Monday, May 13, 2013
Church Is No Drug
And so it continues. HuffPo carries the story about church as drug that we have looked at recently. I picked up a new irritating bit:
Where in the church are we producing people that get past the "rush" stage? Note this from the article:
It's not that there is not a valid place for this stuff in the church, it is just that this stuff is not enough to actually be the church. Using some sort of "mountain-top" experience is a valid way to attract people. I would have to think that attendance at the Sermon on the Mount would have had that sort of feel to it. But at some point we have to join Jesus on the long and boring trek from the Galilee to Jerusalem. At some point we have to clean up the debris from feeding the thousands. At some point our faith must inform not just our highs but our lows and our mundanes.
Isn't that the point?
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The study bucks the idea that larger churches produce weaker member commitment; nearly 80 percent of congregants said church size did not hinder their spiritual growth.Is no one going to point out the obvious oxymoron? Getting high stunts growth and the addict almost never realizes it. So if going to church is a high, and they report it does not stunt their growth have we produced disciples or addicts?
Where in the church are we producing people that get past the "rush" stage? Note this from the article:
To extend the spiritual high beyond Sunday, churches feature small group activities such as Bible study, book clubs, and volunteer activities, the researchers said.I bet we have all been in a small group that extends the high instead of building depth.
It's not that there is not a valid place for this stuff in the church, it is just that this stuff is not enough to actually be the church. Using some sort of "mountain-top" experience is a valid way to attract people. I would have to think that attendance at the Sermon on the Mount would have had that sort of feel to it. But at some point we have to join Jesus on the long and boring trek from the Galilee to Jerusalem. At some point we have to clean up the debris from feeding the thousands. At some point our faith must inform not just our highs but our lows and our mundanes.
Isn't that the point?
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