Thoughts on the Modern Church

The somewhat ironic thing about this post is that I find myself starting to write it on a Sunday morning in a quiet restaurant during a time when most others are going about their weekly acts of worship in various houses of God all around. Maybe I should be there with them. I don't know. I guess I'm still working that out. Mind you, that inner conflict has nothing to do with my actual faith in God. Or maybe it does. Maybe that's what I'm really trying to figure out. But I don't think so. No, my real conflict (and you know this if you've read almost any other blog of mine) is with the modern church in general. More specifically, what role is the church playing in our society today? What has the church become vs. what it was meant to be?

I'm reminded as I write this, that in the very restaurant I now sit, my wife recently overheard a group in the midst of a planning meeting. Not so unusual in this particular establishment, as people are often known to use it for business lunches or mobile offices. Apparently, these folks were in the midst of organizing a start-up company in that they were discussing using a "Starbucks model" for their new venture. Their dream, it seems, was to expand into shopping centers all over. Admittedly, although I found their originality a bit lacking, there was nothing particularly odd about this story she was telling me. Until, that is, she threw in this last little bit of information. They weren't planning the next great retail establishment; they were planning a church. What?!?!?! I admit I had to let that sink in a minute. Were they really serious? My wife sat within earshot of these people for the better part of her lunch break without realizing it was a church that they were discussing. I'm sorry, but how is that possible? I tried to imagine Jesus performing his ministry today instead of 2,000 years ago. There He is with the twelve disciples, gathered in a restaurant over bagels and coffee, discussing the Church. Talking about business models and marketing strategies rather than outreach and ministry. I became even more frustrated than I already was. When did churches become businesses? Even ones with the best of intentions and beginnings often find themselves sooner or later caught up in the business of Christianity. The pastor becomes more like a CEO and what used to be steps of faith are now carefully planned strategies. Is this really what Jesus intended for His Church? I don't know, but it's one half of the place I currently find myself.

You see, as I mentioned in the previous post, I’ve stepped back recently. I've shunned the typical Sunday worship for more of a temporary solitary journey. And a lot of that is due to what I've just described. Ultimately though, I do realize that part of our faith and part of being a part of the body of Christ is just that; being a part of the body. It was not intended for us to go this journey alone. Which brings me to my ultimate conundrum. What now?

I find myself contemplating my next step. And in doing so, I've raised questions that I just don't know the answers to. On one side of me is the modern mega church with its laid-back atmosphere and its contemporary stylings. It's what I'm used to and have invested myself in, but it's also the one of the reasons for this post. On the other side now is everywhere else. I've spent my entire journey of faith in just a couple of churches, but I now find myself wondering what else is out there. And as I drive around I see it all. I see the big churches and the small ones. The ones with steeples and crosses and the ones without. I see the small country churches and I see the massive stone buildings that have served as downtown pillars for decades. I see Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Alliance, Grace Brethren, Lutheran, Non-Denominational and so many other variations that it makes my head spin. I'm beginning to think there really is a church on every corner.

And then I try to let it all sink in. We have all of these different denominations and all these different styles of church that supposedly all fall under the umbrella of Christianity. But there’s such stark contrast between them all. How do we know what's right? And that's where you all now come in. I've never asked anything like this before. I've always been more than content simply writing my thoughts and leaving them in cyberspace for anyone that wished to read them. But now I want more. I want your thoughts. It's time to step up and put yourselves out there a little. It's really simple; if you read this I want you to comment on it. And I want to hear from everyone. There are people reading this who have spent their whole lives in church, some that even work there. There are ones that used to go to church, stopped, and are finding their way back. There are those that used to go and don't intend to ever return, and there are those that have never been to church in their lives. I want to hear from you all. I want to know where the church is within our society as a whole. My ultimate hope is to start a discussion. Readers commenting me, me commenting back, even readers commenting other readers. In the meantime I'll be writing plenty of new blogs, but I'm going to wait to post them. I want to see where this goes first. So who'll put themselves out there? Check back often and continue to participate in the discussion.