I hated church when I was a kid. Slow, boring songs, some old guy talking for way too long, some quiet prayer, reading an antiquated text. I always sat in the pew watching the seconds tick by. I’d look up to the rafters and try to watch the individual fan blades go around. I remember one strange joke the pastor told when he started the service and I remember thinking about the joke for the next 20 minutes.

Church is a very odd thing. But what is it? We sit around and sing a few songs, we listen to some guy talk. What’s supposed to happen? Am I getting a spiritual shot in the arm? Am I supposed to be challenged? Are my eyes supposed to be opened to new issues?

Do people walk out of church changed? Are they supposed to walk out of church changed? Should church be active or passive? Should church be teaching me the foundational truths of God, or should church be putting legs on those foundational truths? Should I be learning how to care for the homeless, or that I need to care for the homeless. Or both? Is Sunday morning an appropriate time to talk about social change?

What if the pastor talked about loving our neighbors and then dedicated the last 20 minutes of the service to go out into the community and pick up trash. Would that be appropriate? It could be an act of worship. It’s certainly putting legs to our faith. But will the congregation feel coerced to pick up litter? And is that wrong? Do we have to feel comfortable all the time?

What if church was a very uncomfortable place? It seems like we go to great lengths to make everyone feel comfortable. We’re always very afraid of offending people. That’s kind of funny. I don’t think Jesus worried too much about offending anyone. I think he made people feel pretty uncomfortable. Maybe it’s good to irritate people in church, to really get under their skin and make them think.

I wonder what church would be like if we never knew what to expect. It seems like church is built on tradition and being able to expect the same things, and maybe there’s some value in that. I just think it’d be enlightening to walk into a church and be totally surprised by what happened within those doors.