I Don’t Need Church To Have Church

I started reading Pop Goes The Church while on our last family vacation.  Due to some unexpected circumstances, I wasn’t able to finish the book.  This week I started back into it.  There are so many great points and thoughts in the book (I’m sure future blog posts are coming…).

One of the points that hit home today was something that I’ve been thinking about more heavily over the past year or so.  Towards the beginning of the book, the author, Tim Stevens, makes the following statement, “Somehow, our theology has taught us that God speaks only at church.  He only talks to us through his written word or through an individual who has been trained.  That belief is very confusing to us when we feel God tugging at our heart through our culture.”

Media and Pop Culture play a big part in how my view the world.  Tim’s statement above has been a struggle of mine that is a result of the Church’s (speaking in general terms, not a specific church) failure when it comes to the Media.

Tim goes on to state that people “can sit through a boring sermon and feel nothing while being moved deeply after watching a television show or going to a movie.  Or they realize that after a year of church services, they cannot point to one thing in their lives that is different.  Yet a song or television interview or a sixty-second commercial can speak to them so strongly they immediately change their lifestyle to help someone in need.”

After reading the above, my mind immediately flashed to this commercial:

I remember my first time watching this and thinking what a great add.  It was moving, inspirational and spoke to me more clearly than many church sermons before.  Sure, it had nothing to do with religion, per se, but for me, I found religion within the sixty-second spot.

One of my biggest directives in life is relevancy.  I think this can be applied to all aspects of my life.  My work, my home, my friendships.  Is what I am doing, as a husband, father, salesman, friend, relevant to the overall goal of the role that I am playing.  If not, why am I doing it?  My church is struggling with this question and I love it.  I love that we are pushing ourselves to answer these questions.  Media is a big part of communication for a large part of society and we are taking strides to make ourselves relevant.