Although most Christians are happy with their local church, some struggle to find a spiritual home. So they continue drifting around churches or end up as those who describe themselves as having ‘given up on the church, but not on Christ’. Skipping involvement in local church is an old problem but three factors have made it worse. The first is that access to cars has enlarged the possibilities for church hunting. The second, more recent, is that during the COVID pandemic, the discovery of online services often fuelled a discontent with a real-world church. The third is that we live in an age where a consumer mentality dominates so that the test for everything is simply ‘does this please me?’
There are many reasons for discomfort with a church. It might be the preaching and what is taught (or not taught), the warmth (or otherwise) of the fellowship, the style of music and so on.
Not all discomfort with a church is wrong. It can be a way of telling you something is wrong with the church: perhaps a teaching that denies the authority of the Bible, an ungracious attitude to other Christians, unhealthy attitudes to money or perhaps a leadership that is dominating or controlling.
Here, after thought and prayer, it may be right to tiptoe elsewhere. But in most cases behind the inability to find a ‘comfortable’ local church is a spiritual restlessness.
For such people let me offer four responses.
First, counsel: you may never find a church you are comfortable in. At the heart of spiritual restlessness is the fantasy – even the lie – that somewhere out there is a perfect church. The perfect church is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; always just over the horizon. Be content with a real ordinary church, not some imaginary perfect one.
Second, a command: you are ordered to be in a local church. The New Testament offers no support for any unending church hunt but orders us to ‘do church’. Hebrews 10:25 talks of ‘not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another’. Although we tend to see salvation as something done for us as individuals, the Bible sees salvation as oriented around a community.
One of the chief manifestations of sin in humanity is how we are divided
against each other in disunity, hatred and conflict. God’s response in Christ is to create a new people of God out of every race, language (for example Ephesians 1:22-23; 3:10-11; Revelation 7:9-10). In the local church we see, on a small, prototype scale, the glorious reunification of our shattered world in Christ. By turning up and being involved we are
showing our solidarity and involvement with the glorious church of eternity. The local church is not something we are invited to for our pleasure but something we are commanded to be involved in as our duty.
Third, a caution: a comfortable local church may hinder you. Many Christians misunderstand the purpose of the local church. They see it as being like a social club, a theatre or a concert and, as such, only a little more than sanctified entertainment. Yet the New Testament’s picture of the local church is very different and is far more focused on our needs than our desires. It is a place where we are taught, trained, nurtured and healed. It is where, through teaching and fellowship with one another, we can be encouraged, challenged or comforted, and our head knowledge and heart experience of the Christian faith applied, tested and adjusted.
One problem with ‘a church that makes me feel comfortable’ is that it is like the internet phenomenon whereby people only visit those web pages or groups which hold similar views to theirs, with the result that, unchallenged, they live in an echo-chamber that endlessly reinforces their views. We need to be somewhere where our views and prejudices are not confirmed, and there is a lot to be said for being in a church where, as long as it is not on fundamental truth, you don’t agree with everything. Local church is like sandpaper, wielded by a skilled carpenter, that wears away the rough edges of our lives. Yes, there are times when church is neither enjoyable nor comfortable but it’s
perfectly possible that that’s when it is doing us most good.
Fourth, a challenge: be committed to your local church. New Testament believers would take a dim view of the idea that belonging to church meant no more than a presence at a service for an hour or so. A local church is our spiritual family with whom we share, care, give and pray together, and a Sunday meeting is just the most visible demonstration of this.
Here, I have to say digital or online services are inadequate. They require no effort and no commitment and can be turned off whenever we choose. Yes, there are situations of health, disability, family or transport that demand we stay tuned in to something online. God wants us to be physically with others, to bond with them over conversation and to give – and receive – smiles, handshakes and hugs. It’s worth remembering that God made a central part of Christian fellowship the very physical act of sharing bread and wine. And you can’t do that online. Ironically, the more you are committed to a church, the more likely you are to be comfortable with it.
As with many other things, the more you put in, the more you get out. Get involved in your local fellowship. Commitment, more than comfort, brings contentment in church.
This sample chapter is taken from ‘Will I Be Bald in Heaven? And Other Curious Question’ by J.John.
