So this last sunday we made it official and explained to the kids that we are going to be taking a break from church. There were different reactions ranging from sheer joy from Ryan (8 years old) and Nolan (6 years) and a bit of sadness from Jana (10 years).
A bit of background on this decision. For the last few years, a re-occuring question was consistently being raised. What is church? Being part of our local church my wife and I kept wondering if this was it? We would come home after every sunday morning and talk for hours figuring out what just happened and why we are so discontented with what just happened. Can this possibly be what Jesus had in mind when the original church started? Would he enjoy the music or sit and listen for 1/2 hour to somebody give their opinion (Biblically based of course). With that first question, many questions came about. And then many more. Without getting into the nitty gritty of our personal lives, I’ll just say that we came to a conclusion that relationship is more important than religion.
Now take for example the many things that create a sunday morning service. Out of those many things, the music and the speakers seem to be the main focus. So lets say the church pours energy and time into those main features and in the end the effort is rewarded with mediocrity. I say this only in comparison as I can access itunes for widest selection of music as well as listen to the podcasts of the best speakers in the world with the click of a mouse. What is the one thing that the church could offer that I can’t get anywhere else? Relationship. We are to be in community with each other and to spend 5 minutes before a service and 10 seconds shaking hands during the service is evidence that this is not the priority.
Now I can rant and rave about the failings of the institutional church and this would become a very negative blog and that is not my purpose. When I explained to a good friend that we were quitting church, he suggested I document our story. So here we are…not focusing on the past (although I am sure many ideas and revelations will be made known in future posts) but rather focusing on the process we are going to go through in adjusting to life without corporate church.
I am looking forward to this adventure and to see what the Spirit has in store for us. Funny how fear and excitement go hand in hand!
