I live in that region of the United States dubbed the Bible Belt. In my county, there are more than 100 churches of various denominations and various sizes.
All of them are part of the wider Christian tradition, which is unfortunate for it makes us somewhat monolithic in our religious understanding. However, this variety of places of Christian worship offers the seeker with a selection of Christian theological beliefs, church polity, types of worship and choices of dress. You really can’t go wrong in finding a house of worship that fits what you want, unless of course you are not Christian. I am sure there are towns like this all over America.
Despite the plethora of houses of worship in towns across this country, it seems to be that the church is becoming less relevant to the lives of people both within and outside the church.
Many stay away from church for various reasons. Some cite the fact that the church is out of touch with their needs. For others, it’s that the church is too dogmatic and strict in its beliefs and, for the most part, has sided with a particular political agenda. And many folks don’t understand why churches feel the need to subjugate women or ostracize people due to sexual orientation.
It is probably accurate to say that many folks stay away from church because they just don’t find it worthwhile, and thus they do find excuses to stay away. These accusations against the church, as well as plenty of others, are often valid.
Moreover, among the folks who faithfully attend church Sunday after Sunday – hoping to hear a word from God – are those who leave the place of worship with a great measure of dissatisfaction. Part of this dissatisfaction has to do with the person who comes to worship, whose life is filled with distractions that draw their attention and energy from focusing on God in worship.
But much of this disappointment happens because the church has waned in its relevancy to touch people’s lives and to translate the gospel for the needs of today’s world.
It is these people that find the church very ineffectual in its proclamation, hiding behind a spiritualism that is based on worship as entertainment and preaching as superficial. At church we are encouraged to allow our emotions to soak in the shallow songs that appear on the screen and the sermons that reinforce our beliefs, but do not challenge our status quo existence as people who choose comfort over vulnerability and prosperity over sacrifice.
But more tragically, these people are discouraged from asking serious questions about faith and about the issues we face in our world, or they are given pat answers to these questions. In fact, we are encouraged to shut down our minds in church, which leads me to believe that church is perhaps the most intellectually dishonest institution we can find. It is, as one of my kids said, “The place where you can get an easy “A.”
We cannot equate relevancy with emotional manipulation and easy “A” theology. Folks don’t want to come to church to have their emotions manipulated or to hear rehearsed answers to their questions. People who come to church come there to find meaning for their lives and relationships that are welcoming and embracing, not condescending. And while many churches may claim to be welcoming, the reality is that they are not welcoming those they judge as sinful.
Furthermore, people who come to church don’t seek sermons that are mundane repetitions of outdated theology or unsophisticated platitudes. They want to be challenged by the gospel and how to follow Jesus in faithful discipleship. They want to deal honestly with deep questions about God, humanity and the issues we face in our world.
They want to hear that the gospel can change the world, but not simply through getting people saved, which is far removed from the central message of Jesus. People want to hear, and they need to hear that Jesus’ message is not about heaven or hell, but about living justly and faithfully here in this life.
That being said, there is no doubt that there are faithful and relevant churches all across this nation and this world. Faithfulness and relevance, however, cannot be equated with size. How many members a church has or how many baptisms a church performs is not the measure of faithfulness.
In fact, there are many small churches that are probably more faithful to the call of Jesus than those mega-churches who have gone into tremendous debt to build elaborate places of worship and family life centers, but only present a false sense of relevancy.
I think for the most part, the church, as an institution, remains stagnant instead of a living dynamic community of disciples. In my view, it will take an awful lot of soul searching and questioning to peel back two millennia of institutional film that prevents us from being authentically relevant to the world.
Drew Smith, an ordained Baptist minister, is director of international programs at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark. He blogs at Wilderness Preacher.
Assistant Director of the Honors College at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.