what should church look like (part 2)

as promised, here is the second installment…

let me start this post out by telling you a little about my own personal church history. the year was 1985. the place was doran, minnesota. i was a cute, fat-faced boy, all of five years old. well, cute by my mom’s estimation at least. each week my mom would lay out my “sunday” clothes for church, which typically consisted of worn out payless shoes, tan slacks, a pink (yes, pink) shirt and pink (yes, pink again) tie. gotta love the 80’s right? having adorned ourselves with our sunday best, we would walk the block and a half down the gravel road to the small white wood-framed presbyterian church. it was the only church in our small town of 98 people, so if you were a church-goer, that is where you could be found on sunday morning. we would pass through the double doors and enter the building, situating ourselves in one of the terribly uncomfortable wooden pews. as a kid, i remember having the most difficult time napping in those pews. thankfully, my mom was always armed with pen and paper to keep me occupied. its a wonder i didn’t gain any artistic talent for all those hours spent.

as you may guess, i didn’t learn much in those earlier years of church. church was just the thing that you did on sunday morning. everybody dressed up and went through the motions, but it didn’t seem to have any impact on the rest of the week. in fact, just to help fill in the picture a little more clearly, the only business that could stay afloat in our little town was a tavern.

fast forward about 8 years…

my family had moved to central point, oregon, a small town just outside of medford. after the methodist church threw a party for the pastor which included a belly dancer and several kegs of beer, my parents decided it was time to look for a new church. none of us seemed to care about where too much, but my mom was determined to find us a “good church.” she had heard of a church in the small town of ruch, oregon, called applegate christian fellowship, and decided our family needed to give it a try. i remember our first sunday there.

though i had graduated from the pink tie and shirt of my boyhood, i was still in the habit of dressing my best for sunday morning. walking into the large sanctuary that morning, i remember being stunned. if i had been only a few years older, i probably would have forced my way out of the church and resisted ever going back. after all, people were wearing baseball hats, jeans, and even shorts! then the pastor. he sat on a stool with a bible in his hand. i was sure my mom had led us into some hippie cult, much like the rajneesh group in eastern oregon. but as the sunday service went on, i noticed other things, wonderful things, i had never seen in a church building before. people were singing. people were praying. people brought their bibles to church with them, and even opened them. people took notes of what was being taught. they even stayed after service to pray for each other. though things seemed so different on the outside, this seemed to me like a real church gathering. as the days and months ensued, i too began to relax my attire. i even wore a baseball cap one sunday!

but here’s the question: have we relaxed church too much? have i become too comfortable as the church gathers, forgetting what it is really all about? has it become more of a christian social, with many churches serving coffee, playing worship songs copying current musical trends, comfortable seating, and well-practiced powerpoint presentations?

just a question, but i’d like your input…