Mediocrity

I went to church today. Twice. I know what you’re thinking, “Don’t you do that every Sunday?” Yes, I do. This Sunday, however, I was in Kearney, NE visiting my roommate from college. I am returning home after spending the week in Kansas City at Church of the Resurrection.

I decided to throw on my Pink Floyd t-shirt and my cargo pants and head out to see how it feels to be a visitor at a church. The first church I went to was 1^st United Methodist. I attended the contemporary worship service at 9:30. The only way I can think to describe it would be to say that it was a celebration of mediocrity. The band leader at several points apologized for the way the songs were going, which were “ok”—I would be willing to bet if they practiced a little more they would sound pretty good—and the pastor’s sermon, which I really can’t remember except for the ending, closed by celebrating that while they may not be the largest, most polished, or prettiest church, they are the most loving. I thought that was interesting considering no one bothered to say hi to me at the door, nor greet me once I went into the sanctuary, nor shake my hand during the friendly “greeting” time. When I shook the pastor’s hand afterward he asked if I was visiting. I said yes and he told me I should come back again sometime. No invitation to fellowship. No invitation to take one of their “visitor” bags they told all the visitors to grab. No interest in where I came from, who I was, or what I did for a living. Just, “come back sometime”. Sure—sometime.

Next, I went to visit the eFree church. It’s the largest church in Keareny, and Rick, my roommate from college, told me I should check it out. It was completely different than the Methodist church I was just at. The greeter at the outside door shook my hand with glowing enthusiasm, and in a church of a few thousand the second greeter inside recognized immediately that I was a visitor. I received a, “I don’t think we’ve met. Are you a member or are you just visiting?” I said I was visiting, and she ushered me over to their Starbucks-ish coffee bar where I was given a free mocha. (Yeah, we can discuss the merits of this some other time—but know this, it was tasty) Then, I entered the sanctuary with my mocha in tow and was greeted by the swell of awesome music played with no apologies. Folks around me came up to say hi even before the service started, and all of them were genuinely interested in me. It was pretty good until the pastor opened his mouth and began to spout his well-crafted and entertaining sermon of hate.

And this brings me to my main problem—

I believe as United Methodists we have the greatest message for people living in this crazy, messed up world. That message? That God loves you, that your past doesn’t have to be your present or your future, that we are called to have personal integrity, that we are called to ministries of justice as we live our faith out in the world, and that when we fail at those last two, grace is sufficient. The problem? We package our message in mediocrity. “Yes, our church sucks, but at least we love you.” Nice.

I realize that some of you absolutely hate the style of church offered up by our more evangelical brothers and sisters. We all have our style. I would only urge you to consider that whatever your style, you do it with integrity and professionalism. We need to seek excellence in worship, and when our worship fails we need to repent of it and transform it. My hope and prayer is that in my own church I will be able to see the places where we are offering mediocrity, and that I would have the courage as a leader to face it head on. Perhaps one of you could come visit sometime and share with me your experience. I would love to hear it.