Understanding why we do church as we do church

Years ago people lived in communities (some of which were probably quite dysfunctional) but the masses were not educated. Therefore church had quite an educational feel and tended to be driven from the front.

Today people are educated (though whether mass education today challenges people to think for themselves enough is another question) but most people do not live in communities. Therefore churches today have house groups, and often the stopping for a coffee is seen as important as the service itself.

Our environments effects how we do church, and that is an advantage rather than a reason for concern. Just like the Sabbath was created for man not man for the Sabbath so church was created for man not man for church.

Life is different and therefore people's needs are different, and therefore how we do church will be different. Church must meet people where they are, and church must reflect the environment that it is in.

The problem is that often we try to reflect the world in matters that really only scratch the surface (music style etc.) rather than understanding the drivers and the deeper issues. For instance we live in a more emotional age and therefore you might say that we should be more emotional to follow the style of the age. However, we need to ask deeper questions. An over emphasis on the emotions and on feelings is dangerous in all walks of life. The approach to marriage that says it's all over because I don't feel anything any more is worrying and applied to Christianity as dangerous as it is as applied to the rest of life. We need to exercise discernment in our interaction with our culture.

In a world of feelings then our worship may be more emotional, because that is where we are. However we need to be careful about the dangers that brings about and steer clear of emotionalism. We also need to look at why we are becoming more emotional and address that. Are people looking for something more, are people dissatisfied with cold science and longing for something more - of course they are. We need to recognise we were created to be more than just rational machines! I also think that there are tensions within society that cause cracks and these are shown by a greater amount of emotional expression.

Princess Diana died and the reaction was worrying, but that was ten years ago, and there is a greater awareness today that perhaps we got a little carried away, there is a move towards greater conservatism (though that could prove to be temporary - the exuberant Blair has been replaced by the dour Brown). In the church we too often respond to what has happened, rather than what is happening, we need to be prophetic rather than just historic.

The church needs to meet people where they are, and meet the needs of the contemporary world remembering that the greatest need we have is for God.