That is the question. I was talking with a former church member the other day who's in the church "shopping" mode when this person told me the following story. "After visiting [this one church] I asked [my child] what they thought of this church. [This child] said, "Well, once I get used to being bored, I'll be okay." Isn't that an amazing statement? Already, by a young age, this child had come to the conclusion that if they were going to go to church, they had better get used to the idea of church being boring. May it never be!
During the sixteen years I pastored Seneca Creek, I was passionate about church never being boring. But, here's the rub. Even if we think we've figured out a way to make church exciting, vibrant and creative, over a period of time—what was once exciting, vibrant and creative—becomes old, mundane and boring. In other words, one of the things that keeps church from being boring is to make sure that we aren't falling into predictable ruts.
Now, I know that's easier said than done. In the pressure cooker environment of church life, finding the time to be creative, innovative and fresh is difficult to do. It's so much easier to just do what you've been doing. But, no matter what you are doing, no matter how creative you may think you may be, if you keep on doing it the same way, it will become predictable. And predictable, even edgy predictable, will lead to boredom.
So, how have you changed up your services lately? Your children's programs? Your youth programs? Your small groups? Your staff meetings? Your planning processes? Your mailings? Your all-church events? Your evangelistic outreaches? Basically, anything you do. Oh, and by the way, this same principle applies to your marriage and parenting as well. If you keep doing what you're doing the way you're doing it, it will become boring. And life and church are far too important to become boring. So what are you going to do to make sure that no one ever says of your church, "Once I get used to being bored, I'll be okay"?
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