Church Shopping in the Express Lane

Followup.

An article appeared in National Review at the beginning of the month:

As part of the scary fringe of society that American liberals call “church-goers,” my family always checks out the local church before deciding to move to a new neighborhood....

I am a ruthless church shopper, not because my family spends so much time in a sanctuary, but because we spend so little. I figure if we are going to spend only an hour or two each week in formal worship of the Almighty, it better be a quality hour, one with a challenging sermon, soaring music and no Game Boys in the next pew.

That line disturbed the writer in Church Voices, and rightly so.

I’ve attended quite a few church[es] and I’ve never been content in one I show up at once a week for a worship service. Getting to work, becoming a servant and doing more than just showing up for an hour for a service is required. You’ll still see the warts on your church, probably more than you do showing up once a week for an hour, but for some reason when you’re actually a part of the creation process for some reason that brings with it a sense of satisfaction and belonging that the lack of perfection can’t take away.

There is an unfortunately mentality in which "church shopping" is approached with the attitude "What can the church do for me?" When you look at things that way, then you are as hypercritical as the National Review writer:

Now, I know there are many people who have meaningful religious experiences inside ugly churches, but I’m not one of them. I dislike modern structures that resemble gyms with crucifixes, with their rows of folding chairs. I want a church that looks like a church; the grander, the better....

Fleece and denim prevailed, with Spandex close behind. Washing appeared to be optional; ironing discouraged. Men collecting the offering wore T-shirts from their latest 5Ks. Whole families went to Communion in blue jeans with ragged edges that dragged on marble floor. Altar servers wore cowboy boots and Crocs....

The music, mediocre from the start, deteriorated. The church had a glorious organ, but the music was — how to put this kindly? — putrid. It was a bizarre mix of bad-old and bad-new, with too much synthesizing and background vocals that suspiciously sounded of recordings....

[N]o one seemed to know when to kneel or to sit; the lector would hurry to the microphone to say “please stand.”...

[H]ow much can one get out of worship when the preceding moments involve electronic images of Yu-Gi-Oh! characters?

How much can one get out of worship when the preceding moments are spent being hypercritical of images of Yu-Gi-Oh! characters?

David Kerr wrote about church shopping, in effect turning the concept on its head. Look for a church in which you will serve God, not a church in which you expect the church to serve you. I encourage you to read the entire post, but here are a few excerpts:

A Biblically sound church places a high priority on praising God....

Does the church you are considering believe, honor, and teach God's Word in such a way that you understand the Bible and see how it applies to your life?...

True fellowship occurs when we are involved in each other's lives - caring, encouraging, correcting, loving and sharing with one another....

A church that wants to grow cannot be ingrown.

Hear here.

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