The positive side of church-shopping?
This article: http://www.slate.com/id/2211937/?gt1=38001 proposes the positive side of church-shopping.
If you’re not familiar with this, church-shopping is a uniquely American experience in which people try out many different churches until they find the one that they “like.” There are many negative aspects to this occurrence:
1) Previous generations would remain fairly stable within their denomination. A Lutheran parent would raise a Lutheran child, and a Roman Catholic parent would raise a Roman Catholic child. But in our world of church-shoppers, that can no longer be taken for granted. Denominational ties are no longer the most important factor for people when attending church.
2) What people like in a church is so varied between people. The article states that many people are searching for belief systems that match their own, but that may not necessarily be a good thing. If you know your pastor will always tell you what you want to hear, how will the Law and Gospel challenge you? And if you’re looking for a specific style of music at your church, how will you react if the new church changes style? You will shop around for something else that you like. Church is supposed to be enjoyable, certainly, but it is also supposed to be enjoyable for everyone else, and not just one person or one subsection of the population.
3) Following on #2, with church-shopping as regular and general practice as it is now, most churches are left with a homogenized group, that is, a collection of people who are generally like each other. This grouping occurs along many lines, including race, age, worship style, and beliefs. However, when the church is mostly made of the same group, no one is challenged by the Word of God (again), because the Word becomes taken hostage by what is liked by that group.
There are probably many more negative sides to church-shopping, but this article proposes the positive side. Go ahead and read it and ponder it, because it raises a good point. Many people in our church are worried about attracting more people. But what do we have to do to attract more people? What do we have to change so that others may feel more welcome here. Is it our worship style? Is it our hymnal? Is it some of our beliefs? Is it our building? Read it, ponder it, and listen for God speaking to you. This is not an easy subject, and not an easy discussion. But we will need to have it, and we will need to have your ideas!
God bless you,
Pr. Bryan