I was reading about a well known pastor and author the other day. While he is barely over the age of 40, God has already used this man to start a church, plant 8 other churches, and help establish a seminary. Pretty awesome resume if you ask me.I got to hear 'awesome resume man' preach a little while back and there is no doubt about it, the man is a gifted communicator. However, the question I couldn't help wonder was what would happen to his church if he was gone? How many people go to this man's church because he has become somewhat of a Christian celebrity? What if God's word was taught just as accurately, but not as creatively and enthusiastically by someone else... would this cause a mass exodus from his church?
My question is this... Do we attend church for the central purpose of worshiping our risen Lord and Savior, or, for reasons that are a little more consumeristic? How is it that we listen and place such emphasis on the preaching of God's Word and very little on any sort of response of worship and adoration? Worship is secondary... the response has become secondary... optional. To me, this is a sure sign that church has become more of a place where, "I learn, I meet with people I know, I find community, I drink coffee and donuts in a cozy atmosphere, etc," as oppose to the place where I humbly enter the sanctuary to worship and celebrate the risen Lord.
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I think that, perhaps, the reason for church being as you described it is that religious faith is often tied to traditions, practices, emotions, and symbols instead of actual belief in the one who, at some point, inspired those things. We make the fellowship of sunday morning into a cliquey recitation of misunderstandings and any supposed worship activities into a variety show of niche (and fairly passive) activities. If all the "things we do at church" were taken away, if in fact all the "things that Christians do/say/think/ascribe to" were taken away...I wonder if perhaps there would be a few folks left willing to simply follow a radical middle eastern homeless guy who tried to help some broken people inside and out? And for the many who wouldn't, could the weight of two thousand plus years of fancy traditions really blame them?
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