I likes to sits in church...

I don't like Consumer Christians much, and those who naturally get defensive when I say that should take note.  You ain't gonna like this post... I've been part of leadership at churches large and small, I've led worship, been involved and even just been part of the crowd.  I currently serve (voluntarily) at a small church, the result of two small churches merging together into a single family -- and have seen the comings and goings at both.  This isn't meant to knock anyone, nor their point on their spiritual journey.  Mostly just to open the thoughts and hearts to more prayer about where individuals and families should find themselves in service to Him...

As part of this, I'm retelling a few stories (to give proper credit) from a good friend and pastor in Spokane, Rob Bryceson, because I've had them, too.  Rob is a fellow worship leader, turned pastor, and runs a homeless shelter and church ministry in the inner city of Spokane.  Awesome dude, and comes from the experience of churches mega- and small, and has been praised by (and punched in the gut by) both types.  He nails it for me.

I had one of those conversations again last week. It’s the same statement I’ve heard made by hundreds of people over the years. Somehow the topic of church came up and I asked the  young couple across the table where they were now going to church (they had been a part of our previous smaller congregation and had been part of several ministries). “We're going to Mega-Church now”, the lady answered sheepishly. “We go because we can just sit, know the kids are occupied, nothing is expected of us. We really like the Pastor’s preaching though.” she added as if to justify her answer to no one in particular. Actually  Mega wasn’t the real name of the church but you can use it as a good substitute because I’ve had this same conversation with many people in different locations over the years. The answer is often the same. “I like the music”, or “I like the pastor’s teaching” which are offered as statements that suffice to explain their presence there. The add-on “I can just go and sit” (whether spoken or unspoken) is the troublesome part for me.

What I find interesting is that these people are often Christians (both longtime and relatively new) who have been saved, discipled and trained at some other church. They got involved and found the level of burnout to be severe, the absence of appreciation to be somehow surprising, the lack of meaningful relationships to be sad, and the intensity of church politics to be sordid. Now they are purposefully picking a church to attend where the main goal is to remain detached and isolated as individuals. They just want to be part of an unnecessary crowd attending the most entertaining venue on Sunday morning. I get it at one level – believe me I know the nature of church, but not at another level. Many of these people are at the stage where a Christian’s maturity should be moving them into influential leadership positions, where their years of study, testing, and sacrifice should be allowing them to be entering their most fruitful years for the kingdom of God. But then they pick mega-church exactly because they don’t have to do anything and no one needs them. They contribute as little as possible personally, except for money which they hope someone else is putting to good use. In essence, some of the most trained and practiced Christians are choosing a church were they aren’t needed at all.


When and where did we ever get the idea that the creation and purpose of the church, which Christ made to advance his kingdom on the earth, should be a place where we personally are totally unnecessary and detached from others around us? Why do we think church should be just a place where we are spiritually entertained? I mean, why bother going at all if that’s all it is?

In reading a Bible a person would never ever get the idea that the church was to be a place where I can go and just sit. Pick any of the Epistles and read it. You will find that the purpose of the church is to unite a community in love – often a love that needs to be polished and refined through difficult processes - even painful growth. It’s supposed to be a place where the love of Christ is poured out into the heart of an individual and then united in a group in such a way that the very existence of the Holy Spirit on earth working through people can be seen by the world at large. The reason that we aren’t whisked immediately off to heaven upon conversion is that we each have a long way to go as we are being shaped by the relationship process under the Holy Spirit’s orders. As we do this journey – Jesus wants us to greatly impact others around us with love, justice, mercy, and righteous action!


“Oh, someone else does that part.” you might say. But we study the Scriptures to create action; It is
to be “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (II Tim 3:16). We gather for the sake of heartfelt worship. We gather to express our deepest longings, joys, pains, and hopes to God. We gather to intercede in prayer for others. We gather to praise the majesty of his name in a corporate voice. We gather as influencers of others, as people who share Christ’s love by lifting up their spirits and helping to carry their burdens. The church is supposed to be a fellowship of real relationships united under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Church should be a place of ultimate
belonging to a genuine family requiring a level of authenticity, trust and support on a deeply intimate
level. It was never supposed to be an entertaining show where classroom programs substitute for kingdom building action. The very thought that one could pick a church based on the power of its entertainment while remaining personally detached would be bizarre to the Apostles.

Though I serve in a small local congregation by choice, my nature is to have those relationships with many people.  Currently, few of these folks are in the place I lead worship on Sundays.  I'd like to think I am continually developing more, but many of my longest relationships in Christ span the globe, time zones, and miles of common struggle.

At many churches, I've seen people choose to go elsewhere rather than work on their own perceived 'gifts', or to avoid the path of admonishing or correcting or restoring brothers through healthy conflict.  Candidly, the "I fit better somewhere else" claim, while valid, doesn't carry a whole lot of weight with me personally.  There are reasons to be within a particular congregation or another; I get that, but I tend to ask folks to prayerfully consider why they leave (and go nowhere) or purposefully choose a place to disappear.  

When I was kid I remember a popular poster of a cartoon character on a stump. The caption read;
“Sometimes I likes to sits and think, other times I just likes to sit.” I wish more of us would sits and think when it comes to church.