Thinking About Church...

I've got church on my mind for several reasons today. We started a unit on church today in one of the classes that I teach. We all sat in a circle and I had the students share their thoughts. I asked them what do you like or not like about church. I also asked if they thought their churches reflected what Jesus's vision of church would be. I then asked them what do they wish church was like. Finally, we talked about if when they went to church it seemed like God was even there.
Here are a few things that they said that stood out:
-Several students felt that they feel like sermons are directed to people much older than them
-Several student felt as though they are judged by the older people in their congregation
-A couple of students mentioned that they think church should be more than just a Sunday morning thing. They felt that God would want them to be more of a community. One student even said a church should be like a big extended family.
-At least 10 student feel as though they go to church every week and leave without it ever seeming like God is even there.

We will continue to talk through these issues in class, but it was interesting to get their initial observations. I am hopeful that they will get a vision for being the people of God that is much more than an hour one morning a week.

Another reason that I am thinking about church is that tonight my church had our annual State of the Church Dinner. Sounds official, huh? It was interesting to here the staff's vision for where they think the church should go. There was a lot of emphasis on impacting the community which is great. I love how many opportunities our church gives for people to serve. Of course there was talk about money for new youth facilities. I find it hard to strike a balance between doing things to "attract" and "excite" people and also staying true to the mission of God. I hate when it seems as though it takes cool facilities and programs to get people through the doors.

All the talk of church also makes me wonder if I could/will ever work in a church. Part of me thinks I would enjoy it, but at the same time I think it would maybe drive me crazy. The church is a beautiful mess! I hope that we can continue to understand what it means to faithfully be the church in this time and place in history.