Another sentence I underlined in The Gospel According to Starbucks is from the segment of the book on the "P" in EPIC. P stands for Participatory. Sweet points out that Starbucks is a karaoke culture. And its getting more karaoke with every passing frappuccino.
The karaoke culture of today is a reality for how churches function in governance, strategy and mission. People inside the church want to participate in worship, leadership and all other areas of the church. Baptist churches have generally thrived on this value, holding tightly to the autonomy of the local church and the priesthood of the believer. Each person in the body counts. Or, based on the quote above, each person can pick up the "mike" if they want to.
One thing we are doing in both worship services--Crossings and Sanctuary Worship--is to provide plenty of opportunities for people to participate. We recently had an open mike thanksgiving time, which was met with good response. The Sanctuary service provides people with the opportunity for people to read Scripture, play an instrument, sing in the choir, etc.
I agree with Sweet. We need more karaoke.
