BBC Radio
© John Denney 6 May 2005
Church is
boring / Church isn’t boring (Delete as appropriate)
The Christian Church is growing at a phenomenal rate
worldwide. Over a third of the world’s
population is actively Christian. But
less so in
Why is regular churchgoing on the
decline? Often, people say that church
is boring – even if they haven’t been to a church for years, if ever. There was a letter in a newspaper from one
such who said it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now”, he said, “and I
must have heard 3000 sermons. But for
the life of me I can’t remember a single one of them. So I’ve wasted my time, and the preachers
have been wasting theirs.”
There was quite a correspondence about this in the
newspaper, until finally this reply was published. “I’ve been married for 30 years. In that time, my wife has cooked about 32000
meals. But for the life of me I can’t
recall the entire menu for a single one of them. But I do know this: they all nourished me and
gave me the strength I needed to do my work.
If my wife hadn’t given me these meals, I’d have died of hunger. Likewise, if I hadn’t gone to church for spiritual
nourishment, I’d be spiritually dead!”
I have to say that there are boring churches,
and boring preachers and boring Christians.
But it isn’t always the case. In
my own church, the hymns and songs are contemporary as well as traditional. The preaching is Bible-based; it’s lively,
engaging and relevant to the congregation.
And we are bursting at the seams, with an extra service on a Sunday to
fit everyone in; and over 200 children and teenagers involved with us every
week. And in Leicester and around the
country there are many vibrant, thriving churches like mine where Christians
are made, where Christians are nurtured, and where the Christian gospel is
daily put into action.
Boring? How about finding out for yourself?