Organic Church - Preface

There has to be a better way. The church in America is in a slump. People are disinterested in church. (Honestly, I get a bit bored with church sometimes.) Many seem to desire to grow spiritually, but spiritual growth has been equated to church attendance and that just does not cut it. Church attendance just does not equate spiritual growth. Many seem to also want community, and the church does not answer that question either. What is termed as "church" (worship and some sort of small group gathering or Sunday School) is meeting criticism from those on the inside as well as those on the outside.

From the inside the leaders are asking why won't people come and how can we get more people here? Why does this not feel like what we read about in the Bible? Why do some many seem not to like us? Why do many of the ones that come, come out of obligation?

From the outside, people are asking why does church not help me grow spiritually? Why do I get criticized when I come or don't come? Why do "church" not look like what I read about in the New Testament? Why is it boring and if it is not boring why is it a show? Why does church suck?

I am frustrated by the fact that when I mention church, the idea that pops into people heads is a building that you go to to worship and gather and that is where church happens.

There has to be a better way and I believe that there is a better way. A way that looks more biblical. A way that you could actually imagine Jesus doing. Away that does not require a trained professional to do. The answer is not in what we have been doing for that last 200 years, but what was done 2,000 years ago.

Questions:
1. What frustrations do you have with church?
2. What do you believe must be done?