I have found myself engaged in lots of “church” talk with people lately.  I am blessed with friends with a wide range of views on lots of topics and “church” is one of them.  I know people who think it’s a complete waste of time, who think it is unnecessary, who view it as a good place to meet people and some who think you better be there every time the doors are open and it’s a good idea to be at least 15 minutes early then.

Several years ago I attended a church that had a “Plum Full Sunday” with the idea of asking people to come to church to fill the seats.  It was a big push and lots of effort was put in to getting butts in pews for one Sunday of the year.  That’s where the fallacy began.

As I think more about church and what it means and should mean, I realize we need to be inviting people to know God.  We need to invite people to meet our Creator and Redeemer, the one who loves perfectly and exemplifies the love we should have for each other.  If we can come to know God and live the life he desires for us then invite people to know the God we know…well, I’m convinced we would not know war or racism or hatred and even our misunderstandings would be resolved quickly.

Our congregational settings are a place where a bunch of people with a bunch of ideas often gather to worship (unless they want a piano and there isn’t one or vice-versa, unless women are involved or vice-versa, unless things are done a certain way or not).  Our congregational meetings, or church as some call it, are flawed because they are run and led by flawed people.

God is not flawed so why would we invite someone to a flawed gathering when we can invite them to a perfect God?