The Forgotten Meaning of Church

I have discovered that church drama is the worst kind of drama because everyone tends to think God is on their side and they are entitled to claim ownership to the church. Our humanness has left us with pretty horrible communicating tactics and poor listening skills served with an enormous amount of pride. No wonder people get so mad. Everyone has a different opinion of how church should be run and who should be in charge.

Our consumer focused society is not helping our selfish mindset about what church is. I asked one of my new students the other day if she belonged to a church anywhere. Her response was, "Not exactly. My family is church shopping right now."


I have heard the phrase before but this time it struck me differently. Currently, our church is going through some struggles. We are trying to embrace transition from what used to be a small town country church into a church that speaks to the growing suburb community. This transition comes at a difficult time since Williamson County is the fastest growing county in Tennessee. Church shopping is part of our consumer based thinking. It's probably not a surprise to most that Nashville and it's suburbs like Nolensville have many different churches to choose from.This leaves many churches competing against one another to get members instead of working together to help people step into the presence of God.

Author Sally Morgenthaler's book Worship Evangelism, describes the consumer based church phenomon:

"America's Protestants choose churches on the basis of what affirms us, entertains us, satisfies us of makes us feel good about God and ourselves.  If we recognize church worshipers as consumers, we will recognize church programs as menus, and types of worship as main entrees at a restaurant. Consumers go where menus fit their taste. Consequently, congreations go into hyperspeed, honing a worship style that is sure to appeal to society's self-oriented tastes. Worship packaging (the image, sound, delivery) becomes everything, while the stuff of worship (what Jesus called the Spirit and Truth in John 4:24) becomes a memory."

Knowing we live in a consumer driven society, what does that mean about how we do church?

I think to most churches this means we need to focus on getting people in the door in anyway that we can. This usually translates into having more programs, hiring more staff, improving the building, getting better technology, and having more events. This stuff isn't bad, but often times church becomes about doing more and getting more people instead of spending more time with Jesus. The focus is on making everyone happy instead of making God happy. This kind of focus makes church into a place that caters to everyone's individual needs and continues to feed selfish thinking. Church becomes self-serving and the true meaning of the church is forgotten when it becomes about us and not God.

What is the true meaning of church?

The word church comes from the Greek word kyriakon (κυριακόν), "thing belonging to the Lord". It is not our church it is God's church. If we truly treated church as if it were God's I have a feeling that as a congregation we would spend more time in prayer meetings and prayer revivals than in finance or business meetings. Sadly, this is not the case in most churches. Church is about coming together as a body of believers, stepping into the presence of God and giving Him all the glory. Is church really about God's glory or ours? We treat church just like every other consumer driven business and ask... "What did I get out of church today?" Perhaps we should spend more time giving than taking. But first we must realize that it is God's church. This mindset starts with prayer.

I have a unique experience about how I became a member of Nolensville First UMC. Most people get to church shop to find a church that fit's their needs. I did not get that opportunity. I signed up for a training program for youth ministry and I was placed at Nolensville First UMC. The first worship experience I went to there was far out of my comfort zone and incredibly different than what I was used to. Based off of the services, I probably wouldn't have picked to go to this church if I was church shopping. I am sorry, but it's the honest truth. However, I quickly learned that church was not about the Sunday worship service. It is about stepping into God's presence, and loving on others!  It didn't take long for me to fall in love with the people there. I came to the church to serve and in return I have also been served and loved deeply by others. I love this church because it is my church family.This doesn't mean I like how everything is run, but I love this church because it is God's church and He has chosen it for me. What if people didn't get to choose their church?

I am not saying I think this is how it should be, but I do believe if we went to the church God called us to with the mindset of serving the church and worshiping God, than we would be in much better shape. Church is not about what type of music we sing or what kind of prayer we pray. It is not about where we worship or the personality of the pastor. Church is about coming together as a family, uniting as a body of believers to worship and love God with all our heart, mind, and soul. How can we fully worship God at church when we don't even understand what it means to be the church? How can we fully serve the Church when we keep letting our selfish pride get in the way?

We need to let go of our pride and get over ourselves. Let God's will be done.

(Many of my thoughts here were inspired by two books I have read recently... "Presence Based Church" by Terry Teykl and "Who Stole My Church" by Gordan MacDonald. I highly recommend them!)