Improving the Worship Service Experience

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"You're not going to find the perfect church experience."

--Traci Rhoades

Historians teach that the Christian church began almost 2,000 years ago. The Greek word "ekklēsia," translated as "church" in the New Testament, simply means "assembly" or "gathering." The early Christians, mostly Jewish, borrowed the term "ekklēsia" from the popular Greek translation of the Old Testament, which referred to Israel's sacred assemblies. 

In the New Testament, the Book of Acts shows that attending church or gathering for worship and fellowship originated from the early Christian communities, which, after Jesus' death, met in small groups to share meals, teachings, and prayer. And without dedicated buildings.

In The Sabbath Complete: And the Ascendency of First Day Worship, Terrance D. O'Hare says the importance of church attendance in Christian theology is delineated in Hebrews 10:25, "Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back is drawing near."

Many have either not read Hebrews 10:25 or no longer subscribe to its teaching. In developed countries, and long before the pandemic five years ago, an increasing number of households simply stopped attending.

A global look

"About four in ten adults in the average country surveyed say they attend religious services at least weekly. But this figure varies widely in different parts of the world," the Pew Research Center reports. 

Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with predominantly Christian or Muslim populations, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Uganda, tend to have the world's highest levels of regular worship attendance. 

Pew describes Europe as being on the other end of the spectrum. 

In Asia and the Pacific, weekly attendance is highest in Indonesia and lowest in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and China. 

Gallup survey averages from 2021 through 2023 show that 30 percent of U.S. adults attend every or almost every week, and 44 percent of Protestants/Christians participate at the same frequency. 

A 2023-2024 Pew Religious Landscape study of the U.S. with more sub-group detail has Protestants at 40 percent weekly or more often, Evangelicals at 50 percent, Mainline at 23 percent, and Historically Black at 33 percent. 

Pew reports in that same Landscape study that Christianity in the U.S. has slowed its decline and may have leveled off. 

As for shifts in organized religion, the number of Protestants who self-identify as "nondenominational" has doubled since 2007, from 9 to 18 percent in Pew's most recent study. 

" ... studying religion is more prudent than trying to predict its future."

Pew says that in future years, we may see further declines in the religiousness of the American public for these reasons:

• Young adults are far less religious than older adults.
• No recent birth cohort has become more religious as it has aged.
• Compared with older adults, fewer younger adults with a highly religious upbringing are still highly religious.

The lesson here is that studying religion is more prudent than trying to predict its future.

Why go to church

Have you ever asked someone why they attend church?

A Gallup Poll taken before Easter in 2018 revealed that sermon content could be the most important factor in how soon worshippers return. Seventy-six percent of respondents noted sermons or talks that either teach about Scripture or help people connect religion to their lives as a major factor "spurring their attendance." 

Among families, spiritual programs geared toward children and youth are a main draw for 64 percent of worshippers. Community outreach, volunteer opportunities, and dynamic religious leaders are also important to the majority, at 59 and 54 percent, respectively.

A great choir, praise band, or other spiritual music was last on the list, with 38 percent saying it was important.

Who attends

People of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds go to church, some more frequently than others. Who are most likely to be regular attendees? Older, educated households, those in their mid-50s and up who have college degrees.

According to a Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and released in 2024, education, age, and children are the three factors driving attendance. Among those with a bachelor's degree who are parents, about 30% are weekly attendees—that's three times higher than those who do not have children.  

People with a college degree are likelier to attend than those with a high school diploma. Older more likely than younger households. Those with children participate with a higher frequency than those who don't. 

 

Professor Ryan Burge says the magic combination is clearly having a good education and being a parent—both make someone much more likely to attend church.

Faith in daily life

Gallup concludes that the primary motivation for those attending worship services is learning more about the tenets of their faith and connecting that faith to their lives. That is, taking core biblical principles and learning to apply them to everyday circumstances.

Pew says those same sermon qualities are important to about half of U.S. adults who have looked for a new church or parish at some point, most commonly because they've moved. They want a new house of worship where they like the preacher and the tone set by church leadership. 

