16 Reasons this Millennial Stayed in the Church

Thanks for those of you who offered your feedback on yesterday’s post about why I almost left the church.

In the comments, good ol’ Basement Berean (a Basement Berean is less aggressive as the Attic Berean, but not as friendly as the rare Closet Berean) called me on the obvious reason I stayed.

OK fine, but isn’t the reason you actually show up: “I’m a professional Christian and I have bills to pay?”

Yes, one of the reasons I stayed was because I got paid. I’ve been getting paid to go to church for 15 years now, with only a few months in between here and there. I love my job, actually. I left public education to do it full time, and between that, occasional gigging, and my blogging, I’m more fulfilled professionally than ever before in my life. I’m right where I want to be.

But I have to admit, yes, there are mornings when the night was short, the weather bad, or the cold shaving razor stings more than usual, I go because it’s my job. And if any professional Christian says anything different, they are lying.

The church can be a tough place.

But if one day I’m called to another means of drawing a paycheck, I’ve decided that I need to be in the church. Here are a few reasons why I stay, even when it’s hard, even when I don’t want to.

1. Jesus. The words of N.T. Wright are a perfect summation of the worshiping church: “Jesus is absolutely in the middle. If you want to know what God is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what it means to be human, look at Jesus. If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what grief is, look at Jesus. And go on looking until you are not just a spectator, but you’re actually part of the drama which has him as its central character.”
2. There are churches completely unlike the church I almost left. If the commercial megachurch was the church, if there were no other option, I’d still want no part of it. But there are churches, across every denomination, in which the parasitic effects of consumer Christianity have not defiled it. They are not always easy to find, but they are there, waiting with open, welcoming, uncool arms.
3. Liturgy that gave me a prayer language in the midst of deep clinical depression. It sounds counterintuitive, but for every facet of the human condition, you can find a real freedom in following your script.
4. Trading my ordinances for Sacraments. A strong sacramental theology replaces the modern need for a contemporary worship experience.
5. Churches that expect me to worship with my brain.
6. The Revised Common Lectionary. There are good preachers who are not lectionary preachers, and there are lectionary preachers who are not particularly good. But there is no greater cause of lame, unbalanced, pointless theology than the topical sermon series.
7. The communion of saints. I grew up under the impression that Tom Brokaw could have been there to break the story of the crucifixion on the Nightly News. That’s the way consumer Christianity worships, at least. You can imagine the perspective shift that comes from realizing you’re part of something bigger and greater and more lasting than a passing fad.
8. Churches that don’t just want me because I’m in their targeted age group, but actually want me to serve with them.
9. Hymnals, choirs, pipe organs, and no alternative worship styles.
10. Churches that won’t give one red cent to support an artistically bankrupt worship industry.
11. Churches where small children are included in worship.
12. Sanctuaries that are not called “auditoriums.”
13. Tables, fonts, and pulpits, instead of screens, projectors, and fog machines.
14. Churches that sing their regular old songs, administer their regular old sacraments, and follow their regular old liturgies, even if it makes them seem out of touch or not particularly relevant.
15. A Liturgical Calendar that does not include Mother’s Day or Independence Day.
16. The realization that I will never, ever be forced to go to a Sunday School class again, unless I just want to.

What about you? What kept you in the church, or brought you back after time away?

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