Is your church hurting your relationship with God?

Is the modern American church hurting your relationship with God? Before you get any ideas of this being a post that will be an angered attack at the church, it is not.  I have spent years in church with my family as a child along with years volunteering as a worship leader and an intern.  I have spent the last six months or so out of church for various reasons.  Recently I began attending a local church in my hometown.  I recognize the importance and the need for Christians to attend a local church.  There is something about the saints gathering together that encourages and edifies.  After spending months away from Sunday morning services I had the opportunity to attend my brother’s church in New City, New York.  Being one of my first times back in any church in a long time, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  There was a sense of being a part of something greater than myself that rose up inside of me.  I think that was the moment when I realized, "huh, so maybe I should get back into church." My time outside of church was, however, the best time I've ever had with God.  I grew the most, and realized, however silly this sounds, the importance of reading and studying the bible.  My relationship with God went to a very real and intimate place that I had never experienced while attending or volunteering at any church.   I just don't see where most churches drive people to a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord.  It was my time outside of the church that led me to the deeper relationship with Jesus, not my time inside the church.  Personally I've had awesome experiences with God inside church.  But the most intimate and life changing experiences with God have come outside the normal church service. The average person attends church. They show up on time, they tithe, they stay late, they  may even volunteer for something.  During the music portion of the service they really get into it.  They sing, clap their hands, and heck, they may even feel some goose bumps.  Then the speaker gets up and gives a dynamic message. At the end he may even pray for some people.  They walk outside of the sanctuary and talk to some friends and if things go really well they may all go out for lunch at a local restaurant afterwards.   With all of those "good feelings" it can become very easy for someone to ignore God during the week.  Because they're so accustomed to only knowing God through such dynamic services, people can find it easy to ignore Jesus outside the church.  I have been a part of six different churches over the last eighteen years.  Among those churches, there were two churches that really taught people, especially me, in the ways of developing a deeper relationship with God.  They also embraced community and provided ample opportunities for the church to get outside and be Jesus.   Granted, taking six churches and using them as a test group for the church as a whole in America is not the most ideal statistical scenario. Church on Sunday morning should only be a part of the Christian’s life, not the whole thing.  It can become very easy to wake up on Monday morning and forget all about those goose bumps felt on Sunday at church.  After all, should the church be the maintainer of people’s good feelings or the community that reinforces an individual’s aggressive, yet loving, pursuit of Jesus?   What if the church didn't strive to make things so dynamic during the Sunday morning service?  What if the lighting wasn't set to re-enforce the mood of the service?  What if there weren't catchy songs played in order of fast and upbeat to slow and contemplative?   What if there wasn't a scripture read before the offerings were taken that made people feel 'led’ to give their money, and they simply gave out of their own conviction?  I don't remember reading any scripture in the bible that revealed anything that looked like today's church.  I understand that the bible doesn't tell us exactly how to operate our churches today.  There isn't a church service outline in the book of Corinthians. I know that most of what we do today was adapted over years of our church history.  I just don't think that should automatically make it correct. Do I have an alternative to the modern church service? Not completely, and I feel if I assumed I had the solution for everything wrong in the church I should probably go back to the bible and rethink my motives. I am not saying the church is evil. I am not saying that pastors purposefully set things this way because they want to deceive people, and I am not saying people should avoid or leave their church because of the things I have listed here.  I'm just thinking how it can be easy for people to think Christianity is all about Sunday mornings and forget their personal relationship with Jesus or forget there is a lost and hurting world outside, a world that has mostly been hurt by the church. If they don't have someone in their life to disciple and help lead them towards a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus then the message preached to them from the pulpit becomes a message that their Christian life should be centered around Sunday morning.   Should the church do the opposite of everything they currently do?  I think the answer is both yes and no.  It's like the person who tries to avoid wearing anything popular or mainstream as to avoid conforming. The very fact that they dress the opposite of their culture is cliche’ in itself.  If the church decides to be different for the sake of being different, they may as well close their doors and go work for Hot Topic.  The appropriate response for Christians is to examine what their week looks like.  Are they avoiding God during the week and only spending time with Him on Sunday mornings?  Are they believing that God is confined to their church or that He is most powerful when they are inside the four walls of the church?  If so, stop what you're doing and go read your bible. Months ago I went out for coffee with a friend after a church service she attended.  She said to me "that service was amazing!"  I asked her what was so amazing about the service?  She said the worship took off and they spent a lot of time in worship and praying.  I asked her "So what's next?"  Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here.  I fully believe we need those awesome times in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We need prayer services that spontaneously carry on for hours. What we don't need is churches believing that's what Christianity is all about. I sometimes wonder what the early apostles would think if they could see the current status of today's church. May the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you always and may your love for the lost and hurting grow deep. -Cheers.