It’s not coming soon, but already here! Rob Rousseau sent me this link to a video “Church Hunters”, a fun facetious look at a young couple who are looking for a church. The video is a take-off on the popular House Hunters TV show and others like it. The video is here:
Church Hunters is funny, yet also painful and true. It reflects the reality that many people approach finding in a church with the same consumer attitude they use in finding a washing machine or a car. For many, whether it is churches or vacuum cleaners, it is all about the benefits and features and what they can get.
For smaller congregations like ours who cannot compete with the programs and show of a megachurch, this seems like bad news.
It isn’t! Thankfully, the Gospel knows nothing of our consumer driven cultural attitudes. I rather suspect the Gospel stands in opposition to it.
I acknowledge the attitude reflected in Church Hunters does present an obstacle to us. Many will inevitably chose whichever church earns the most marks on their own checklist of wants and demands, and we can’t win at that game. We shouldn’t even try. What we do have to offer is something that is both real and centered.
At CTR, we have real community. At CTR, we have real worship. At CTR, we really serve others each and every week. And we are centered – centered on Christ and the authority of Scripture, centered on worship which is beyond the fads of the moment and connects us to something much bigger than ourselves, centered on serving in Christ’s name, and centered on wholeness of the Christian faith.
There will always be those who follow their consumer mindset to the church of their choice. And then there are those who are looking for something more, something that is both real and centered like we have at CTR. This is what we have to offer, and these are the people we need to reach.
In the end, finding a church is not at all like finding a new laptop. Becoming part of a congregation has to do with commitment and call and lived community. Let us pray for those whom God has called to CTR, that not one of them may be lost. Let us renew our commitment to each other and to this community of faith. And let us not be ashamed or frightened to reach out and find those who are being called to join in the real and centered life we share at CTR.
See you Sunday!
