Sunday

I'm going to church today...and I'm not sure why. There will be singing and some announcements. The pastor will share his latest thoughts on what he's been reading in the Bible. I'll see a few people I'm getting to know (I'm new in town) and only see on Sunday mornings. I've gone to church on Sunday mornings for nearly 48 years. That's nearly 2,500 church services. Add in the multiple services I attended when I worked in the church and all the Wednesday evening and special holiday services and I'll bet it's pretty close to 3,000 church services I've been in over the course of my life. Very little has changed. Why is that?

When I was a teenager I serioulsy questioned the relevance of church as it was commonly practiced. Thirty some years later here I am questioning the relevance of church as it's commonly practiced. Go back 100, 200, 300 years and you'll find Sunday morning church where people sing some songs, the pastor talks about what he's been reading in the Bible and you'll visit with people. True, the church used to be central to the community as a whole. There have been times when churches were of some consequence in the neighborhoods where they were located. Some still are. But what, exactly, is the point and purpose of the Sunday morning show? Is it a Biblical mandate that Christ followers flock together for an hour or two on Sunday? I haven't found that anywhere in scripture.

I'm not saying Christ followers shouldn't huddle up on a regular basis. There is a great benefit in coming together as a group. There is the chance for accountability, comfort, challenge and growth. We humans are a feeble minded lot and it's definitely helpful to be with others so we don't forget who's in charge and go wandering off a cliff somewhere. "All we like sheep..." and so forth. I'm just wondering if Sunday morning church is really accomplishing much of value for God or for the world. If our primary public presence is the Sunday church service that has gone on, substantially unchanged, week after week, year after year, decade after decade, millenia after millenia and the church is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the lives of people, isn't there something worth evaluating here?

I see all these new churches cropping up claiming to do church differently. They use clever catch phrases like, "This isn't your parent's church", or "Church for people who don't like church". By and large what that translates to is singing that's a little louder and played by a rock band and when the pastor gets up to share what he's been reading in the Bible this week he's wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Dockers. Oh, and there's a screen with cool graphics and maybe a video clip to help you connect the old stuffy Bible to your complex modern life. Tell me again, how is this different? I'd love it if someone could show me a group of Christ followers who really are doing something different on Sunday morning. If we really worked on it, I'm sure we could come up with something! For now, I've gotta go or I'll be late for church.