Church Fatigue, Part 3

Although there is a growing minority of Christians who are restless and bored with their church (some will not come out and voice it, but you can see it on their faces), the Holy Spirit, nevertheless, is at work.

Here’s why. Boredom with the status quo is causing the restless church to examine itself in ways that it has not since the time of the Reformation. This is really good! Restlessness is concerned not just with the people in the pews, but pastors in the pulpits who are also waking up to their own reexamination and to question old formulas and the traditional templates that have been used for months and years in their churches without any variation or creative implementation.

Some are beginning to ask, “What if we do not have to meet at 11am, with two songs, greeting, awkward handshakes, one song, communion, offering, sermon, closing song, and dismissal? What if this template is not sacred after all? This inner restlessness is causing those of us who are bored to look into the Bible for answers.

I love what Neil Cole said: “Many people are longing for a greater cause. They are no longer content with ‘church as usual.’  They read of the church in the New Testament, and their curiosity is piqued. The New Testament accounts are far removed from their experience every week. They hear contemporary stories of the church expanding rapidly in parts of China and India, and their hearts soar.”

I love this and here’s why. You see, thirst is uncomfortable but it’s the discomfort that causes us to go looking for water.  Likewise, hunger is uncomfortable, but it’s the discomfort that causes us to go looking for food. Being restless in the church is certainly uncomfortable – week after week after week – but it’s the discomfort that the Holy Spirit is creating in us to go looking into the Bible for solutions and answers. We are wondering why the scene and experiences in the New Testament are far removed from what we have today.  We notice almost immediately that there is something far different in the Book of Acts that we have not been noticing in our own churches and it’s starting to bother us.

Why is it that when we read in the Book of Acts, church seems to be so thrilling, real, authentic and powerful, but in our own church experiences we are faced with having to endure such dull, fake, hypocritical and weak formulas from traditions that have cobwebs hanging from them? Therefore, it is the restlessness that we are having to deal with that is causing us to dive deep into the Bible and look for answers.  The discomfort we feel is not pleasant, but the Holy Spirit is surely using it.

End of Part 3