Tag: reflecting on church

Have High Expectations

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #42.

I carried high expectations for this church, but I experienced a disappointing day when we visited. What they delivered fell far short of what I anticipated I would encounter.

My unwarranted anticipation built them into something they were not, something few churches could ever achieve—or maintain. In truth, no church could be that good.

From such a lofty perch that I placed them on, it was much further to fall.

The service was tightly orchestrated, but felt disjointed, the songs were dated and tired, the people were self-absorbed, and the sermon was critical and divisive.

This church exemplified many of the traits the unchurched levy against it. Now I understand why.

However, even if I had no expectations for my experience with them, I’m sure I’d still have been disappointed. Perhaps I should have arrived, expecting the worst. Would that have allowed me to better see the good?

What I can say is this is a larger church with a passionate following. Certainly, they are connecting with some people, just not me.

[See my reflections about Church #41 and Church #43 or start at the beginning of our journey.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Reaching Future Generations

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #38.

So many elements of this church excite me: a message with substance, elements in the service that pointed me to the worship of God, significant community before and after the service, meeting in a school (and not owning a building), and a group of people that shun status quo religion.

I felt so at home. This church could easily become my new faith community. I want to say this is the future of the church, reimagining it for the next generation.

Yet for all its appeal and innovation, the key elements of the modern church still exist: gathering for a Sunday service, having a worship team lead us in singing, and hearing a message from a trained minister.

This isn’t a new way of doing church but merely a fresh iteration within established norms. This isn’t the overhaul the modern church needs but merely a fresh coat of paint.

Although it looks nice and feels inviting, I yearn for more.

If reimagining church falls short, perhaps we need to go back to the beginning and reinterpret what true church should be.

[See my reflections about Church #37 and Church #39 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Update Your Church Practices

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #35.

We thought we arrived early to this church, but it seemed the service had already started. Everyone was sitting down. People were singing.

There were no greeters or ushers. No one said a single word. It felt as though the service was in progress, and we were late.

It was one of the strangest church practices we encountered.

Apparently, we arrived while the choir was warming up. They finished and nothing happened. Total silence.

Why didn’t someone explain what was happening? Why was everyone else sitting down in stone silence? Why were we ignored?

Squirming in complete quiet for ten minutes was one of our more awkward church experiences. Although things ended well, we certainly had a poor start.

When I walked into this perplexing church situation, my first impulse was flight. This wasn’t the first time I felt like running from an awkward church situation; nor was it the last.

Churches—at least those that want to grow—should examine all of their practices through the eyes of a first-time visitor.

Then ask these questions:

• What do we do that would confuse or frighten a visitor?
• How and when do we welcome visitors?
• Which of our practices would make a visitor uncomfortable?
• Are we truly doing all we can to grow our church?

Then consider how many visitors come back a second time. The answer is telling. If few or no people return, you made a bad first impression.

That’s why it’s critical to examine your church practices through the eyes of a visitor.

Instead of internally examining these questions, an even better idea is to ask a trusted individual who’s never been to your church to visit it and provide honest feedback.

Then make the needed changes.

[See my reflections about Church #34 and Church #36 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

The Lifecycle of a Church

With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #34.

From a human standpoint, the future of this congregation is bleak. When we visited, eleven people showed up. In addition to my wife and me, there were the leaders’ family of five, who go to another church and live forty-five minutes away.

That makes seven visitors and only four regulars—and one of them walked in halfway through the service.

Four people, all non-leaders, are not much of a foundation for rebuilding a church.

If this church survives, it will certainly be because of God’s Holy Spirit power and not through the efforts of people, regardless of their dedication or how hard they work.

I wonder if it’s time to say enough is enough and shut the church down. Surely there are other needs or opportunities these leaders could focus on that would have a better chance of success and produce more fruit.

Though many people think that a particular local church should exist in perpetuity, we shouldn’t look at a church as an institution but as an organic entity. Like everything organic, it has a life cycle and will one day die. Today may be that day.

Though Jesus’s church is universal and should endure forever, we shouldn’t expect a local church to live forever. And we shouldn’t waste time trying to perpetuate a church on life support or resuscitate a dead one.

[See my reflections about Church #33 and Church #35 or start with Church #1.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.