Looking for a Church

I am weary and wary of church. Having just moved to Kitchener-Waterloo, I am in the market for a new place to meet, gather, and worship on Sundays. To say 'market' isn't a stretch either. Looking on the Internet for a congregation is akin to trying find Mr. Right on eHarmony. Each church is trying to sell herself as the perfect match for my spiritual needs. Some of the newer bodies of believers advertise a fresh, new way to look at spirituality; places where you will find peace and acceptance. One young man through video testimony tells the listener that "church changed his life". Most of these types of churches call themselves 'cool' names like "The Gathering", "The Meeting House", or "The Journey". These titles are not wrong, after all, the early church followed "The Way". I also recognize that the church I most affiliate myself with calls herself "The Pathway". I suppose that these names just seem to be a brand, a brand of church that wants to portray Christianity in an attractive and desirable light, created to satisfy the individual and provide a non-threatening atmosphere for people to encounter God.

To their credit, many of these churches have a strong emphasis on community and of putting faith into action. In this way, they trump the traditional church which for the most part seems content to spout doctrine and denomination over deeds. Both the emerging church and the established church are the bride of Christ and this blog is full of sweeping generalizations of the kind that I mostly dislike, but I'm trying to purge this cynicism that burns within me before it creates unbecoming blisters on my heart. Perhaps I should lay aside the writings of Brother Yun, the pastor called to wake the Western Church from her slumber and self-centeredness so that she can truly lay down her life, take up the cross and recognize that it is not church that changes lives, but Christ. Maybe I'll start my own church brand and call her "The Cost" or "The Sacrifice".

A church should be very careful how it 'markets' herself because quite honestly, it all seems a little cheap and a little too easy to follow Jesus these days.