The Sunday morning shopping spree

I must admit that the idea of church shopping is awfully appealing. I could wake up on a Sunday morning and think exciting prospect-filled thoughts. Instead of going to the same church I’ve been at for almost ten years, I could attend a brand new church and be an anonymous new face in the crowd. I could meet new people, especially a bunch of college and career age ones who were all good-looking and enjoyed the same types of music and hobbies as I do. I could listen to a super worship team who would most likely have it all together and introduce amazing new songs to the congregation, which would automatically learn the songs and sing them in perfect harmony. I would not be asked to give money or help with Sunday school or nursery – of course not, because I’d be new and no one would want to scare me off too quickly.

I would hear an inspiring sermon that spoke directly to the exact needs I’d been feeling that week; everyone in the congregation would be listening attentively to the three Scripture points. After the service, I’d be invited for lunch to someone’s home where I’d nibble at perfectly served appetizers while we all discussed the ways we’d been blessed by the service.

Yeah, it would all seem pretty great for the first week. Or maybe even the first few weeks. But a little way down the road, when I’d heard the same song for the third week in a row, or the pastor’s sermon hadn’t seemed quite as dynamic as usual, or I was getting annoyed by people’s requests for help with junior youth, or that good-looking single guy wasn’t paying attention to me anymore, or the powerpoint presentation didn’t flow properly with the Scripture reading, I’d probably be just about ready to move on to another church. I’d have a brand-new opportunity to FINALLY find a church that would suit my needs.

No church perfect

I know that a lot of people in my generation (early 20s) see nothing wrong with “checking out” different churches in the area. Some want to learn new songs, some want a more dynamic preacher, and some just really want to meet a few single people. However, it has increasingly bothered me as I’ve thought about what the church was intended to be.

Jesus didn’t form the church so that we could all be served. There is no possible way He wanted us to jump from service to service searching for the one that would suit our “needs” just right.

I believe that eventually, after enough floating around between different churches, everyone’s conclusion will be the same: no church will suit their needs perfectly, because no church is perfect. Every church has its own flaws.

So what’s a person to do when they become dissatisfied with their church? Sooner or later it’s bound to happen. I get sick of church sometimes. I wonder why it has to be our church that doesn’t have anyone my age and never seems to have enough people to help out with things.

But I keep attending my church, not just because I’m a member there or because my dad has been the pastor. I attend because it’s part of who I am and what I do as a Christian.

The Bible talks about the church being a body. I love the concept of people with a variety of ages and backgrounds and viewpoints and experiences coming together weekly to worship God. It sounds blissfully idealistic. In reality, it never seems to work out quite that well as imperfect people have their differences and they get reflected in the church. It’s so tempting at that point to run away.

So, aside from the fact that God commands us to fellowship with other believers and be baptized as a member into the church, what is there to keep someone going to the same church while others are shopping around?

Get involved

One key to finding the motivation to stay, I think, is service. Everyone has one or two ways they can get involved. In our busy society, the giving of our time is one of the most important ways we can show love to the church. Rick Warren writes, “the best expression of love is time.” As people give time, they learn that they are needed and also gain much by giving to others.

I think too that part of Jesus’ intention in wanting us to fellowship together in church was that we learn to get along and love other imperfect people who may often seem more unlike us than our non-churchgoing friends. It’s not easy and not always fun, but the rewards of sticking it out have to be worth it. The trust and love that will grow in a congregation of believers who have a history of serving each other and using their gifts to serve the community will speak much louder to a non-churchgoer than a congregation where no one gets involved and no real trust is built among members.

C.S. Lewis writes in The Screwtape Letters, “The search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy [referring to God] wants him to be a pupil. What He wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise – does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment that is going.”

It’s my hope that church shopping will no longer be such a strong temptation for us twentysomethings, but that we will realize the benefits, for ourselves and others, of committing long-term to one church body.

Cara Pauls recently graduated with an Honours BA in Linguistics and this December will be going to Namibia to teach English for a year. She is a member of Fairview MB Church, St. Catharines, Ont.