Weird Church

In his new book, We are all Weird, Seth Godin defines “weird” as anyone who does not fit within the standard deviation of  normal, and today, more than ever, that group is growing. He advocates that this frightens the organizations that rely upon mass-marketing. I would contend that churches ought to be afraid as well. It’s time for the church to become weird.

A weird church might have a completely different structure. It would be a church that is serious about the call to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, rather than relying upon the paid staff to do it all. By being proactive about discipleship, many would be released to help the poor and defending the cause of the orphan. Small groups would become a key strategy in providing the level of community required to ensure all belong and are cared for. Instead of requiring conformity, a weird church would welcome diversity by guiding people into small groups scattered throughout the city.

Tribes respect the weirdest of their people. A weird church must encourage those people to continue being weird, reaching more of their tribe. Forcing conformity to the “christian norm” would only eliminate their impact. Thus an outsider who employs a strategy to reach a particular group feels dis-genuine. The outsider can immediately be spotted and their ulterior motives are revealed. That means it’s time for more leaders. The senior leader(s) at the church need to create a culture of discipleship, identify leaders, and then send them out to reach their own definition of weird. In some circumstances this necessitates a small group, in others an alternative venue and occasionally a multisite campus. The goal in becoming weirder is not to isolate into segregated groups – the body is about celebrating our diversity – the goal is to identify what already exists in an area and support God’s movement in that place.

One of my favorite “weird” churches is Pantano Christian Church in Tucson, AZ. Communications Director, Lisa Hamilton, understands the impact anyone can have within their own sub-culture. She explains, “My weirdness is asking both staff and lay leaders to think beyond announcements at a whole-church level to making personal invitations. Consistently. If you truly believe in something and want to share that with your tribe, you must ask or invite again and again. Personal relationships are the key to the ask. Asking your own tribe and reaching our to bring others into your tribe.”

According to the 2011 Megachurch report (co-produced by LeadNet) there are high numbers of “new” people at megachurches. Thus the strategy the church needs in response is to have well-defined and organic processes in place to help people connect to their unique brand of “weird.” That means that the church of the future will be a collection of small tribes of odd people, rather than a conformed mass of “normal” people. In a church with so many options for people to connect and find a place that they belong it will be important to lead newcomers. Most will not intuitively know how to fit in, they must be invited.

Few churches articulate this as well as Pastor Brian Moss at Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Salisbury, MD. In his annual state of the church message titled, “Why We’re all Whacked,” Pastor Brian shares that the Pharisee’s hated Jesus because he made it too easy to get to God. (Grace lets all the weird people in) The explosion of “weird” is obvious at ORBC because in 2011 they doubled the number of small groups, and they are serious about discipleship. They define discipleship not simply as an increase in knowledge, but through life transformation. In Pastor Brian’s words, “how much of your life do you give away?”

While the explosive growth may be exciting to many church leaders, the temptation will be to resist transforming all those new people into “normal.” People are weird. Go engage them in that weirdness and the church will be  stronger for it.

How do you see “weird” emerging in your church? Do you encourage it or run from it?