"Fully 83 percent of Americans who have looked for a new place of worship say the quality of preaching played an important role in their choice of a congregation. Nearly as many say it was important to feel welcomed by clergy and lay leaders," Pew reported.

The style of worship service and location also factored in the decision, as 85 percent attended services at a church being considered.

As for the next generation, "The fact remains that 80 percent of young adults say growing closer to or learning about God are the two most important reasons to attend church," according to the Barna Group.

Laura Vanderkam offers sensible advice: "Treat the young as adults."

Where to begin

One way to define a worship service experience for regular attendees and visitors is any activity before, during, and after the service, whether on or off the property or online. 

That menu could include prayer, Bible reading, announcements, social media, signage, music, AV, invitations to worship, and follow-up. The appearance of the building and grounds should also be considered, as the exterior is the congregation's most visible representation.

How often do churches evaluate the corporate worship service experience? Like other concerns, most seem satisfied with their current situation.

Churches frequently continue to do what works—well past when it no longer works. Without feedback, they don't always realize when a program stops working. Loyalty enables churches and ministries to decline, as their members don't always abandon them overnight. It also allows churches to repair themselves if they desire to do so.

Three of the most significant changes within a faith community are the lead pastor's departure, the move to a new location, and a name change.

In any of those situations, we recall Dr. William Bridges' counsel that it's not the change that gets us; it's the transition.

How to improve

A common mistake in rethinking any component of a church ministry (or anything with a public interface) is localizing the improvement, not connecting the effort to the church as a whole. The net effect can potentially lower the church's performance as a whole. Isolated improvements can actually make matters worse, as Boudwijn Bertsch from the Netherlands has shown in his studies.

For example, attracting families with infants (who are significantly more likely to be in church than those who are raising older kids) without a clean, safe, and supervised nursery can be a problem. Launching an initiative for community engagement without enough advance notice and training can be self-defeating.

"While no church can do everything, 

every church can do something ..." 

Corporate worship is indispensable within the body life of a church, but it does not stand alone. A community of faith cannot be divided into independent parts without losing its strengths. Any significant improvement or change in corporate worship will likely spill over into other areas, such as small groups, youth and children's ministries, ushers, and greeters. 

It's helpful to create an improvement checklist and review it periodically. Ask how the church can do better; some will be reluctant to speak. Members who leave seldom say why. Visitor comments provide a different but much-needed perspective. Letting them know their opinions are important is a wise thing to do. 

Know your strengths and lean into them. Avoid comparing your church to others. Although some decisions are irreversible, be prepared to modify changes that may need adjustment. Use a trial period if appropriate. 

To maintain credibility, and certainly as a courtesy, leadership should explain changes, why, and potential benefits.

While no church can do everything, every church can do something to make a difference in someone's life. 

Attending in propria persona

Here is a quote from a previous Strategist Post that bears repeating:

"Virtual services, webcasting, and online Bible studies are certainly better than no religious participation. However, none is likely a fully adequate replacement for the in-person meetings and community," wrote Harvard professor Tyler J. VanderWeele, who studies these interactions. 

Digital worship, like remote work and schooling, lessens the magnitude of a communal experience. Of course, health, job schedules, and caregiving are legitimate reasons for online worship. That format helps avoid social isolation, which may be harmful. 

Alternatively, in-person worship is a layer deeper than virtual worship; let's call it presence, which is what ministry is meant to be.

Online and electronic giving are acts of worship and reliable sources of income. Still, in-person per capita giving is twice that of those who worship remotely, according to a 2023 study by the Hartford Institute of Religion Research. 

A church home

While focusing on faith's vital benefits, we sometimes forget that religion offers additional support. "There is a mounting body of empirical evidence suggesting that people who are active in their faith tend to be the recipients of several important physical and mental health benefits," says Byron Johnson, professor of social sciences at Baylor University.

