Bad Organ Player

by Billy Strother

Paul was a lead chemist for one of the major international pharmaceutical companies.  He had been involved in the development of some of the most helpful medications prescribed by physicians today.  I did not meet him until long after his retirement.  He remained very active in life and in hands-on projects in the church after his retirement.

As we were sharing coffee one day, he let it leak that he played church organs when he was younger.  We only had one organist, faithful and tired (who especially liked to play to loud).  The revelation from Paul (not to be confused with the Apostle!) brightened my face.  My friend and parishioner looked at my grin and said, “Oh no; I am not going to play the organ in church!”  I said, “Hey, bro, just during communion meditation.  That is all I ask.  You can practice and play anything you desire.”  After some begging, blackmail, and manipulation (all of which I repented later), he agreed to play in a worship service, just the communion meditation, a month in the future.

The Sunday came … the worship service commenced … communion devotion and prayer were offered and finished … communion was passed out (in the biblical way—on plates to individuals to partake on their own while gentle organ music played) and contemplation began. Everyone was quiet during communion (because it was law back then or something).  Paul gently began playing “Amazing Grace,” a couple of verses.  It was beautiful.  Then he professionally paused and brilliantly segued into a haunting rendition of “In the Garden.”  After a stanza of “In the Garden,” Paul quickly picked up the pace and began playing, with the fervency of a rock star, Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin”—during communion!  The trays were still being passed and some of those about to partake individually in their pew stopped and looked up, mouths open, aghast at the moment.  Others in the act of partaking choked on communion crackers or snorted grape juice out of their noses.  No one was immune to the shock, save for a couple of bikers and a few hearing-challenged senior saints.  I was grateful we took communion that day after the sermon.  I am still kind of foggy about how the service ended or even if there were the obligatory announcements delivered or if anyone offered a benediction.  I am certain someone took up an offering, “because where two or more church leaders gather, and offering will be collected.”

After service, I practically had to rescue Paul, both from angry parishioners, and from some other members who wanted to grab him, raise him on their shoulders, and celebrate his heroism for making something exciting happen during worship on a Sunday.

Paul and I had a talk later in the week.  I asked my nearly former friend, “Why in the world did you play Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’ for communion?”  He answered, “The times are changing and we church people need to know we can’t stop it.  And, besides, I did not want to play in the first place; so, I wanted to guarantee you would never again ask me to play the organ!”

Lesson learned.  Keep the octogenarian rebels away from the church organ!

The times are changing … always, inside and outside of the church.  Church eldership teams who believe they can stop time or even turn back the church clock may well ensure the future death of their church.  COVID did not cause our church relevancy challenges; the past 15 or so months simply accelerated our exposure.  Yes, some church leadership teams will try to stop or turn back the clock, just wanting to go back to the way things were pre-COVID.  That will guarantee negative results and very little fruit.  There are church prognosticators predicting 20% of congregations will close in the next 18 months.[i]  I have heard such outrageous prophecies before.  Yet, pre-COVID, we are sobered by the estimated 3,700 churches that closed in 2014.[ii]

As elders and church leaders who want to produce kingdom fruit, what can we do in terms of future thinking for kingdom impact?

Perhaps in these changing times, as elders and leaders, we could lead in turning the lament of loss into the possibility of praise.  Elders, church leaders, friends, are we not called by the Apostle Paul to “Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)?  And Paul wrote those words while chained in a Roman prison! 

Joy is a choice for Christians who choose not to see themselves as victims of circumstances.  What greater role model might we shepherds be to our sheep than to live as models of joy, finding and celebrating some positives in difficult transitions.

Celebrate that God is still in control, no matter how out of control the world looks.

Celebrate the faithfulness of the great number of church members who have not disappeared—they worship and serve faithfully with us in-person or online.

Celebrate that there are established electronic forms of giving.  I have experience with many church leaders who fully resisted online, direct-deposit, debit card, or text message giving.  In some congregations with which I am familiar, the adoption of electronic forms of giving only were embraced, out of desperation, during the height of COVID.  Such has resulted in many, especially smaller churches for whom the practice of electronic giving is new, experiencing faithful giving that has surpassed pre-COVID levels.

Celebrate that many churches of all sizes have embraced some form of electronic worship.  Shut-ins no longer have to be left out once they are too disabled to attend.  With a solid smartphone and a little software (and an eight-year-old kid to show us how to operate it), grandpa gets to worship with his church again.

Celebrate that with modern technology, we can communicate face-to-face with our missionaries around the world on different live chat video platforms.

Celebrate that one can participate in weddings, baptisms, graduations, and even funerals (when time, distance, and resources prohibit us from traveling in-person).

Celebrate the truth that established churches are discovering new ways to serve their communities outside the walls of their buildings.

Perhaps as elders, one of the best gifts we could give our congregants (in-person and online) is an example of praise to follow when “the times they are a-changin’.”

[i] https://outreachmagazine.com/resources/research-and-trends/59661-research-1-in-5-churches-may-close-due-to-pandemic.html

[ii] https://lifewayresearch.com/2018/01/16/hope-for-dying-churches/