Getting Ours

Have you ever heard someone say the following:

1. "The pastor is a really good preacher."
2. "I mainly just go to church there because of the worship."
3. "It was a really good sermon, I liked it"
4. "They don't play the kind of music I like so that's why I don't go to church there."
or my favorite:
5. "I go to church on Sunday's but I just don't get anything out of it."

Whenever I hear statements like these it leaves me feeling empty or lacking. Like something is missing or I haven't discovered "true fulfillment" in the pew. Although having pastors who can preach well and can bring in an audience, or sermons that make you feel good for the 30 minutes they last, or worship that is so experiential and moving can often be good things, the first four statements reveal an absence of a deep heart cry. Each reveal a discontentment in the soul.The fifth statement is what piqued my attention recently.

"I go to church on Sunday's but I just don't get anything out of it."

I've heard this statement before but just recently it stuck with me more than it ever has. Sadly, there is a common mindset among church goers today with the idea of "getting something out of church". This notion has become a lifestyle among not just evangelicals but the universal church, most distinctly in America. Over many, many years, the church's focus has turned inward, not through community, but individually. We have sought to "get ours" and make sure we have "gotten out of church" what we want, as if the church was made to cater to our idolatry. Though it is a caricature, believers (and non-believers in the church who think they are) have become mindless pawns to the notion that what church is about is having their 'best life now'. "It's your life, live it to your highest potential" is the mantra.

That is why the largest section at Barnes & Noble is Self-Help. And a majority of "Christian" literature has become a bastion for this type of thinking. The only difference is that the "Christian" books of the same sort often use a part of a verse from scripture to form the whole thesis and then slap Jesus' name on it. Which is worse.

I must also add that the number one reason when I feel like I don't get anything out of church is when I am in sin and therefore not seeking righteousness which leads to the cycle of not seeking righteousness which leads to sin. The statement (or feeling deep down that) "I'm not getting anything out of church" is a red flag to unrepentant sin. This feeling is a heart stirring of God's grace as an alert either to unrepentant sin or an unregenerate soul (1 John 1:6-10; 2 Corinthians 13:5).

With regards to the believer however, there are three distinct components found in the "What can I get out of Church?" mentality. First, in asking "What" reveals a materialistic, lifeless existence whose aim for righteousness comes by way of church attendance or rule keeping in comparison with lesser christians. Secondly, "what can I get" reveals an egotistical, me-centered way of living, and when mixed with church, is a life-stealing poison. Lastly, this mentality has a skewed idea of what Church really is. It is seen as a "thing", an institution, and an obligation.

But there's another way.

What would happen if "What can I get out of church?" was replaced with a lifestyle which sought to ask, "How can I edify the church?"? There is a vast chasm between these two lifestyles of doing church. One is a "going to church" mentality while the other is "being the church". By asking, "how" shows a love for the brotherhood and is full of life as James 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death." Secondly, asking, "How can I edify" is evidence of a gospel-centered and church body-centered way of living which is focused on community leading to healing rather than isolation, which leads to spiritual apathy (James 5:16). Truly there is life and transformation found in community as individuals become one, while individualism breeds gossip and emotional and spiritual cuts grow ever deeper. Finally, keeping a "How can I edify the church?" mindset is in right understanding of what the church really is as Jesus intends her to be as His bride, living in life-giving community.

Asking "How can I edify the church?" brings life and transformation, truth and love, depth and reality.

The former should be just that - former.

Zach Barton