With the world changing so quickly there is a pressure in the Church to try to keep up with the times. Local churches are expected to have the same personal services and amenities of any other place which has 'membership dues'.
When viewed in this light, the church becomes a place where we are primarily "fed" and "where everybody knows your name". And when the church does not accomplish these things, then one takes "membership dues" and goes elsewhere. This creates a unhealthy co-dependency which I have recently addressed here and here.
The point of this post however, is that when the local church is asked and expected to keep up with the Joneses of the for-profit world then we are always running behind. This pressure to keep up married with the fact that churches are usually lagging behind, creates a sense of urgency in the church for some people.
What I have noticed is that in the church urgency is often confused with rushing.
In our efforts to keep up with the Joneses and keep pace with the expectations of being a "membership based" culture, we are often reacting to things and rushing to create something that it ends up not being our best.
There is a difference in a sense of urgency and being rushed.
There is a difference in responding to issues and reacting to a concern.
Our churches are notorious for rushing to get something out by Sunday and in doing so we fall even more behind and look even worse.
- Child care at all times
- Personalization of services
- Different "take aways" or SWAG
- Free perks for members
- Premium content for those who pay more
- Access to communal resources
When viewed in this light, the church becomes a place where we are primarily "fed" and "where everybody knows your name". And when the church does not accomplish these things, then one takes "membership dues" and goes elsewhere. This creates a unhealthy co-dependency which I have recently addressed here and here. The point of this post however, is that when the local church is asked and expected to keep up with the Joneses of the for-profit world then we are always running behind. This pressure to keep up married with the fact that churches are usually lagging behind, creates a sense of urgency in the church for some people.
What I have noticed is that in the church urgency is often confused with rushing.
In our efforts to keep up with the Joneses and keep pace with the expectations of being a "membership based" culture, we are often reacting to things and rushing to create something that it ends up not being our best.
There is a difference in a sense of urgency and being rushed. There is a difference in responding to issues and reacting to a concern.
Our churches are notorious for rushing to get something out by Sunday and in doing so we fall even more behind and look even worse.