders and churchgoers appreciate prior to Covid? For sure, you would hear descriptions of the worship. Not just the various styles of worship, but we heard about the impact of the music selection and performance. Was it uplifting? Peaceful and calming? Powerful? Transcendent?
And the message. Was it insightful? Did it speak to me? Was it challenging?
And the readings. And the sacraments. And the corporate prayer. There are all sorts of ways to describe these elements or a church service.
But… interactive? Engaging? Did anyone ever greet the pastor or the worship leader at the end of service or Mass and say, “that was really
engaging
?” Did the leadership team ever meet on Monday morning and reflect how
interactive
the congregation was on Sunday?
Obviously, something about online worship is missing, and much of it falls under the banner of interactivity, or engagement. And, by this, everyone is thinking beyond Likes, or Shares or emojis. If that’s what everyone meant, then we’re all done, problem solved. Emojis for everyone!
Also, interactivity and engagement must mean more than direct back-and-forth communication between the leader(s) and the attendees. Sure, an occasional
amen!
or
preach!
shouted out in the chat is appreciated. But, again, if that is what people are looking for, that problem has also been solved.
Interactivity Is About Community, Not About Who’s Up Front
Clearly, the interaction that people generally experienced in pre-Covid days was
** *
with each other
**
! In increasing degrees of intimacy, people interact and engage in these ways.
In the physical church, you would find it odd that all the interactivity, all the engagement, is centered around those who are serving up front — the pastor, the worship team, the lectors. The ‘buzz’ that you hear in church on a Sunday morning or Saturday evening is the electricity among those gathered. They have come there to be together, to see and be seen, to be unified in belief and purpose, and to connect in a way that brings wholeness and belonging.
That’s a lot more interactivity and engagement than can be accomplished in a chat pane online.