Fight the Temptation To Make Your Small Church Look Big

I've been to a number of little churches where the urge to "look big" meant that they were putting people up on the "stage" who really didn't understand (especially in music) the genre they were trying to play. It just looks bad and sucks up the time, energy, and money of the congregation.

Don't get me wrong; I love it when a church "punches above its weight class" in terms of music, but a lot of small churches need to come to grips with the fact that what they have is one or two competent pianists, or even just one who can work with the melody and the "right hand" on the piano or guitar. And that's OK, and a simple melody played on a single instrument can be a blessing even to a visitor who can make a Steinway sing, while a praise band that hasn't grasped the basics can turn off a visitor whose only musical instrument is the proverbial radio.

And smoke machines and lightshows? I would hope that the reality of Scripture and the Gospel would be a sufficient "hook", as Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians, and I'd have to suggest that big churches that have these maybe....don't belong in any church, big or small.