MORE DIFFICULT CHURCH

Nobody said this would be easy, but somehow I think it's been made more difficult than it needs to be.

Further to the queried themes of what is church, what can it be, and what should it be, here is an observation about the complexity now associated with church.

The multi-generational and sometimes multi-cultural church today has a herculean assignment. It tries in one hour on a Sunday morning to provide a worship experience using predictable elements such as greetings, announcements, readings, music, oration, and benediction. This attempt is made before a congregation that is comprised of children, youth, young adults, young parents, middle-agers and seniors and that is united by varying degrees of faith, maturity, experience and education and dissimilar interests and preferences. As music has occupied a progressively more prominent role, the majority popular listening partiality has influenced the decision for instrumentation to move from the pipe and electronic organ and piano accompaniment to a band presentation with guitars and drums.

Most churchgoers respect the homogenized product and even understand the challenge of straining to be so many things to so many people. In some churches creative planning has provided distinct offerings, a liturgical service, a traditional worship format, a contemporary worship program. This satisfies preferences and yet brings a measure of separation of the body attributable to nothing more than worship styles. Yet another model, the magachurch has determined to appeal to crowds of people using the concert stage, technology and performance approach, since that is publicly familiar. The intrinsic limitation is the anonymity it encourages, so relationship within a body is disregarded and those benefits neglected.

Church appears more difficult than it needs to be don't you think?

I suspect that most of my friends will either wonder or worry or disapprove of my current series of 'GPS blog speaks' about church. I have no other purpose in mind than to responsively study and discuss what God has in mind for his church, Christ's body on earth and his bride.