I’ve been thinking a lot lately about church. I’ve been thinking about my own Christian journey as a young girl, and what I hope for my own young boys. My oldest son is already nearly two years older than I was when I was baptized. Something that was very important to me when I was his age isn’t so important to me now. I don’t care if my sons decide to get baptized now or in 10 years, so long as they do it because they love Jesus.
I think we often fall into a trap when we get baptized too quickly, join a church too quickly, join a movement to quickly…
When we jump in all at once, we often fall short. We burn out and we don’t live up to our own expectations–let alone the expectations of the church.
But how do we handle church life when we show up, week after week, and being burned out isn’t the problem. We’re bored!
To Call Out
The Greek term used for church is Ekklesia. It means “to call out”.
Abraham was called out by God.
The disciples were called out by Jesus.
We are all essentially called out of sin to join God’s family of believers.
The fact is, God called each of us out. He knows our names. He knows the hairs on our heads. He knows when we wake up and when we sleep–our comings and goings.
The fact is, God chose us with the care of choosing a lover.
The church is Jesus’ bride, and being bored with the church is kind of like being bored with your partner.
The church today doesn’t look a whole lot like the early Christian church (and may not be exactly what God modeled or intended).
So, your dissatisfaction with the church is most likely with the organization that facilitates your church services, maintains your church building, and strings together a global doctrine. When you’re bored with church, it can seem like you’re bored with God and God’s family, but you aren’t bored with your church family at all.
How to Fight Church Boredom
Imagine, you’ve become bored with your wife.
When you’re alone together, you both play on your phone. Television plays in the background. On date night you go see a movie instead of sitting through dinner and awkward conversation.
You don’t laugh anymore. You don’t give anymore. Not only are you bored with the relationship, but your day-to-day life has become mundane. The more time that passes, the more resentful you become. You don’t want to even be at home anymore.
This is why countless Christians leave God’s church. Like bitter divorcees vow to never love again, the people leaving the churches often swear-off all church and Christian ideology. What begins as boredom with the church and disconnection from church family often eventually leads to a disconnection from God and God’s people.
The church as a building is not the problem. It’s the church as a relationship that struggles.
Reviving a bored relationship is as easy as reconnecting two severed strings.
5 Tips to Reconnect with Church Family
- Change the scenery
If you’re bored with church, plan a different type of worship service and invite your church family. Take worship outside with a bonfire or hike to a waterfall. Visit a community center, nursing home, or hospital. Stay home and invite your church family over for dinner or evening praise and worship. When you change the scenery, the sky is the limit. - Make time for F-U-N
Much of church life can become responsibility and routine. When you’re expected to do the same thing week after week for church services and sit through the same service week after week, it take the fun out of the Sabbath experience of church. Plan a fun social event and invite your church family. It doesn’t have to be something that costs money or takes a lot of planning. Keep it simple. - Ask questions
Reconnecting with your church family can be as simple as asking insightful questions of the people you share a pew with. Do more than shake hands and smile. Ask about their family, jobs, struggles. Ask what’s boring about the church experience! - Accept invitations
When someone invites you out, go! Whether it’s to their kids’ birthday party or on a Sabbath hike, if there is no direct schedule conflict, accept invitations to connect with the other people you consider your church family. Connecting them will help you reconnect with God and the God’s church. - Meet the needs of others
The church is meant to meet needs. Yes, God called us out of the world, but ministering to the world and each other is about service. What needs exist among and around your church? Is there a way to help your church families? Is there a way your church can help the community directly around it?
There is nothing that forms bonds like working together toward a mission goal.
Our mission goal is each other.
In marriage it’s about helping, ministering to, and loving your spouse.
In church it’s about helping, ministering to, and loving God’s church.
Love the people God loves.
