Implications of Church 2.0 – No More Top-Down Leadership

Following up on my previous article on the Church and Web 2.0, I would like to begin to look at some of the implications this discussion has/will have on the future of the way we do church.

One of the key dynamics of Web 2.0 services is that they interactive and participative. That is, the users create the content. Wikipedia and YouTube are just two examples of sites where the content is generated by users of the site, not by the site itself.

So what does this mean for the church? Most churches operate in a very top-down hierarchical manner. Like a pyramid, the church builds from the pews to the leadership (staff, board) and reaches its pinnacle with the senior pastor. I’m sure that one of the primary reasons for the development of this model was to protect orthodoxy. The pastor, the theologically trained leader, had to maintain absolute authority to make sure that the church didn’t veer into apostasy or heresy.

Consider these words from Mark 10:42-45…

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Maybe, just maybe, this whole “Web 2.0″ and “Church 2.0″ could hold the key for living out this servant leadership style that Jesus advocates to his followers. Instead of leading from the top, the leaders become the servants. Instead of doing all the ministry, the leaders takes seriously the call of Ephesians 4 to be equip the people for ministry.

In most churches, lay people come, sit in their pews (with some standing and maybe some kneeling thrown in there) where they are spoken to, preached at and, in general, are passive observers. Sure, they join in the singing, but that is as participative as gets. The teaching and preaching of the Word of God is a primary hallmark of Christian worship (as it should be). But too many preachers approach the task thinking they speak from Sinai and the people better listen.

Mike Yaconelli tells a story in his book, Dangerous Wonder, about a girl who visited the church he was pastoring. She was too green and naive to know any better, so, in the middle of his sermon, she raised her hand to ask a question about something she didn’t understand. It took him (and all those conditioned to the way we do church) by surprise. But it changed the way things worked in his church. From that time on, if he said something that was unclear or confusing, the people in his congregation interacted with him.

That is a small step, but with each question asked, that church became more interactive and participative rather than passive for the congregants. Pastors are scared that if they allow “user created content,” heresy will prevail. And that is a real danger which pastors must combat. In fact, in his letters to Timothy, Paul is quick to put limits on who can speak at certain parts of their worship services. But if it teaches us anything, it should be that it was the normal practice that several people were involved with speaking, teaching and praying in their services. The early Christian services were interactive and participative. Maybe we need to learn from Web 2.0 and transition our churches to more participation and interaction as well.