Obviously, we're always going to have an opinion of our experiences...including church. Evaluating what we "took away" from that experience can be healthy. However, how far should we take that?
I'm not necessarily speaking of those who do not attend church routinely...but rather those who have been in church for awhile and have begun to "pick a part" their church experience on any given service, evaluating everything the church "did or didn't" do correctly.
For example, "over evaluating" how long it took to get the kids checked in, how loud the music was or the songs selected, the efficiency of the ushers, the message content, the bulletins, and so forth...even to where we leave having not really even thought about what going to church is really about.
If we're not careful, we can put any church experience under a grading system and end up "failing." Again, evaluation is a good thing but when we take it to the degree that our attitude is so negatively affected - it can 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 and learn His Word.
Here's the skinny...
- We can call a church "our church" and yet not go there because of ??? Everyone has a "because" in them that seems to prevent them from going to church. When we yield to the "because" we tend to get out of the habit of attending church on a regular basis...and yet, still call a particular church "home."
- We can have such a high grading standard, that in our search for a church, "no church" feels right or fits what we're looking for. Ultimately, it's probably something so trivial that it's not worth keeping us out of church and we can fail to consider that it might be just the place that God wants us to be.
- We can give up looking due to weariness. Eventually we just quit trying because after all we can say, "I've tried" and 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. This excuse seems to offer the best feeling of "justification" for not going anywhere.
- We can even compare every church experience to some past church experience and say, "It's just not like..." or "It's not the same as it used to be."
If you're like me...you'll agree that there are NO PERFECT CHURCHES!
Perhaps we need to REFOCUS on what church is really about and not get hung up on the side items. I try to encourage new families in our church to find an area that needs help and jump in rather than seeing something that isn't what it should be and then complaining about it.
Honestly, the Bible says we don't pick our church. God picks the place HE wants us to belong to.
- 1 Corinthians 12:18 "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him."
So, we don't even get to choose where we do or don't go...God does.
If you're one of those Christ followers that has gotten to where going to church on any given Sunday or Wednesday is OPTIONAL...what's up? Is it you or is it something else? Can we really afford not to go? Has the church become so irrelevant to our faith - that it doesn't matter?
Take a closer look at your heart...evaluate where you're at in your spiritual walk with God...allow the Holy Spirit room to speak clearly. I'm sure you'll come to the conclusion that going to church isn't a CHORE and it certainly isn't a BORE.
Jesus loves the church...He loves you!
