Mega-churches and Cup Holders

I really hope EV Free doesn’t get cup holders when they revamp the sanctuary. Even though I don’t go there anymore, it will make me sad.

I went to this mega-church (i.e., like Saddleback) in town the last two Sundays. Not because I was really itching to go there, but it’s down the street from me and really easy to blend in. We were greeted by an uber-cool, giant-Starbucks-like, video-monitor-clad atrium. Because we got there late, we snuck into the “sanctuary” (is that what you call it there?), and climbed a few flights of stairs to the top balcony. As I sat there, not really listening to the message since I didn’t hear to start of it, I was fixated on the cup holders. The whole sanctuary was stadium seating, very artsy stage, like being in a theater. But I felt like cup holders were wrong, in some way. Are we going to church to be entertained or to worship God? Not that you can’t worship God with a cup of coffee in your hand (I do it all the time at home). And I do respect what churches like this (Crossroads) and Saddleback are doing—to make people who don’t go to church feel comfortable (people like I used to be), to find a way to get them in the doors. The cup holders just made me a little sad. And I realized the irony of how I’ve become a little of a traditionalist. What brought me to know God was a very un-church-like atmosphere. Some casual people, causal worship, and a causal—yet deep--message. There was nothing more intimidating or uncomfortable than church for me. But now, I like it when they use the silver offering trays, when people dress up, when we sing hymns (albeit with a guitar and not full choir) and there are pews instead of chairs. I guess that speaks in some way to the work that God has bee doing in my heart. He makes me comfortable and I love His house.

I’ll still keep going to Crossroads because it’s there, but I’ll be content when I find a church for church-goers, a church that doesn’t deem itself “for real people,” and one sans cup holders.