Are You Into Organized Religion?

I have frequently been in conversation with folks who don't go to church and when I ask them why, the usual answer is that they are not into organized religion. My normal response to that is, "Neither am I". This gets their attention, especially when they find out I am a minister.

As Evangelicals we have relegated organized religion to the mainliners and have prided ourselves in the fact that we are about the relationship. However, the longer I have been associated with the evangelical church I have found that it is not isolated to the mainline denominations. So what does organized religion look like in the Evangelcial church?

1. The church that plays church. This is the church that has forgotton to ask the question why.

It is a church that has plateaued and found themselves in maintenance mode. The Great Commission has been repressed into the great omission. It is no longer mission or purpose driven. Vision has been lost and people are just going through the motions.

2. The church filled with political agendas. This is a church where the staff is siloed into their ministry and miss the big picture. Church bosses are misusing their power of influence. Leadership is more concerned about serving men rather than God. Committees and boards become roadblocks to sprit filled leadership. Sacred cows are protected at all cost.

3. The church that is run like a business. This is a church that is market driven that often has a board made up of businessmen in the community who have influence and prestige but are not necessarily in tune with the organism of the church. Decisions are simply driven by finances, logic, marketing appeal, policies, and bottom lines, rather than prayerful deliberation.

4. The church that has lost it's lampstand. This church could burn down tomorrow and nobody in the community would really care. The compassion for the community has been lost under the bushel of complacency. People see this church as a club that only has percs for it's members.

5. The church without authentcity. Everyone is looking for a genuine community of people that they can identify. From the pastor to the pew there must be enough transparency and vulnerabilty for people to connect. The church without authenticity often has a spirtual facade that comunicates in Christianese where the average person on the street sees as pious platitudes.

6. The church that doesn't connect the Bible to real life. The Bible was written to be powerfully transforming not academically informing. People come to this kind of church and find no relevance to scripture in their daily lives. It is no wonder people do not find the church to be a relevant institution.

Over the years we evangelicals have prided ourselves in the fact that we are not about religion but a relationship. Sometimes I wonder.