Jeff Haanen, founder of the Denver Institute for Faith and Works, writes about the potential gains from frequent in-person worship attendance:

"Sociologists say church involvement is associated with many benefits for children and adults. Kids who go to church have higher academic achievement, better relationships with parents, and more participation in extracurricular activities. 

"Churchgoers are in better health and live longer." 

And they're the most generous with their charitable contributions to religious and secular causes.

Breaking bread

Potluck dinners could be the beginning of much-needed fellowship and support for people from all walks of life. There are numerous unchurched, and loneliness is a global health concern. The right response is to be inviting, welcoming, and caring. 

To paraphrase Russel Ackoff, "A church is as good as the product of its interactions."

Even if those new to a faith community don't fully understand what it's about, they'll know kindness when encountered, which is "the early church" way of improving a worship service experience. 

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Leading With Self-Control

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"Let your breath be the first word."

—Jefferson Fisher

What contributes to CEO failure? 

"How do CEOs blow it? More than any other way by failure to put the right people in the right jobs—and the related failure to fix people problems in time," says Ram Charan and Geoffrey Colvin in a timeless FORTUNE magazine article published in June 1999. 

"Specifically, failed CEOs are often unable to deal with a few key subordinates whose sustained poor performance deeply harms the company. Everyone around the leader knows about these problems, but their opinions are ignored," the writers added. 

CEOs know there's a problem, but they suppress it. 

The article concludes that the failure is one of emotional strength.

Defining self-control

Self-control plays three vital roles: thinking before acting, controlling disruptive emotions and impulses, and saying "no" to temptation. However important this characteristic is, it's often overlooked when hiring. 

Dr. Christopher Barnes from the University of Washington reports that self-control varies over time within the same person. 

The studies point in these directions:

• It's a time-limited response. Too much is used in one place, leaving less to be used in another. 
• Think of it as a finite cognitive resource. Exerting self-control can negatively affect future self-control if not replenished.
• As self-control depletes, one is more likely to succumb to temptation. Even good people can have weak moments.
• Different types of self-control tap into the same pool of limited resources.

Temperament (personality) and self-control are closely related but not the same. Temperament is innate and influenced by biological factors. Self-control, learned over time, is the key to managing one's temperament effectively. 

Desirable habits

Embracing self-control has many rewards, including better people decisions.

A self-regulated condition means eating healthy, improving job performance, and forming higher-quality friendships. Inspiring and intellectually challenging associates rather than abusing and micro-managing them is a plus.

Without self-control, we revert to impulsive decision-making, emotional outbursts, and difficulty managing stress. The literature cautions against sending a text or email or calling someone when angry, as words written or spoken can never be returned. 

Judicious restraint using the 24-hour reply rule is a teachable moment, as others pay more attention to what we do than what we say.

A reflective leader

Psychologists define reflection as evaluating our thoughts, behaviors, and motivations. This process is about self-awareness, knowing who we are, and clarifying the boundaries of our lives. Furthermore, this prearranged time helps us assess the quality of our circumstances. 

In the age of noise, leaders need to be alone and offline. As the playwright Jon Fosse declares, "The silence speaks."

Suppose we don't periodically reflect on what matters to us. In that case, we can be misdirected by outdated thinking. Or, confused by a disorienting culture whose moral fabric is rated poor by 54 percent of U.S. adults, according to a 2024 Gallup Poll. In that same survey, 83 percent of respondents said that moral values are worsening.  

"Leaders have to get outside the emotional climate of the day," writes Edwin Friedman in A Failure of Nerve—Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. "Vision is generally considered a cerebral event, but the ability to see things differently is an emotional phenomenon," he notes in his last book.  

Widely respected, Friedman, a rabbi turned consultant, makes clear that when attempting to engineer an organizational renaissance, those at the top have to muster the inner strength to overcome resistance and rejection, especially from those within who may have lost their will and way.

The gift of sleep

If energy is the fuel for self-control, how do we tank or power up?

