That’s a weird thing for a pastor to say. “Don’t take church too seriously.” I have to record every Sunday, because I am not sure what I have said. For example, this past Sunday I made a reference to a pair of Oklahoma University boxers. No one asked for that much information. Unbelievable. Often times we take Sunday Morning Services way too seriously by subtracting from the service laughter & smiles.
Church atmosphere should be as diverse as the human emotion that God placed in each of us. There should be times of quiet reverence, times of somber reflection, times of jubilant singing, and even no holds bar laughter.
Let me give you three reasons why:
#1 The church is simply people, and we are flawed creatures. Collectively we make up the Bride of Christ, but individually there are a lot of us who look more like the bride of Frankenstein.
#2 How we “do” church is continuing to change. Worship styles have changed; Preaching Styles have changed; what people wear to church has changed. Get stuck on stylistic part of a church service, and you soon become the guardian of your spot on the pew in an empty church.
#3 It’s Christ inside the individual that matters! Take the inside of your life very seriously. Is the Kingdom of God alive in you today? It’s a Kingdom of Kindness; A Kingdom of Peace; A Kingdom of Grace; and a Kingdom of Joy.
Quit trying to go to church, and become the church.