Why some Christians would rather go to the pub than to church...

Every Thursday night I walk into a room where loud music is playing and people are interacting with each other. Some are smoking, most are drinking, and a few are even singing. I am immediately greeted by name and asked if I want a beer. I am free to sit with anybody I want to, dress however I like and therefore feel accepted. That's because at the Ferrymans Bar I am a regular - and I don't have to watch what I say.

I cannot think of the last time I have felt that comfortable in a church. Even as a regular. Perhaps this is because the church forms its basis of community on a different level than the pub community. Both are meaningful communities but the reason 'd'etre of forming community is poles apart.  The community of drinkers is based on who you are, whereas the community within church revolves around what you believe. As a result I feel more able to invite my friends to the pub than to church as, at the pub, everybody feels accepted, no matter what type of drink is in the glass. Yet if you do not share the beliefs of the members of the church, you are not seen as an integral part of that community.

Yet many Christians place a greater priority for the need to believe the Christian message and behave the Christian way than how accepted one feels amongst the Christian community. Belonging is seen as a result of believing and behaving. If you don't believe you won't feel like you want to belong, and if you don't behave in like manner you will be told that you don't belong - no matter what you believe.

That attitude has to change in order to address the stunted growth of the Christian Church community, particularly as some people who want to belong to a group like this have to behave in a certain way to feel like they belong. This is false community. Furthermore, this legalistic approach can make secular people who desire genuine community feel uncomfortable around people who speak Christianese, smile a lot, get slain in the spirit, and place more importance on avoiding the don'ts in life than doing the do's. Such people place emphasis on behaviour, then believing, then belonging - and wonder why their friends don't want to come to their church.

Christians who are able to relate to the surrounding culture would reverse the process and emphasise belonging, before believing and behaving. That's because if you are happy belonging to a group and what to stick with the group, you will you will want to behave like them. That is what it is like in the pub.  Those in my pub group have beliefs ranging from Christianity, atheism to new age beliefs, but that does not prevent everybody getting along as a belief system is not what draws us together.

Yet you often hear of Christian communities who are drawn together by a belief system often falling out over variances in doctrine - with some even thrown out of the congregation. Yet the only time somebody would be thrown out of my local pub is if they were uncontrollably drunk. That hasn't happened and is not likely to.

If we are to attempt to introduce secular people into the faith, and into the church, this mentality of legalism has to be addressed and reversed. Although the church is a community of faith, community is primarily about relationships, not a belief system based on good news or approval of good behaviour.

A good start to reverse this legalism may be for these church leaders to visit places like pubs and cafes and rub shoulders with real people who desire strong relationships within community.

But I suspect most are happy the way they are, and will only accept secular people that "fit in" - and that's sad.

I'm not so sure I'd be as accepted at the pub if I was drinking coke rather than beer... i think there is a behaviour code of some kind - certainly at the pub I go to
--Andrew Hamilton ( hamo at brightontown dot com dot au ) on 5/7/2004; 11:11:06 PM

Would pub-style churches really be the ideal model for churches? Why do practically all successful churches follow the traditional Sunday-type model? Is a church supposed to make you feel comfortable, or is it a place to meet God?
The early church indeed met together frequently and broke bread, but were also admonished not to turn up hungry to these occasions; the eating and drinking were not the main thing, worship and fellowship were.
Reaching out, works of service, Christian cafes are all excellent strategies for reaching the ambient culture. But the church is primarily for Christians: its identifying features are worship, preaching and community. Blurring the boundaries under the guise of 'cultural relevance' does not serve the Church nor the Gospel.
--robertp ( robertpnz at hotmail dot com ) on 3/31/2004; 2:42:16 AM