Certainly, diet, exercise, and fresh air make a big difference. Experiencing new environments and including individuals of strong character in our circle of friends helps greatly. Continuous learning renews our minds. Don't forget the encouragement and support from families. 

Nevertheless, a good night's rest is the greatest daily power source for regaining emotional strength and self-control, which can positively influence one's temperament. After all, the wisdom of ruling our spirit is a time-honored instruction. 

Mayo Clinic recommends that adults sleep at least seven hours each night. However, the quality of sleep and routine matter more than the number of hours. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and deep sleep are required to improve cognitive function and memory, reduce stress, and boost the immune system. Sleep also has a physical healing quality.

Sleep psychologist Dr. Michelle Drerup suggests that the bedroom temperature should be 60 to 67 degrees (15-19 C). "It should be cool, dark, and quiet to enhance sleep," she notes. 

Can you ever make up for lost sleep?

"We don't know," says Dr. David Gozal of the University of Chicago. "If a person goes without sleep for just one night and tries to replace that lost sleep—to repay that sleep debt in just a day or two, most likely they will be able to regain normal function. But getting extra sleep does not immediately restore all systems," Dr. Gozal quickly adds. 

Buffer days

The late Bob Buford, co-founder of Leadership Network with Fred Smith, liked introducing something he had been thinking about when opening the Network's conferences. One idea that sticks in my mind is inserting "buffer days" into busy schedules—perhaps one or two days to rest—for you and your colleagues, too.

Back-to-back meetings are sometimes a reality. Red-eye flights may be necessary, and overseas travel can cause jet lag. However, an intermittent buffer day can provide emotional strength, offsetting the physical and mental strain of demanding responsibilities.  

Author Alan Cohen sums it up this way: "There is virtue in work, and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither."

Sources: Self-control: A vital behavior for leaders everywhere, Sarah Mangia, The Ohio State University, September 15, 2020; Leadership Takes Self-Control. Here's What We Know About It, Kai Chi Yam, Hulwen Lian, D. Lance Ferris, and Douglas Brown, Harvard Business Review, June 5, 2017; Sleep Deprived People Are More Likely to Cheat, Christopher M. Barnes, Harvard Business Review, May 31, 2013; The Skill that Matters Most, Tony Schwartz, Harvard Business Review, September 13, 2011; A Neglected But Essential Leadership Trait--Why Self-Control Really Matters, Prudy Gouirguecheon, Forbes, April 3, 2018. 

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A Close Look At Skechers Successful Strategy

  

© Skechers

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized." 

--Sun Tzu

Howie Long is an NFL All-Pro defensive end and Hall of Famer who played 13 seasons for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders. Long is now a studio analyst for Fox Network's NFL coverage. 

While preparing to write the February Strategist Post, Long appeared in a larger-than-life display advertisement that took up one-third of page 5 in Section 1 of a recent edition of the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. 

In the ad, he wears a white T-shirt, light grey khaki pants, and a navy letterman's jacket. The 6' 5" former tight end and defensive lineman from Villanova University holds a college football (the one with stripes) in both hands and wears dark grey, hands-free, slip-in Skechers shoes (similar in style to the one above). 

The copy reads, "No bending over. No touching shoes. Just step in and go." 

Howie Long's endorsement and those of other football stars, including Joe Montana, golfer Brooke Henderson, and entertainment figures like Martha Stewart, Willie Nelson, and Snoop Dog, have helped make Skechers--a Fortune 500© company with global sales of $9 billion in 2024--the third-best-selling shoe behind Nike and Adidas. 

Skechers backstory

How did a footwear brand based in Manhattan Beach, California, come to offer over 900 shoe styles and have 5,000 stores in 120 countries without generating much media attention? 

The correct answer is slowly.

In 1983, Skechers founder Robert Greenberg and his son, Michael, started L.A. Gear (with endorsements from Wayne Gretzky and Kareem-Abduhl-Jabbar) after an unsuccessful attempt to sell roller skates. Skechers emerged after the Greenbergs left L.A. Gear in 1992 over a dispute with the board of directors. The original plan was to distribute Dr. Martens's shoes, but that arrangement left the Greenbergs with little say about product development and quality control. 

