Church Hoppers

Chuckle: "A sign in a hospital maternity ward read -- NO CHILDREN ALLOWED!"

Ponder This: “There once was a mule who found himself between two haystacks, completely unable to decide which one to eat first. Because of his indecision, he didn't eat either one; he just stood there until he starved. Many people are like the mule when deciding which church to attend. They wander back and forth, never committing themselves, and meanwhile going (spiritually) hungry."  --Illustrations for Biblical Preaching; Edited by Michael P. Green

CHURCH "HOPPERS"

    "God has combined the members of the body (the church) . . . so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. . . Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it" " (I Corinthians 12:24b, 25-27 NIV). "From Him (Christ) the whole body (church), joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part (church member) does its work" (Ephesians 4:16 NIV).

We live in a “ME” generation -- the world revolves around me and it's what I want that is most important. With this in mind, I think this piece by syndicated columnist Betsy Hart is worth sharing with you verbatim.

The Gospel According To Church "Hoppers"

Church "hopping" is the ultimate "all about me" experience. I'm talking about the growing tendency in America's evangelical churches for folks who decide, after they have officially joined a particular church, that "Oh, that pastor down the street is a little more high-energy than mine," or "Gee, the music here isn't really meeting all my needs right now," or "I really am not crazy about that new children's church director."

They just up and leave, and go to a new church in their community. Until they hop from that one. Here's where I really agree with my Roman Catholic friends when they say, "You protestants are so focused on your 'personal relationship with Christ' that you forget it's not all about you."

Every time a person who has made a public vow of membership to the church body leaves for superficial reasons, he leaves a unique hole. The departure dispirits the pastor and often the children of the congregation and other members of the body. Moreover, hopping from a church when a desire, or even a real need, isn't being met in the moment means that person can't ultimately be held accountable in his religious life. He just hops if he doesn't want anyone reaching out to him.

We have little sense anymore that we are to join a church body and, generally speaking, submit -- doesn't that word just make you cringe? -- to its authority. Even when there are things that don't suit our fancy in the church. Sure, we often can and should try to change those things for what we consider the better.

Actually, we treat our church members a lot like we treat our marriages. Hey, if I'm not "happy" in the moment, just move on, right? The impact on others or a pledge to something bigger than ourselves doesn't matter because "it's all about me."

The American Protestant Church has, generally speaking, tragically normalized divorce and, essentially, spouse hopping. I don't know if there's cause and effect, or if church hopping and spouse hopping are just symptoms of the same problem -- our increasingly "all about me" culture. But I do know hoppers are typically unsatisfied no matter where they hop -- because perfection doesn't exist in this world.

Many churches say they are seeking to be relevant. But the way to do that isn't to accommodate or enable insidious cultural trends. It is to do what churches are called to do, and stand as a bulwark against such trends.

Love, Jerry & Dotse