During this particular season of my life I am freed up to attend an immigrant church. I’m no longer a new believer learning the basics of Christianity (best learned in a language I understand well). My children are grown and gone. My husband enjoys practicing his rusty Spanish with people from the church and he enjoys being able to provide work for some of them. And, as I mentioned briefly in this blog, there were particular circumstances and thinking that brought me to this church and that give me the sense that I am where God is calling me to be for right now.

There are plenty of good reasons to attend church where you feel comfortable. Someone trying to find out about Jesus should definitely go to a Christian community where they feel welcome and comfortable enough to ask questions, a place where people communicate with them well enough to walk alongside them in their faith journey. Someone who is bringing their child or their friend to find out more about Jesus needs to go where their child or their friend is welcome and can communicate comfortably. Jesus’ intent is for his followers to be his body — serving as his hands, his feet, his mouth, his heart bringing the kingdom of God wherever they go. That, I think, is what churches are for. If I’m in a particular church for a season of healing, and all I can do is receive healing, that’s good, that’s letting believers help bring the kingdom into my life. Hopefully, later on I’ll be strong enough to serve, too, and maybe bring kingdom healing into someone else’s life.

In the end, why I go to a particular church is between me and Jesus. Jesus said we need to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first. He knows whether I’m attending a particular church because I’m bewildered, or because I’m seeking my own kingdom (“This is the place where everyone knows what a great Bible teacher/gospel singer/VBS director I am”), or because I’m seeking God’s kingdom. He knows whether I’m seeking His righteousness or my own first and foremost. That’s the reorientation, that’s the turning place that has to happen in our thinking. We assume we’re doing this more than we actually do it.

There does come a point where “comfortable” becomes “stagnant”. Can’t say I know exactly how to discern the dividing line between the two situations.

I think it’s worse than that. From what I’ve heard from the pulpits for a long time, the church in America believes it is the source of that power. If only America would return to God, the greatness of the past would come back seems to be a common theme. It’s true that Christianity strongly influenced many aspects of early U.S. government structures. I just don’t see that any government, even if it started out perfectly (which this one sure didn’t), could remain uncorrupted for very long.

It would be much healthier for the church to be a constant thorn in the side of government.