Joy in the Church? (part one)


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For some people the title of this blog sounds like an oxymoron. Like jumbo shrimp, open secret, living dead, joy of church. Even though the United States has a lot of people in churches, many people would not associate the church with joy. Even those who go to church with some regularity aren’t always filled with joy by their church experience.

An article in USA Today entitled, “Dissatisfaction, Yearning Make Churchgoers Switch,” talked about all the reasons people change churches—they become disenchanted with the pastor or the church; their needs aren’t being met; something changed about the church; they felt out of place; they couldn’t agree with church teachings. They couldn’t find joy in church anymore, so they left.

Maybe we should wonder why?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][tweetherder]It may be that a lack of joy can be traced to a lack of faith. [/tweetherder] When the church started, as recorded in Acts 2, people were filled with joy first of all because they were genuine believers. They had been convicted of their sins, convinced of the truth of the Gospel, and deeply converted to Christ. I suspect that some people don’t find true joy in the church because they have not yet truly found Christ. They come to church, but they haven’t come to Christ. Church is a place to go, but it is not a spiritual home, because they aren’t at home with God through Christ yet.

That makes me wonder about myself. It makes me wonder about the church.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][tweetherder]How often is my worship or my life about coming to church rather than coming home to God in Christ?[/tweetherder]

What about yours?

What does that do to your joy?

What does that do to the overall joy of the church?

What could your church do to help coming to church be more about coming home to God?

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[fusion_fontawesome icon=”adjust” circle=”yes” size=”medium”/]Joy in the Church Blog Series

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  1. I came here for a specific blog entry, but this one caught my eye and drew me in, and for some reason, I began reading before I scrolled to the bottom to see who wrote it (I *never* do that). It was just the right amount of words, just the right amount of thoughtful, and just the right questions at the end. And, there was something about the 3rd paragraph. Like I was being led to an idea in a familiar way. What a nice surprise! I’ll look forward to reading the remaining parts, and I will mull over these first questions. Thanks for posting.

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