Church? None of that user friendly stuff for me!

Your priorities say a lot about who you are . . .

What occupies our time tells a lot about us. So, let me start off by taking some of your's and boring you at the same time to make a point. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013), the average working mom and dad’s day is so harassed that with keeping up with the kids and the Joneses there is little time left for any down time of their own. And, of course, we all know what that means. That’s right. Our souls are left arid and dry.

Unlike David, however, while stranded in the Judean longing for God like a deer pants for a stream of fresh water [Psa. 42:1] about all we get time enough to long for is a good night’s sleep.

That goes for preachers, missionaries, and laity alike.

So, all of us need to take time out, not just to tank up on sleep or take a busy vacation, jumping from one hurried event to another, but time out to reflect, meditate, get our spiritual bearing lined up and get headed in the right direction.

Sadly, most Christians would rather skip church than to skip a little down time to catch up on sleep or a game of golf, or whatever their recreational fancy is.

Proof of that is reflected in statistics, too. However, I am not convinced that the slack in church attendance is as much a lack of priorities as it is sheer boredom, or simply not having their spiritual needs met once they get there. In any event, the average weekly church attendance is roughly 37% per cent in Evangelical circles. Then, I must admit as I mentioned above, one wonders how much Gospel these 37% per cent get with all the "user friendly" mania that seems to have possessed our churches. This is, of course, flies in the face of the latest surveys which show that people want to go to church, not to some barn with everything but the Ringling Brothers Circus going on inside with some slap happy clown cracking jokes in between the lines of his or her feel good sermon. 

Please, give me a break. 

The truth is, the old devil will steal at least half of the time you are there for the hour or hour and a half anyway. If you are like me, you’ll spend a good deal of that time trying to figure out the words to some newfangled chorus that has about as much theology in it as the list of ingredients on a soda cracker box; or why the pastor decided to travel from Dan to Beersheba and take you along on his journey to get his point across. No, I am not an old curmudgeon, but I must admit that there are times when I feel like saying, Okay enough already.

No wonder our altars are empty—there're none left except in the store room to create a more "user friendly" atmosphere.

Therefore—considering all of this, I have taken an inventory of my priorities, and suggest that if you have done so recently that you also do so.

Here are some of my findings:

1. At my age, I refuse to attend a church that is not feeding me the unadulterated word of God. None of this politically correct stuff for me, that's for sure.
2. Music must be not only uplifting but glorifying, and above all doctrinally sound.
3. Social concerns are also important, especially for those in in the family of believers. (Galatians 6:10)
4. I refuse to give to a building program that architecturally looks more like a barn than a church. I want to go to church, not a barn dance.
5. The demographics of the church's outreach and ministries must be for all ages, not the select few.
6. Worship must be sacred, and the sanctuary treated as such. Donuts, coffee, popcorn, what have you is at best for the foyer, certainly never the sanctuary.
7. Worship services must be kept decent and in order. A hallelujah hoedown may work for some, but not for me. Fleshly exuberance may be alright dancing before the Ark of Covenant, but once it enters the Holy of Holies, it's time to sober up. This does not rule out a move of the Spirit. Most certainly, the Upper Room and Peter's trance on the rooftop have their place, but God must initiate the action not some organ or drum roll that kicks it off.

Well, this is just some more of my ramblings; however, I must say, serious ramblings. To God be the glory!

Take Care!

JimR_/