Quotes about Church

Church" today is mostly driven by man-made traditions and not by the biblical mandates to defend the Word of God and live by the Word of God.

But it does mean we should be wary about "using" our relationships with churchless friends as means to the end of getting them to church.

We have wandered so far from fundamental spiritual knowledge in our culture that literally tens of millions of people—many of whom have long-term ties with the Christian church—have no clue how to even describe a true spiritual experience.

We've by far had the most success inviting people into our community life by inviting them to serve alongside us. As a matter of fact, that's about the only thing that's worked consistently as far as "official" church activities go. The other thing that has worked is parties—birthday parties, Super Bowl parties—where we invite churched friends and unchurched friends just to connect.

One thing we hear from churchless and churched people alike is that they intensely desire the local church to provide what no other group can offer: an experience of the presence of God.

In the midst of the emotional and spiritual upset that occurs when a church hurts or disappoints us, we tend to lose sight of the fact that the local church is merely a collection of people on a challenging journey - a group of people that are involved in a long-term transformation process.

But a local body of believers is the only place they can meet God together with his people. What a privilege to facilitate encounters with God week after week! When it's humble and sincere, it never gets old.

Our studies consistently show a large majority of people leave their church's service without feeling as though they have connected with God. If those who regularly attend depart with such disappointment and confusion, what must it be like for those who are new to the church adventure?

Half of all regular church-going adults admit that they have not experienced God's presence at any time during the past year. The younger the adult, the more likely they are to state that God is a distant, impersonal reality for them. And even among those who say God's presence was evident to them, most of them say that happened only one or two times throughout the course of the year.

Consequently, if the church is going to leave a permanent mark on the community through a growing body of changed lives, it must constantly expand its leadership capacity, which entails both an increased number of leaders and an enhanced quality of leaders.

Despite all the opinions churchless (and churched) people offer about musical styles, architecture, sound systems, creativity, intellectualism, and the menu of programs provided by churches, none of these is the main attraction. These elements are nice sideshows, but people don't come to church for the carnival rides. They come to meet God. People complain about the uncomfortable seats and stale popcorn when center stage is empty of the main event.

Are you satisfied with the nature of your church today but simply want your church to be bigger?