They really wanted their own shoe--and control over its fate in their hands.

The strategic concept

A careful reading of Skechers' history shows that the Greenbergs, with Robert, now 84, as chair and Michael as president, learned from their decade-long experiences that to be successful, one must concentrate on a few things and do them well. 

Product innovation (comfort technology) is the driving force behind style, quality, and affordability. Together, they create a brand identity that must be carefully guarded, and that's what the Greenbergs do: guard the brand. 

Packaging the strategic idea is one thing. Executing is another. 

Marketing plays an important role with generous ad spaces, glossy magazines, large billboards, and television advertisements featuring celebrities wearing Skechers shoes. 

Despite the more contemporary ad campaigns, Skechers still has an image problem, reinforced by ads like the one with Howie Long. They're associated with selling "old people's shoes." (I have a pair of Skechers and their slip-in golf shoes, which is an unpaid endorsement.) 

Product diversification continues across new markets. Skechers is expanding into team sports like soccer and basketball. 

Harry Kane of England's national soccer team has a lifetime endorsement deal for Skechers' soccer cleats. The NBA's Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Julius Randle of the New York Nicks endorse basketball shoes. 

Filling in the holes

An important lesson about Greenberg's achievement is that they found market gaps--young professional athletes, women, families with children, new lifestyles, and, yes, older adults--and are filling them in. Skechers now offers a pickleball shoe made of Goodyear rubber that retails for $115.

What's common to all products? The calculated idea that comfort, style, quality, and affordability are a winning combination. 

Skechers got a boost from Nike*, which closed its stores after the pandemic to focus on wholesaling and direct-to-consumer sales. Nike's price points don't often go below $100, while Skechers offers a variety of styles for less. Their GORUN shoe sells for $45 at Walmart. Children's shoes are around $30 on Amazon, which appeals to price-conscious parents.

In addition to being helped by other shoe companies that stick to their specialties, such as Hoka, which markets to hardcore runners, Skechers is benefiting from cultural changes: people wearing sneakers and sports apparel for non-sports occasions, like the office and social occasions. 

Sometimes, a strategy needs a break from the competition or marketplace to succeed.

An original work

Robert and Michael Greenberg have built a remarkable business, but they would be the first to say they haven't done it alone. Any creative idea pursuing that much growth requires others to achieve its aims. Widespread knowledge among associates of how Skechers differs and why is fundamental to its financial fortune. 

No idea or business constructed by human powers endures forever in its original form. Maintaining product innovation as Skechers' heart and soul while profitably seizing the right opportunities is an investment in its future but not a guarantee.

*Nike is suing Skechers for design infringement. Skechers said it will "vigorously" defend the 2023 patent suit. 

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How Organizations Really Work

(C) Used with permission.

"The sinkhole of change is communication and motivation. It's where change projects go to die."

--Nancy Rothbard, Ph.D.

Bayer, the German conglomerate that invented aspirin in its earliest days, is trying to reinvent itself. 

CEO Bill Anderson is one year into restructuring the company's pharma commercial team in response to a crushing €34.5 billion debt, the litigation-intensive $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto, the parent company of the Roundup weed killer, and the upcoming loss of exclusivity for the blood-clot medication Xarelto. 

Bayer, also home to Flinstone vitamins and Alka-Seltzer, eliminated managers and annual budgets, which Anderson calls the "belly of the beast of bureaucracy," and asked staff to organize themselves into 90-day "sprints" in self-directed teams. 

"Dynamic Shared Ownership" (DSO) proposes reducing bureaucracy, accelerating decision-making, bringing employees and customers closer together, improving overall operational performance, and radically realigning Bayer's internal culture. 

"The beauty of this system is we're not perfecting it before we start," says Christine Roth, head of global commercialization at Bayer's pharmaceutical division. "We're getting to a good place where we can start to experiment and go. And we will learn to adjust as we go," Roth emphasized.

