Golf has always clung to strict standards and a rich tradition.
But, as reported by The New York Times last week, it may have become a victim
of its own image and hide-bound ways. The Times quoted a National Golf
Foundation estimate that golf has lost 5,000,000 players in the last decade,
with 20% of the existing 25 million golfers apt to quit in the next few years.
People under age 35, according to The Times, have especially spurned the
game, saying "it takes too long to play, is too difficult to learn and has too
many tiresome rules." The new goal, says The Times, is to alter the game's
reputation in order to recruit lapsed golfers and a younger demographic.
At this point in the story, I thought I could already see some parallels
between the plight of modern golf and the plight of modern churches like
CPC.
Hoping to find some "silver bullets" for churches, I took a closer look at
what golfing changes were being proposed. For golfing beginners, how about
holes which are 15 inches wide, about four times the width of a standard hole?
It was suggested that a 15-inch hole would help beginning golfers and older
golfers score better, play faster and like golf more.
Other proposed changes would relax the rules and allow do-over shots, or
mulligans, once a hole; teeing up the ball for each shot; and throwing a
ball out of a sand bunker once or twice a round.
Still other advocates of change, The Times continued, have focused on
adapting to the busy schedules of parents and families. In recent years, golf
courses have encouraged people to think of golf in six-hole or nine-hole
increments. The Times says soon about 30 golf courses across the country will
become test cases for a system of punch-in-punch-out time clocks that assess a
fee by the minutes spent playing or practicing rather than by 18- or 9-hole
rounds.
Golf is one of the top ten recreational sports in the U.S., so not everyone
will favor changes to encourage it to be more participatory. Some say they do
not want to rig the game and cheapen it, even for beginners. Many golfers
believe that the charm of the game is a single set of rules for beginners
as well as for skilled golfers.
I think I have heard some of the same discussions at CPC has we tried to
recruit lapsed members and a younger demographic. It was interesting to see the
substantial attendance last weekend at our two Easter Sunday services. At other
times of the year we usually have only 150 - 200 people attending worship at our
10:00 a.m. Sunday service. Just as with golf, participation could be better.
National golf tournaments draw thousands of spectators and a TV audience of
millions of people, but where are the 5,000,000 players the National Golf
Foundation says are not golfing participants any more? Later, what will become
of the people who fill our church pews on Easter?
Changes CPC has already gradually introduced in hopes of increasing
participation, include more music offerings, but not just the old-time favorite
hymns ---- now we also have contemporary praise music at least once in the
Sunday Sanctuary service. That service is now followed at 11:15 a.m. each
Sunday with a "contemporary" service in less formal surroundings, which we call
"The Wave."
And we have done other things at CPC to make it easier for people to get to
know us. In the old days, it took a number of classes before one would be ready
to become a new CPC member. Today, membership can come after a brief Sunday
meeting with the Senior Pastor and an expressed desire on the new member's part.
Today, Bible study is of less interest, but short-term mission engagement is
actively supported. Today, the time available for church participation in
anything, even in worship services, must compete with many other community and
school activities. Somewhat like the golfers, those seeking our involvement in
their offerings are faced with our already tight daily schedules.
As in golfing, there are some church members who have habits and
expectations formed many years ago. They may not understand why church
practices must change. But, there are outside social and cultural forces at
work which simply require us to be flexible and see the good possibilities in
practical changes that keep us relevant.
For us at CPC, our daily practices of faith may change form, but the
fundamentals of our faith stay the same ---- just as in the game of golf.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development
Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal growth this year at
CPC.
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