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Lunch With Ernest

Church is a mix of old traditions and new

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published December 22, 2006

In this new era of churches, you find some Christian congregations that prefer a traditional service full of hymns and others that desire a contemporary setting with modern music and technological flourishes.

The Rev. Benny Keck blends both at First Baptist of Dover, and the approach appears to be working. Keck has spent six years as senior pastor at the church, which is more than 100 years old. He strives to reach the next generation of churchgoers, while hoping to retain the traditionalists.

In his office, we talked about that challenge and the message he tries to deliver during the Christmas season.

Pull up a chair and join us.

ERNEST: With all the hype of the season - sales, Nintendo, PlayStation - how do you break through that and deliver a message about the true meaning of Christmas?

KECK: First of all, I acknowledge it. You can't turn your head and say, "Let's pretend it's not there." It's tough on us, but I think when people come to church they expect to hear a sermon on the true meaning of Christmas. At least in the Christmas season, it's a periodic reminder, almost like a sanctuary. It's been a hectic week. They've been working. They've been fighting crowds and now here's Sunday and I come to church and get refocused.

When you go to a store and you see "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," are you bothered?

Yes and no. I'm bothered by it because traditionally it's always been Merry Christmas, but I understand what the merchants are trying to do. They're trying to be politically correct and not offend anyone. It's not that I would avoid going into a store that says Happy Holidays, but I would wish those clerks a Merry Christmas and most of the time they would say Merry Christmas in return. I wouldn't be offended if a Jewish person greets me and says Happy Hannukah. I would say, "Thank you."

Your attendance increases slightly for Christmas. Do you say to those people, "You need to be here every Sunday?"

We just welcome them. We're glad they're there. We have a few that if they show up on Christmas you could say, See you at Easter. But we try not to do that.

What's the biggest challenge you face at First Baptist of Dover?

Our biggest challenge now is preparing our church for the next generation. How do we position ourselves to reach a generation that's almost completely different? We're in a technological age. We've got kids who have grown up with computers, graphics and the whole range. What do we do that's going to reach this different generation? We're making some progress, I think. We still find a great deal of openness in Dover for personal contacts, almost a door-to-door visit. People seem to appreciate that more so than what you're led to believe.

Do you have to balance reaching the next generation with keeping the current one?

Sure you do. I made a conscious decision when I came to this church that our worship style would be a blended one. Some churches have been successful in doing two different styles of worship in one church: one service that is contemporary and another that is traditional. We chose not to do that here because, in my mind, it lends itself to having two separate congregations meeting in the same building. Nothing wrong with that, but we wanted to try to have some semblance of us all being on the same page.

With the rise of the mega churches, is it more difficult for smaller churches like yours to exist?

I don't think the rise of mega churches is going to unduly affect smaller churches. I think churches have personalities like people do. We feel more comfortable and connected around certain people than others. Not because we don't like them, it's just that we have more in common or their personality connects with ours. I think that's true with churches as well. Most of the people who come to any church will pass at least one other church of their denomination getting to the church they attend. Why is that? They want to go where they're known, where their friends are, where they feel connected.

What gets you up every morning? What keeps you motivated?

I really enjoy seeing people grow when their understanding becomes enlarged by what the Scripture says, and I enjoy seeing people who were outside the church become converted. If a person comes to faith in Christ through one of our events, but they say they really would rather go to the Methodist church down the street, then go with our blessings. It's not all about First Baptist of Dover increasing. It's about seeing God's kingdom increase.

DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest

Keck has several degrees, including a doctorate in theology from Andersonville Seminary. He's originally from Tennessee and he met his wife, Melody, while serving at his first church in a small Tennessee town.

[Last modified December 21, 2006, 07:33:39]