Mainly Consumers

OK...


Well, today I want to go a little further in church attendance...what I want to talk about is how we tend to approach church with a consumer mentality.  



Now I have to say 1st, I do & don't agree with this thinking.  I agree, in that we are going to always evaluate our "take away" from pretty much anything we do in life...church included...However, I disagree with how far we sometimes take that regarding church.  



Again I'm primarily speaking to those that have been in church for awhile & should know better, if we aren't careful, we can literally take the entire church experience on a Sunday morning & pick it to pieces...evaluating everything we "did or didn't" like about "that".  Evaluating anything from greeters greeting & where they are located...how long it took to check kids in...how loud the music was or the songs selected...the voices that lead worship...the message content...the bulletins...on & on & on...to where we leave having not really even thought about what going was about.


What I'm trying to say is - we can put any church experience under some grading system that few will ever get through.  Again, not that I disagree with this completely - but the degree & attitude some of us approach attending a particular church with can really put a block in the way of church being anything but something we do or don't like, rather than a place to worship God & learn His word...while doing so with other people doing exactly the same thing.


I see a couple real problems with this mentality...


1 - The lesser of these being, we can call a particular church "our church" & yet not go there because of...??? And we will have this "because" living in us & keeping us from really being there.  And, we get out of the habit of attending church on a regular basis...all the time calling a particular church "home".


2 - We can search for a church with such high grading standards that "no church" feels right...not ever finding one that fits what you're looking for...all the time - it being something probably not worth keeping you out of the church...and not considering if it's where God might want you to be.


3 - We can get tired of looking...eventually we just quit trying...because after all we can then say "I've  tried" - & then we either name a few churches or give the number of churches or how long we have been looking, as the proof for our non attendance.  Then, we feel justified for not going anywhere...because "we tried".


4 - We can compare every church experience to some past church experience...over & over & over again.  Then we say, "it's just not like..." or "it's not the same as it used to be"...


So possibly our search for the perfect place is futile at best...& even something used against us spiritually.


Truth is - there are NO PERFECT CHURCHES!  None.  


I think Christ followers would be better off if we really rethought this whole thing as church attenders...ID what church REALLY is meant to be about...then not get lost in the other periphery issues.  Plus, we would do well to realize some of the things we "see as not being what they should be", are areas we can help in - rather than an area to complain about.


Aside from all that...the Bible says we don't pick our church.  God picks the place HE wants us to attend.  I Cor. 12:18 says But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.  So, we don't even get to choose where we do or don't go...God does.


more to say about this next time....specifically - what I think the Bible says we should be looking for in church.


again - in love.


b


ps - So ya know, I think every church should do everything they do, to the best of their ability, as if doing it for the Lord...we should never be satisfied with doing anything 1/2 way...period.  To overlook sloppy & call that spiritual is a slap to common sense...IMO.