How to Deal with Congregation Envy

New York Times reporter Max Chafkin recently visited Hillsong New York at the invitation of Scott Harrison, founder of charity: water. He wrote about his experience on the hip Times insider blog called “The 6th Floor.” Here’s an excerpt:

“I don’t know if the place was technically sold out — can a church sell out? — but the line to get in ran the length of Irving Place and then snaked halfway down 16th Street, and the place was packed. The crowd was young, beautiful and, it seemed, unattached. I saw almost no one over 40, and none had brought children.”

Are you jealous?

I have to admit, that was my first reaction. I thought of my church: our fading burgundy seating, terrible acoustics, and suburban crowd. I knew we’d never be cool enough to draw attention from our local newspaper, much less from the Times.
But we do our best.

Ministry is service, not celebrity. (Click to tweet) God has called me to meet the needs I see—whether or not they come wrapped in a designer label. But I still get stars in my eyes from time to time, and I need to be reminded of Jesus’ example of service and humility.

Do you ever feel congregation envy? How do you cure it? Tell us in comments.

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Written by
Ray Deck III

Born in WV, Ray escaped to North Carolina at a young age. He came to Logos after an 8 year stint at a faith-based nonprofit in New York. When he is not assembling sequences of words, he’s probably running, surfing or shooting skeet, but you should probably go look for him. He has a terrible sense of direction and is probably lost.

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Written by Ray Deck III
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