Recently I mentioned that this post (Does your church make people jump through hoops? Stop it!) was my most “shared” one. Well, Lisa Robinson over at her blog had a post that expands on my thoughts. I basically described symptoms, while she took it further and delved into the pathology or underlying causes of the problem. (Sorry – my 20 years in the medical field influences my terminology!) Lisa’s post is here: My Wish for the Contemporary Evangelical Church.
Lisa has some interesting analysis. I think she hit the nail on the head by noting that “the visitor/newcomer is seen as a commodity to make the church strong rather than a vital member of the body based on their faith.” Many churches might be defensive and say “no, we don’t see people that way!” but I think their methods can give off this “commodity” mentality even if it is indirect or subtle.
Other good analysis is here: “The contemporary church by and large has operated under the premise of what they do as opposed to who they are. Put differently, the contemporary church has defined itself by what it does instead of who it is, the body of Christ united together to grow itself up together in love (Ephesians 4:16).”
Please check out Lisa’s thoughts for yourself, and I appreciate her adding to the conversation.
Thanks Laura.
Laura, thanks for these two links, yours and Lisa’s (left a comment there, too). Jumping through hoops is so off from what Jesus said about being in him. In John 15 he emphasizes that what we do is abide. Abiding seems a lot different than hoop-jumping to me!