What's a church nerd and why does it need to blog?

A church nerd is someone who has a serious interest in all things churchy, possible exceptions being the missions program, the coffee making committee, any type of social outreach program, all activities that fall under the heading of Christian education and the sermon content. Most church nerds I have known are interested in liturgical form and function, and in that context have a high level of concern for what is spoken in the church service (apart from that pesky sermon), all physical movement within the service, the music contained in the service (both the "service" music and the hymns) and the architecture and design of churches.

The name "church nerds" bestowed on me and my ilk in an affectionate manner and in fun may imply some lack of social grace and awareness. I accept the name in the spirit in which it was given, but would argue that rather than being nerds, we are actually highly functional and useful members of churches, never mind that we tend to wear out our welcomes sooner than the fat lady in the back row who sings too loudly, the man who worships wearing a greenpeace tee, shorts and "mandals" while drinking Starbucks or the tots tossing cheerios randomly.

Church nerds aren't afraid of traditional practices, or of old, even ancient ideas, and have a deeper desire to "renew" worship than to "re-form" it. Hence you probably won't find a lot of evangelicals of any stripe amongst us (not a thing wrong with evangelicals, but they mostly don't follow the liturgical church year --apart from celebrating Christmas and Easter-- and they don't stick with the lectionary to which most of the western kingdom adheres). They are people who are always interested in new ideas about worship, new music and general change, but you probably won't find a lot of people who like nothing but unstructured worship rooted in praise choruses and a studiedly casual style of worship in our midst.

Church nerds need to blog because we're few and far between, and after our university, grad student or seminary days, rarely are found in gaggles. My experience has been that unless your church is in a town with a university that has a healthy theology program or in a community surrounding a seminary, you would be lucky to find even one church nerd in your congregation, and many churches struggle along for decades without any c-nerds at all. (One 'nerd is actually about the right number for a congregation of 500 or fewer - more tend to unnecessarily cramp each other's style, and further complicate the question of which color candles belong in the Advent wreath, where the "alleluias" will be stored during Lent and whether the singing of "Heart of Worship" or "In the Garden" in any place other than the shower is ever appropriate.)

I made a half hearted attempt at starting this blog in January, planning to think aloud my ideas as I sort of reviewed worship practices at the churches that I auditioned, no, make that attended. (I moved to metro-Detroit from the Phila burbs about a year ago, and really need to find a church--it's hard to be a church nerd in a vacuum!!) But this seemed sort of mean spirited since most of the churches I've visited in the Detroit area have been dismally lacking in liturgical planning and care. So contrary to my usual style, I simply refrained from speaking. This reconceived blog represents a way of stating my concerns about worship practice, and possibly engaging other like-minded nerds in dialogue.