The Church - What Are You Looking For?

An anonymous story tells about a husband and wife who visited Hawaii for a lengthy vacation. While there they attended church services at a small church known for its informality. The husband related, “One Sunday a deacon asked me if I would usher at the morning service. I protested that I was much too casually dressed. ‘At home,’ I explained, ‘the deacons always look for a man wearing a tie when they need an usher.’ The deacon laughed and replied, ‘Over here, we look for someone wearing shoes.’"

The aim of this article is not to discuss the “worship wars” that have affected even some very  conservative churches in America, including some churches of Christ. That war is over what to wear (suits and ties and “dress” clothes versus more casual wear that “dresses down” instead of “dressing up”), over what and how and who is to sing (voices only or instruments, praise teams, “traditional” or “contemporary” songs), drama teams, etc., etc. Without getting into a discussion about these things (and  discussion is needed), one thing cannot be denied – what people call “the church” and what “the church” does in worship services and other facets of its life, and what people look for in a church has dramatically changed in many cases and places over the years. A “KUDZU” cartoon several years ago by Doug Marlette comically illustrated that many moderns show up at church looking for other things besides God and spiritual guidance and help. The strip showed the preacher, Bible in hand, standing in front of the church house door. A large and aggressive lady has him cornered and is working him over good.  “WHAT?” she exclaims sternly. “No tanning salon?! . . . No juice bar?! . . . No fitness center?! . . . No jacuzzi?! . . . No sauna?! . . . No bowling alley?! . . . No skating rink?! . . . No ATM?! . . . No McDonald’s?! –– AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A HOUSE OF WORSHIP?!”

Entertainment, excitement and ecstatic experiences head the list of things people seek at church these day. But is it possible God might be looking for something different than what the “user-friendly-religion, meet- all-my-felt-needs crowd looks for in a church? The apostle Paul wrote ROMANS to a group of God’s people at first century Rome, an amazing but very immoral city were pagan religion and immorality of every stripe were prevalent and popular (Romans 1:18-32). As a part of his introduction to the book of ROMANS, Paul wrote words which suggest the kinds of things God looks for in His church. Read Romans 1:8-13 and you will be amazed at what you cannot learn about this church. You cannot learn who the preacher or the elders were, how large the assembly was, how much money they took in each week, what if any kinds of  “ministries” they had, or how many people they were baptizing, I am not suggesting these things are unimportant. I AM suggesting Paul’s focus is on things like gratitude and faith vs 8), serving God (vs 9a), the gospel (vs 9b), prayers (vs 9c), concern for the will of God (vs 10), spiritual gifts (perhaps “blessings”), spiritual strength (vs 11), mutual encouragement (vs 12), and spiritual “fruit” (vs 13). Search the New Testament and you will find these are the concerns that saturate its pages. What kinds of things are you looking for at church?

Think about it.

--Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN