I hate the idea of church. No, it's not what you think. No, not the body of Christ—not church with a big "C"—but instead, church with a little "c"...what we call the happenings inside a structural building on Sundays and occasional Wednesdays.
Hear me out; this may sound like something you've heard before. I think I can prove this to be different, though. The feeling of hate is not so much of hate, but instead more of a dislike. You could even consider it just a strong feeling of dislike. To build on that, I'm not here to write some post to slam the idea of church. In fact, I see a lot of amazing things in church. Church has been one of the best things to happen in mine as well as many other people's lives. Church has been so big in my life that I've even decided to pursue a vocational career with church. I guess one could say the way I feel about church is more of a love-hate relationship.
All of that to say, I'm tired of church. Has church become no more than a show? Church seems to have turned into an event where we look to be entertained. We seek lights and loud, upbeat music. Often on Sundays, we seek a word from a pastor that speaks directly to our situation and then afterwards critique his "performance" on whether or not he provided just that and whether he entertained us in his delivery of that message. If the worship or the sermon didn't appease us, we leave upset about the service that day, feeling empty because we haven't "received" anything. Church has become something that just becomes a part of our "life schedule." We make church something that we check off a to-do list so that we can say we've been there and done that for the week. It becomes more of a chore than the opportunity and privilege it truly is.
It just seems that a lot of the intentions of the church recently look all wrong. What is the real reason we gather on a Sunday morning? Do we show up just to sing a few songs and listen to a pastor speak for 30 minutes, which even then we don't invest our full attention to? Do we show up so we can just see our friends or hang out? Is it all about showing off to people what we can do and good at that too? People have become more worried about how many shots of espresso they're getting in their coffee from the cafe more than what they need to do to allow God to do the work in their lives—more than seeking that true genuine time with God in service. We've lost the true meaning of church.
Where is the genuineness? Why is realness hard to find in the church today?
Is it safe to say that there needs to be a change in the way we "conduct" church and, more importantly, what we "expect" out of church? I get it, I get it. In a generation that is changing, there needs to be adaption to be able to share what Jesus is all about. However, should there be so much of an adaption that we lose the true meaning of what it means to gather with a body of believers to meet and spend time with God?
I believe change in the church is vital if we want to see a difference in our world—if we want to see in a difference being made in people's lives. No, not the change that you're used to seeing—adding all the bells and whistles to make your church look like the newest hotspot where God can be found. Instead, change in how we see church and what church in an overall picture means to you. A change presenting that we're more intentional about church. Allow me, the author, to ask you, the reader, what is church to you? What do you see in the church and how it's functioning? A good idea to ponder comes from KB, one of the top Christian rappers in the industry today. The lyrics from one of songs read, "A church can be full of members but empty in conversions." As a "Church," I think it's time to stop worrying about the church and start worrying about The Church—the people of Christ, both lost and saved. In the end, you don't want to leave them thinking, "I hate the idea of church."
