We’re investigating and discussing recent research findings from the Pew Center on “Why Americans Go (and Don’t Go) to Religious Services,” and in response to the third highest survey reply, “I haven’t found a church I like,” I want to offer blunt commentary on a potentially large reason behind this reply: BOREDOM.

With the use of this word, I suspect that you may perceive that I think the church should be “entertaining” people when the exact opposite is in my mind.  As the people of God, we are called to be holy, set apart, distinct, and noticeably different in the way we live our lives and engage with the world.  I have no interest in entertaining anyone, nor do I want to “gimmick” anyone to come to church.

When I say “boredom,” I mean that Christian leaders, especially pastors and teachers (and remember, I am one!) can often be guilty for presenting the wonder of the Christian Gospel in a most unattractive, uninteresting, and unappealing way.  Like you, I have heard my share of sermons over the past “umpteen years” that sounded more like an academic lecture or history lesson than the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ.  Because of this reality, it’s no wonder that some people walk away from the church.  Many of these leavers are not interested in entertainment either.  They simply want spiritual food that’s strikes their interest, their curiosity and their human need.

Those last three words—interest, curiosity, and need—are the gospel’s response to human boredom.  Think for a moment of how Jesus used these three dimensions in His Kingdom ministry.  He addressed human need through compassion, healing, feeding the thousands, and speaking restorative words to those who were broken and lonely.  He addressed human curiosity with his ability to ask questions and to stroke the inquisitive component within the human condition to ponder the world of the eternal and its realities.  He was also effective in engaging human interest by relating the truths of the Scriptures and the Kingdom of God to the real-life experiences that people face each day (great example: The Sermon on the Mount).  Indeed, scores of people followed Jesus for what He could do FOR them (healing, feeding, etc.), but even in those situations, our Lord was able to capitalize on the opportunity and to use it as a platform to tell others about the depth and the riches of the Kingdom of God.

Certainly, there will be people who will leave your church because your style of music, worship, preaching, ministry, etc. doesn’t match their “taste.”  That’s inevitable.  But what I would like us to ponder is this: “am I doing everything I can possibly do to make the gospel interesting, curious, and applicable to the everyday needs of human beings?”  Without a doubt, the first step is to look at our personal lives.  Is it authentic and genuine to someone who is searching for answers?  Am I a credible vessel for the gospel?  Would someone seek me out to know more about Jesus by what they see in me?

It appears in our post-Christian culture that a growing hostility is mounting against Christianity, the church, and Christians.  That’s to be expected.  But we must also see that in many communities, there remains a genuine interest, curiosity, and spiritual appetite/need for the eternal food from God’s Kingdom.  This is where we must do everything we can—personally and corporately—to present the greatness of the Gospel in ways that are intriguing, appealing, and applicable to human need, like Jesus did.