09/03/2026
Borrowed from James Bell. This right here.
I think one of the hardest things for pastors is watching people leave a church because another church has more to offer.
And usually there is nothing sinful about what they are looking for.
Better kids programming.
More students.
More events.
Better “worship”.
More classes.
More options.
None of Those things are bad.
The issue is when those things become the way we decide where we belong.
Because once church is primarily evaluated by what it offers, it is almost impossible for a smaller church to compete with a larger one.
The church is not a product.
It is a people.
The New Testament does not tell us to find the congregation with the most to offer.
It tells us to commit ourselves to one another.
To serve.
To give.
To forgive.
To bear burdens.
To use our gifts.
To grow.
There comes a point where mature Christianity has to ask a harder question than, “What does this church have for me?”
It has to ask, “What would it look like for me to help build what is missing?”
That is the shift from consuming church to becoming the church.
