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Why Don't People go the Church any more?
Perhaps it would be a good idea if we were to ask them. They would probably say boring and irrelevant, yet they go to the shops to buy what they need; to the pub to have a meal and to sporting activities to cheer on their team. Church does not seem to fit into their lifestyle these days as they feel no need for God most of the time.
Even when they do feel they need a spiritual answer to their problems, they don't see Church as an answer, let alone the answer!
They go to the doctor for some pills to ease the pain; perhaps go to some psychic healer or even have a chat with a Christian but Church is certainly not on the menu. When they have to attend Church for a funeral of wedding, many men need a stiff drink before they go into this alien environment. They are out of their depth even in the building.
A few months ago, I went to the funeral of an old friend. There were a lot of people there as he had a big family. What amazed me was that the family chose the hymns but they and most of the other people did not sing any hymns at all. Only a few ladies sang them. There was an honesty in this because they were not prepared to sing what they did not believe whereas a generation ago that would not have bothered them
Before 1980, most Churches held traditional services using traditional hymns. Now many Churches are using modern praise and Worship songs. Apart from the fact that they are modern hymns, most of them are sung to God whereas many of the traditional hymns are about God but not actually addressing Him. Therefore, the words are making people feel uncomfortable because the words are not what they want to sing. The upbeat tempo of the songs bothers them too.
So, whereas people did attend Church because it was the thing to do and the service was predictable, today it is no longer the thing to do and for those who do choose to attend, they are expected to worship God. How do we redress this situation? Most live Churches would start with an Alpha Course with no singing at all until those attending have made a commitment and then they will want to worship God and enjoy the praise and worship time in the service.
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