We live in a rating-obsessed culture.
Everything we do, every person we meet, every place we go is internally ranked. We check Yelp before we step foot in a restaurant and study Trip Advisor diligently before booking a hotel room. No matter where the activity, we want it to be a five-star experience. This can be a dangerous way to process our interactions with the church.
How often have you come away from a Sunday morning at church, basing the quality of the entire service on something peripheral like the quality of the music or the design of the stage? I know I’m guilty of this.
The truth is that if we judge our Sunday morning by the abilities of the worship team or the ‘coolness’ of the pastor and not by the beauty of the Savior and the proclamation of His Word, we misunderstand the purpose of the church experience.
A church deserves the metaphorical “five-star rating” based solely on what it does with Jesus. Not the color of the carpet, the volume of the music, or the branding.
Jesus.
All the secondary stuff is just that – secondary.
Before you make a harsh judgment about your local church this Sunday, ask yourself: Was Jesus lifted up? Was the Word faithfully exposited? Were His children gathered in reverent, joyful worship?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then give thanks. You belong to a five-star church.
Engaging Culture 