I’m just going to come right out and say it. The Beyonce concert was better than any of the church services I’ve been to all year.
I don’t say this lightly. I am a confirmed and confessed “Church Girl”. I was baptized in 1988. I believe in Jesus Christ. He is the giver of all life. From heaven he came down. Wait, those are song lyrics. I can state the Apostles Creed, but more importantly, I believe the words. I am faithful, maybe even to a fault. I love God, and I love God’s people and God’s church.
Yet, on Sunday, I chose the discomfort of stadium seating over the discomfort of a church pew. I could have honestly done both…but let’s be honest. This 40+ year old body needed rest if I planned to stay awake for the whole concert. Y’all know we could all use a nap after church. Plus, I wanted to participate in pre-concert festivities, which for me just included some last minute shopping, and hanging out with a good girl friend.
So, I know that there are several pastors and public theologians who are anti-Beyonce, and that’s their prerogative, but here are some things I would like for them (and you) to consider.
- The church is always talking about people of every tribe and every language getting together and being on one accord, like the Acts 2 church. I have never seen that in any church I have ever attended. Most American churches are as homogenized as the milk in the dairy section of your local grocery store. The crowd at Club Renaissance was not. What can your church do to draw a more diverse crowd?
- The performers were prepared. We have all been to church services where it was obvious that the choir had not rehearsed, the praise dancers were making up their solos on the spot, or worse yet, the preacher had barely even read the scripture before he got up to speak. At the concert, every single performer hit their marks. The whole thing was very well produced. How can your church improve the production value of your services?
- The concert was something I looked forward to attending. I was happy when I got there and I was happy when I left. From what I could tell, that was true of most of my fellow concert-goers. This was my first Beyonce concert, but I know that there were people who had seen the Renaissance tour in other cities who flew to KC for this final performance. They seemed just as excited as I was. What can your church do to encourage excitement for first-time visitors, and committed members?
The church could take a few lessons from Mrs. Knowles-Carter’s team. I’ll probably have a few more to share next week. And yes, I will still be talking about the concert next week. It was that good! I hope you can say the same for this week’s church service.
Have a good one.
The Gospel According to Gabrielle 