The DSO plan works and becomes a Harvard Case Study on transformation or falls into the heavily populated category of failed corporate change, where nearly 70 percent end up. Or something in between.

Under Bayer's circumstances, doing nothing is not an option.

The role of culture

Dr. James O'Toole, author of Leading Change and former program director at The Aspen Institute, defines culture as a system of beliefs and actions that characterizes a particular group. He includes shared ideas, customs, assumptions, expectations, philosophy, traditions, mores, and values in that definition.

Historically, grasping corporate culture resulted from in-person socialization, close observations of behavior, and conversations with peers and supervisors. Informal mentoring played a big role in the assimilation process. 

Can what was once learned on-site be interpreted virtually?

The Iceberg graphic shows that the more heavily promoted values at the top, such as vision, strategy, and goals, may have less influence than originally thought. Stories, unwritten rules, and traditions at the bottom may impact culture more. Will the approximately 90 percent unseen volume of the iceberg retain its influence in hybrid work cultures? 

Change is hard but possible

What have we learned in a half-century of studying organizational dynamics? The critical importance of everyday relationships. That's a quality you can't do without. Credibility doesn't show up at the last minute when change needs to happen, or a crisis occurs. It's there, or it's not.

There's a huge difference between nurtured and neglected bureaucracies. The former are healthy and adaptive, while the latter struggle to achieve common goals. 

What drives sweeping change? 

An existential threat, such as debt at Bayer or catastrophic accidents involving Boeing planes in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 passengers and crew that grounded the 737 Max jets.  

"Top management teams that are diverse in time orientation, tenure, and experience increase the probability of strategic change," says Success with Change author Patricia McLagan.

Anticipating something new

There are three pre-conditions for effective change:

The first is trust. 

Dr O'Toole writes: "Trust is created by leaders' manifest respect for their followers." 

"People have to believe in you and what you are trying to do," says Paul Brown with FTI Consulting. 

Therefore, mutual trust is necessary.

Secondly, leadership has to gauge the capacity to change. Restructurings or turnarounds can't happen without building on existing capacity. You bring change by working with the system; you can't pretend the system doesn't exist. 

Finally, anticipate people's concerns. They are not only predictable but also addressable. Sometimes, resistance identifies alternative options and produces better results. Associates don't actually resist change; they simply resist being controlled.

Improving the chances of success

Make a case for change: Explain your motivations to employees repeatedly and in detail. Take the time to build a compelling case. Allow for questions and feedback. Announcing change isn't the same as implementing it. Show everyone where the enterprise is, where it should go next, and how to get there by working collaboratively. A realistic timeline helps. 

Involve associates from the beginning. Credit them for being smart and include them in every stage. People don't want to be sold on change. They want to understand it and participate in making it happen. Deliberately engage their hearts and minds. Let them influence its nature and direction. Those directly affected by these decisions need time to make the required transitions. Implementation happens here. 

Maintain integrity throughout the process. Proposals and the leaders who sponsor them aren't perfect. Acknowledging this upfront is an act of humility, not weakness. If leadership communicates probabilities instead of certainty, much can be said. Updating formal and informal channels with the latest information is better than rumor-filled vacuums. Progress, more than success, is the measuring stick of change.

Remember that cultural icebergs are mainly below the surface.

Sources:  Controlling the Perils of Change, Mary Lee Olson, T + D Magazine, 2008; The Irrational Side of Management, McKinsey Quarterly, 2013; Partners In Change, Paul B. Brown, Inc., 2001; Leading Change, James O'Toole; Jossey-Bass, 1995, Cracking the Code of Change, Nitin Nohria and Michael Beer, Harvard Business Review, 2000; Success with Change, Patricia McLagan, T +D Magazine, 2002-2003; The Change Monster, Jeanie Daniel Duck, Crown, 2002; Communicating Change, TJ Larkin and Sandra Larkin, McGraw-Hill 1994. 

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