I am disappointed in people at church today! In fact, it really has started to tick me off.
A decade ago I bought into all that crap about being a laid back, uber-hip church that people would fall in love with and want to attend. I heard we should do cool music, hand out Starbucks, deliver a safe and watered down message, and make worship a fun place to be. What a nightmare this has become! It has created a place where we can do what makes us happy and that is no different than the selfish “it’s all about me” syndrome which is so prevalent in our culture.
I am sick of going to church in the hope to worship God but having to sit through an hour of rude, disruptive people who don’t have a clue about coming into a place where He is supposed to be revered and honored.
My family and I have been searching for a new church to call home and have visited four places the last few months. And in every church service we have attended lately this is what I have observed:
- People entering worship service 10 – 15 minutes after it starts. Not just one or two but groups of people who apparently have no concept of being on time. Instead, they prefer to interrupt the flow of worship and make church about themselves. How about practicing some common courtesy for the people who actually come to church for God?
- People constantly getting up in church to grab a coffee or donut. Serioulsy…that Grande Cappucino or 44 oz. ThirstBuster you walked in with (15 minutes late) can’t keep you satisfied for 45 minutes? I mean it’s not like you really need it. These are the people who will eventually find a way to bring in a cooler to stuff their faces while being fed on the Word.
- People who feel that worship time = fellowship time. If you want to come to church and talk all the way through, why not do that outside of worship services? Much to the embarrassment of my wife, I “rudely” asked some teenage girls a few weeks ago to be quiet because they would not stop talking. Apparently death glares don’t work with people anymore, so I think maybe it would be best to stop the entire service to embarrass them like school kids who talk in class.
- People who refuse to turn off the cell phones or who take calls during church. Why pastor’s don’t say something to call these people out is beyond me. I have images of grabbing their phones out of their hands and hurling them with a high velocity against the bricks or making them a permanent fixture to their skulls. Would they get the point then?
- Parents who allow their kids to behave as “jackals from hell”. I am all for keeping families together in worship and feel this is extremely important, but if your child cannot be controlled please use a stun gun, straight-jacket or kindly remove them from the service. Throwing temper tantrums or Cheerios has no place in a gathering like this, and despite what Oprah says, a nice butt-whipping is very effective for disciplining a child.
- Women who prefer to dress like hookers than modest church goers. I’m a typical guy and in my sinful nature would prefer to look, but if you are dressing in such a way that I am confused as to whether to say hello or fold a dollar and stick it in your thong, there is a huge problem [no pun intended.] Not only are you causing me and every straight guy in church to sin, but you are sinning yourself.
What I have noticed is that the traditional types of churches who don’t focus on being “attractional” usually don’t have to deal with these situations, and while their services may not be the cool place to be, they do exude an atmosphere of reverence and honor towards a God who calls us to act holy and righteous.
So what is going on in our churches? At what point will this rudeness and absurdity stop? When will people realize again that worship is meant to sacred and not a sideshow? I sure hope it is soon because church in most places isn’t church anymore. It’s just one more place we can worship the god of us and our desires – not of a God who deserves to be respected and feared for His glory and grace. To me, this is extremely sad.
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