I came across an article today that really made me think about something I have been struggling with for awhile now. It was about the way we give people, mainly youth in the article, what they want in the church rather than what they need. We have come up with this idea of a seeker-sensitive church to make church look more appealing to those who might not otherwise go. In other words, we make the Church look just enough like the world so people will want to come. In the article he says, we make worship look like a rock concert, the sermon is like a comedy club, and the foyer is like a coffee house.
Mike and I have struggled with wanting to go to church for awhile now and it just makes me sad. Quite frankly, my Thursday morning BSF class has taken the place of Sunday church for me. It's real, it's personal, and God is completely at the center of it. Lately, I have been longing for a small, personal church, that loves Jesus and people. Mike has often said in the past that when he sees a small church, he asks the question, "What is wrong with this church that people aren't going?" He prefers a bigger church that is seeker-sensitive. In this day and age, the question I am asking is, "What are the small churches doing right?" I am just honestly tired of the big, impersonal, churches where it's impossible to meet everyone and feel like a real community because there are so many people. I am probably like this because I grew up in small churches and I knew everyone and there was definite community. We did everything together. I just miss that and I haven't really had that kind of church community since I left home to go to college. 11 years is a long time to feel like an outsider everywhere you go. I try to get involved, somehow, in every church I have gone to but, I still feel like an outsider. There haven't been connections where I have a relationship with someone outside of church activities. I really miss connecting with people.
I'm not saying that big, seeker churches are bad. They can be great and there can be real community in them. I just want to find a church, big or small, where Jesus is the focus and not the methods we use to lure people in.
Here is the article I mentioned: http://thegospelside.com/2012/09/23/whats-so-uncool-about-cool-churches/
