Playing Church

I don't want to go back to church... the way it was.

I know those are rough words from a pastor, but they are honest. I kept going, not just because it’s my job, but because I believe in getting together with believers. But I honestly feel that most churches are faking it.

I remember as a kid I would play house with my little sister and a friend. Me and my friend would be Daddy and Mommy and my sister would be our daughter. We would make fake dinner, serve it on toy plates, and pour imaginary juice in toy cups. It was cute and we had fun, but it wasn’t real. It was fake.

Many of our churches are pretending to be a real church. We go through the motions on what we imagine a real church would be like, but at the end of the day it’s fake- Make believe.

We go to church, sing a song, collect offering, read a scripture, hear a sermon and we think that’s church. We pat ourselves on the back and we think we’re cute, but we’re not.

Interestingly, this whole church-building-being-closed thing has caused many people to start rethinking church. What exactly is a church? What is the point of church?

This is a discussion I have been having with people before people knew what Corona was. And let me tell you, while many people are caught up in the fantasy of their make believe church, there are a number of people that are tired of it. They open their eyes and they look around like ‘is everybody serious?’ as if they were in the TRUMAN SHOW. They feel guilty for feeling disengaged. They are frustrated, because church isn’t fulfilling. (The Truman Show a fictional story about a man who lives in a fake world his whole life and doesn’t realize it.)

While there are plenty that find church fulfilling, there are so many who don’t, because the church has to become something more than what it is right now.

It’s fulfilling to some, because the church does many things right, but its unfulfilling to others, because the church isn’t focused on what God has originally set up the church to be.

When I talk about the early church and how we ought to go back there, people look at me like I’m weird, as if I am speaking a different language. I guess in a way I am. When you have been in the bubble of the TRUMAN SHOW for so long you can’t imagine anything different. Everything different seems wrong. But when you see what God’s desire is for His people and how we are not fulfilling it, it’s hard to pretend like our playing church is real.

It is time to RETHINK church. Right now, regular services at church buildings have been put on pause. I think this is a perfect time to RETHINK church so that when our church buildings are open again our churches can be renewed with new life and a new perspective. And maybe we can have new better results.

If this message resonates with you, then join us in this discussion that we are having over a Zoom Video Conference at 8pm on Monday, March 30. We want to hear your thoughts. Come and let us reason together.