Religious Obligation or Desire?
While I was in London, a tour guide commented during one of his many interesting mini-lectures that England itself was not a very religious country. In it's earliest conceptions, the country was Roman Catholic. Of course as many know, King Henry VIII changed all of that when he broke away from the Roman Catholic church and created the Church of England (Anglican Church) because of a disagreement with the Pope. Old Henry wanted to divorce his wife because she didn't bear him a male child, and the Pope didn't allow divorces. The Anglican church is basically the same as the Catholic except they don't honor the Pope. But even with their own special church, people in England still are not extremely religious.
My cousins that I was visiting with during my stay in England do not attend church. My cousin's boyfriend told me that he had never once been in a church until a few years ago when he attended a wedding there. My cousin insisted that the churches there were just too boring.
Another cousin and his wife did attend church regularly and took us to one of the services. It wasn't my first time in a church like this, but this time things began to click in my mind. The service was very ritualistic; everything that was said or done was prepared in a nice booklet and repeated every service. People referred to the service as being nice or lovely, not powerful, meaningful, or life changing. I had the feeling that the people there were only there out of obligation and not desire.
Now, I will be the first to admit that I'm not raring to go to every church services. There have been plenty of times that I've gone out of obligation instead of desire. However, desire pulls me there more often than obligation. After a while, I'm afraid boredom would override my obligation, and I too would be sitting home on Sundays. I can't imagine going to a service that meant nothing, where I felt nothing. Somehow I doubt that is what God ever intended church to be.
I tried to explain a Pentecostal service to my cousins without giving too many frightening details. I mainly talked about the lively music and the different ministries we have available. They made several comments that made me think they would be happy to attend a church that was "fun like mine."
I sat beside a man on the tube one day in London. He was reading a book entitled "What the Bible Really Teaches." He was reading a section entitled "What Happens When You Die". (Yeah, I'm a nosy neighbor.) I wondered how he came across the book; why was he reading it. After telling my dad this story, he told me I should have been like the man in the Bible who explained the scriptures to the Enoch. I unfortunately didn't even consider talking to the man, feeling as though I had intruded upon his personal boundaries already by peering over his shoulder, but the book did make me think.
How many people do I come across everyday who are thinking, "I'd go to church if it wasn't so boring." How many people are really longing to feel something more. How many people actually desire church? What an opportunity and blessing we have to actually experience Christ. To actually feel him and see him move is way beyond many normal church services.
We found a Pentecostal Church near my cousins. Although we weren't able to go to it, we did encourage my family to check it out one Sunday and see if they fancied it. Who knows if they'll ever go, but we were able to plant the seed, and that's all that is required.
My cousins that I was visiting with during my stay in England do not attend church. My cousin's boyfriend told me that he had never once been in a church until a few years ago when he attended a wedding there. My cousin insisted that the churches there were just too boring.
Another cousin and his wife did attend church regularly and took us to one of the services. It wasn't my first time in a church like this, but this time things began to click in my mind. The service was very ritualistic; everything that was said or done was prepared in a nice booklet and repeated every service. People referred to the service as being nice or lovely, not powerful, meaningful, or life changing. I had the feeling that the people there were only there out of obligation and not desire.
Now, I will be the first to admit that I'm not raring to go to every church services. There have been plenty of times that I've gone out of obligation instead of desire. However, desire pulls me there more often than obligation. After a while, I'm afraid boredom would override my obligation, and I too would be sitting home on Sundays. I can't imagine going to a service that meant nothing, where I felt nothing. Somehow I doubt that is what God ever intended church to be.
I tried to explain a Pentecostal service to my cousins without giving too many frightening details. I mainly talked about the lively music and the different ministries we have available. They made several comments that made me think they would be happy to attend a church that was "fun like mine."
I sat beside a man on the tube one day in London. He was reading a book entitled "What the Bible Really Teaches." He was reading a section entitled "What Happens When You Die". (Yeah, I'm a nosy neighbor.) I wondered how he came across the book; why was he reading it. After telling my dad this story, he told me I should have been like the man in the Bible who explained the scriptures to the Enoch. I unfortunately didn't even consider talking to the man, feeling as though I had intruded upon his personal boundaries already by peering over his shoulder, but the book did make me think.
How many people do I come across everyday who are thinking, "I'd go to church if it wasn't so boring." How many people are really longing to feel something more. How many people actually desire church? What an opportunity and blessing we have to actually experience Christ. To actually feel him and see him move is way beyond many normal church services.
We found a Pentecostal Church near my cousins. Although we weren't able to go to it, we did encourage my family to check it out one Sunday and see if they fancied it. Who knows if they'll ever go, but we were able to plant the seed, and that's all that is required.
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