Things I've Learned about Church as a PK .4 of 5

 Parts 1-3 are here, here and here.

4. A lot of people like church because it is easy and comfortable.

I remember talking to my dad one time about a family that had left the church. Essentially they told him church was becoming too convicting. They didn’t like that every Sunday they felt convicted, that they weren’t living right. Part of the whole seeker sensitive church movement was to make it easy for anyone to come to church. Sing fun songs, hear a practical message, don’t be too convicting. All these things were supposed to make people feel comfortable coming to church.

You have to admit it, most churches make going to church on Sunday pretty easy. Here is the order of ceremony for a Sunday morning: Show up a few minutes late, listen to announcements, sing a few songs, listen to a dude talk for 30 minutes, say a prayer, put some money (or not) in a bucket while listening to a song, and leave. Obviously I’m being a bit of a pessimist with this, but church going really is easy. And people like this. They can get their “get to heaven” fill and go back to their other lives.

I guess when it comes down to it, the decision to be a devoted follower of Jesus comes down to the person. This goes right back to #3, that it isn’t the church’s job to bring a person to spiritual maturity. Anyone can fall through the cracks going to a church and allow church to simply be easy for them. It takes a leap of faith to let church make you uncomfortable and to let that be ok.

FYI- #5 will be posted on Monday.