Killing Sunday Morning

An excerpt from "Killing Sunday Morning," an important post from Michael Regier's road trip to the UK..So many crucial issues are raised:

...New Community, is indeed a refreshing departure from what is considered successful models for church growth in the U.S. This is a church that was beautifully positioned to be a mega superstar experience. Being the pastor of the band Delirious and having Graham Cooke in the congregation was plenty of star power to keep the crowds coming. Even with the departure of Delirious and of Graham the people still flocked to the Sunday morning meeting in the historic hall where Billy Graham made his first appearance in Europe and where a Methodist healing revival shook the community in the early part of the last century.
So what is the problem with having a successful morning service? Everything according to Billy Kennedy. From his perspective all people wanted to do was come and get their fix by drinking in the great worship and teaching and then going home. Isn’t that what the consumers are paying for? Isn’t that the joy of every pastor who wants a happy life and a secure retirement? Billy said no.
It makes sense that you need to be a star to reject star status. And reject it he did. He decided that what was happening on Sunday mornings had nothing to do with any real transformation in people or in his city. He shut down his Sunday morning service with over a thousand in attendance, and told everyone to meet in small groups in their homes and ask God what He wanted them to do. So what happened?
As one might expect he lost about two thirds of congregation who went to other churches looking for their Sunday morning fix. The remnant who stayed began to struggle with what it meant to be in authentic relationship with other believers. They also began to question what it meant to be a true source of transformation in the city they lived in.
A couple of years later the size of the church population has not grown much. It is still about two to three hundred people. What has grown by leaps and bounds however is the growth these people are experiencing personally, relationally, and in their contribution to city transformation. This small congregation has opened a coffee shop for passersby in their...

-Michael Regier, continued here